Marc Gafni

The Kabbalists take the mandate of love implicit in self perception one step further. I need to understand that not only am I a part of God, but I am also a partner to God. Renaissance mystic Judah Loew of Prague writes that the litmus test of true love is mutuality. For him, this means that you love the person whom you complete and who completes you. Remember Shel Silverstein’s “The Missing Piece” – where a packman shaped circle roams the world in search of that singular pie sliver piece which will complete him? We are all on that epic quest for our missing piece. Lovers fill each other up. For the Kabbalists, this concept became the springboard for what is perhaps the most radical idea in biblical mysticism. God the lover needs us just as we need God. We are God’s missing piece. The call of love is an expression of this missing piece need. God says, “I can’t do it without you. Come be my partner!”