“G-d is in the details” is an idiom often attributed to a German architect whose buildings are masterpieces of proportion and detail. Although an appreciation for art and creative vision is necessary to craft beautiful things, the true grandeur of anything will depend on the mundane, tiny, and often hidden details.
As I studied the two Torah portions we read this week during Shabbat services, I realized this idiom is more accurate than we’d think. Not only are success and beauty in the details, but literally “G-d,” the realization of the purpose of creation and its perfection, is in the details of life.
The first portion, Acharei Mos, opens with the Holy Temple service of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. The Kohen Gadol (High Priest) represented the entire nation in the holiest place on earth, achieved atonement for them, ensuring a good and sweet new year. After describing the dramatic process, the Torah extolls Aharon the High Priest for following the formula meticulously, down to the minutest detail. The second portion, called “Kedoshim” which means “holy,” opens with the statement “You must be holy, for I, G-d, your G-d, am holy.” What follows is a list of 51 Mitzvot that run the gamut of Shabbat observance and monotheistic devotion to having accurate scales and abstaining from gossip. If you thought holiness meant running away from life and meditating on remote mountain peaks, you must know that conducting your business honestly, helping the poor, and giving proper advice is the real deal. This past Shabbat, Rabbi Shalom Lipskar of Bal Harbor, Florida, passed away. He was an iconic Chabad emissary who served as a mentor and inspiration for so many and was the embodiment of the possibility for the average guy to live life to its fullest. His accomplishments are legendary, and I have been spiritually enriched reading about him. For me, this story he shared from his teenage years encapsulates everything you need to know about living a life of meaning and purpose. As a seventeen-year-old student studying Chassidic teachings and training in its application, Rabbi Lipskar started to engage in “Iskafya” – loosely translated as self-restraint – a fundamental aspect of spiritual refinement and divine service. Iskafya is promoted in Chassidus as the way to become holy and the formula for perfecting the world and ushering in the era of Moshiach. The problem was, his frame of reference for Iskafya was stories of legendary Chassidim physically depriving themselves, and living this way to an extreme was hurting him. When he had a private audience with the Rebbe to receive a blessing for his birthday, the Rebbe explained that he had misunderstood Iskafya. “Iskafya means to not waste your time, to not do what you want, and to eat healthy,” the Rebbe said. Iskafya is a principle, not a lifestyle. Appreciating that every detail of life can and should be harnessed in the service of G-d. Living this way joyfully sets you on a path to true spiritual fulfillment and holiness. Whereas in previous generations this service may have looked more dramatically ascetic, today it’s achieved through mastering the nuts and bolts of living a focused and productive life, because G-d is revealed through us in this world, specifically in the small details.