In this week's Torah portion, it is God who tells us:  "Then I will take My hand away and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen."  After all the people had been through, now God says - I will turn my back on you and you will not see my presence?  It not so surprising, therefore, that the people might react to God's turning away? 

When someone we care about turns his or her back, there is anger, hurt, pain, doubt, and a sense of abandonment.  Yet, the ties that bind us to those dearest to us often nurse us to re-establish contact and to rebuild the relationship with new understandings even as we struggle with the pain and hurt.

In a very powerful visual image, the Talmud sees the verse from our Torah portion as part of a dialogue between Moses and God.   In an effort to understand how bad things happen to good people, Moses asks God: "How is it that some righteous people prosper and some righteous people suffer?  And, how is it that some evil people suffer and some evil people prosper?"  God's response, says the Talmud, is our verse - God turns God's back and Moses sees the back of God's head.  According to the Talmud, however, what Moses sees is the knot of God's tefillin - the very symbol through which we Jews bind ourselves to God each morning in symbolic matrimony. 

In the moment of greatest struggle, we are left with the image of  intimacy and connection. So, what do we derive from the fact that God, like Moses, remains dressed not in the garb of separation, but in the garb of unity?

Reconciling the pain and anger inflicted by a loved one is hard.  At the same time, if there is reconciliation to be found, it can only come from the depths of love and commitment that exist in the relationship.  The deeper the connection, the greater the hurt and pain.  Likewise, the deeper the connection, the more there is to reconcile and recapture.  Likewise with God - when the impact of tragedy that befalls us is the sum total of our relationship, it is easy to see how that could sever the relationship.  But, when we invite God into our everyday lives and nurture that relationship, we can see the ties of connection and unity even in the moments of challenge.