Specifically, Tikkunei Zohar 120 delves into the idea of God's "garments," these veils that sometimes seem to obscure the Divine presence.
The text paints a picture of God becoming "enclothed" – imagine God putting on layers of concealment. And when this happens, the Tikkunei Zohar quotes Deuteronomy 32:20, "And He said: ‘I shall conceal My face from them…’" It’s a stark image, isn't it? A deliberate hiding. Why? That's the question that lingers.
But the passage doesn't leave us in that place of despair. It offers a contrasting image: God divested of those garments. Imagine the layers being peeled back, revealing the Divine light.
And then, the scripture explodes with recognition. The Tikkunei Zohar references Exodus 14:31, "And the people feared Y”Y," using the abbreviation for the sacred, unspeakable name of God. And the children, they all point to Him with a finger, as if to say, "There! There He is!" This connects to Exodus 15:2: "...this is my God and I will make Him a habitation." A visceral, immediate connection. This, it suggests, is what it's like when the veils are lifted.
But the reality of exile intrudes. The text acknowledges the darkness, quoting Psalm 18:12: "He made darkness his concealment..." The experience of exile, of separation from the Divine, is itself a kind of veiling.
And it's here that the figure of Daniel enters the picture. The Tikkunei Zohar quotes Daniel 2:22: "...He knows what is in darkness, and light resides with Him." Even in the deepest darkness, the text insists, there is still light. God knows what is hidden, and indeed, possesses the very light we seek.
What does this mean for us? Perhaps it's a reminder that the feeling of God's absence doesn't necessarily mean God is absent. Maybe it means that the Divine is simply wearing different garments, hidden in plain sight. Like the dark matter that scientists say makes up most of the universe, perhaps the Divine presence is always there, even when we can't perceive it directly.
And maybe, just maybe, the work of our lives is to learn to see through those veils, to find the light even in the deepest darkness, and to ultimately point, like those children in Exodus, and say, "There! There He is!"