Hineni: The Opposite of Distraction |
People have a remarkable talent for being somewhere other than where they actually are.
We stand in Shul thinking about lunch. We eat lunch thinking about work. We sit at work thinking about retirement. We finally go on holiday and spend half the trip worrying about what awaits us when we get back. The human capacity to abandon the present moment is genuinely impressive. If distraction were an Olympic sport, we would all be standing on the podium.
The Hebrew word hineni is usually translated as “Here I am.”
Technically, that’s correct. Technically, a tomato is a berry, and Pluto isn’t a planet. Sometimes, technical accuracy misses the point entirely.
When G-D calls to Abraham, Abraham answers, “Hineni.” When G-D calls to Moses from the burning bush, Moses answers, “Hineni.” When Samuel hears his name in the night, he answers, “Hineni.”
None of these people is providing their location.
The Creator of the Universe is unlikely to be peering into a celestial satnav, wondering where everybody has got to. Something much deeper........