NOTES for Bar 3:36
Many have reflected on the greatness of God. But what does it mean for us? That God is infinitely far from us, so far that we cannot even think of reaching Him, calling out to Him, knocking until He hears? Yes, of course. That He is completely unimaginable for us, that all the images we use in order to speak about Him are not only conditional and relative, but also infinitely far from how He sees and knows Himself? Yes, that too.
And yet: is there at least some thread, hint, hope that the abyss between Him and us is not absolute? Revelation? Certainly revelation can be considered such a thread, a little bridge thrown by God across the abyss separating Him from us. But what forms does it take? The prophetic word is the brightest biblical example of revelation. But one of the prophets, named Baruch, contemplates the world created by God. And he testifies that this world speaks to him of God's greatness no less than the word of revelation. And he was not the only one who managed to see the greatness of the Creator through His creation.
And if so, then the abyss separating us from Him is not absolute. Otherwise we would not know at all what greatness is. For even the experience of the majesty and magnificence of nature presupposes meaning; otherwise we would see in nature only something enormous, but not majestic. And meaning can be brought into the world only by the One who created it. And the fact that, if we do not understand this, we at least feel it, instills hope that the abyss between us and God can be overcome. And that someday it truly will be overcome.