Revelation and Meditation

Richard Lederman

Ha-shamayyim mesapperim kevod el

u-ma’aseh yadav maggid ha-rakia’

The heavens reveal God’s presence;
and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork.

Psalm 19:1

I am reminded of an experience driving through a wooded area in Maryland at the peak of the fall leaf season. As I marveled at the gift of beauty in color and light that graces our world, I was led to marvel as well at the human capacity to perceive and contemplate that beauty. The saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” is no trite adage. The true source of “beauty” is the ability of our eyes and minds to see and perceive.

Revelation is a human response to the manifestation of divinity or transcendence in the cosmos. Like beauty, it is the human ability to perceive that forms the basis of revelation. A bush burning in the desert though not consumed is not a revelation. It is Moses’ perception of the phenomenon and his response to it that turns the event into a revelatory experience. “When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses! And he said, ‘Here I am’” (Exodus 3:4). Had Moses not “turned to see,” there would have been no revelation.