Sunday School for Enlightened Children
Photo by Robert Collins
God is Everything and More
by Evan Finkelstein
This is an excerpt from an article
originally printed in
the Congregation Beth Shalom
Newsletter, Fairfield, IA.
Copyright © 1996 Evan Finkelstein
It is reprinted here with permission.
Dr. Finkelstein, formerly director of
the Beth Shalom Sunday School,
is also the author of
Universal Principles of Life
Expressed in Maharishi Vedic Science
and in the Scriptures and Writings of
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam¹
Beth Shalom Sunday School cultures and inspires the greatest possible appreciation and understanding of God: God as the Transcendent and God as everything in the manifest universe; God as one’s own Being and God as the Being of everyone and everything; God as one’s own silence and activity; and God as the silence and activity of the entire creation.
Our Sunday School helps make the leap from this theoretical understanding to a practical living reality. All of our teaching is designed to deepen, broaden, sharpen and enliven the reality of the totality of God in everyone and everything—in a very simple way.
Activities are connected to the fundamental principle that God is Everything and More. “Everything” being all the manifest or expressed values of God; “More” being the unmanifest or transcendent value of God.
Our Jewish tradition tells us that God is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. How do we connect this to a child’s experience? If, for example, a child draws a picture of the sun, the teacher in a simple way points out that the warmth, light and radiance expressed by the sun are a direct expression or manifestation of God’s eternal warmth, light and radiance. The life-giving qualities of the sun are found to be a direct manifestation of God as Life itself.
If, on a class nature walk, children come across a beautiful apple tree, the tree can be discussed in terms of the beauty, grace, balance, abundance, protection, and life it expresses—all of which are qualities of God.
When a child dances and she feels the joy of movement, the teacher points out that “the happiness you’re feeling is a quality of God.” When a child learns a prayer, he is reminded that “these sounds are an expression of God.” When a child lights candles, the teacher reminds the student that “this wax, this wick, this beautiful golden flame all express the spiritual qualities of God.”
Creation, then, takes on a whole different meaning. And so does God. No longer do we have limited, isolated, and disconnected parts; rather all of creation is understood to be a manifestation—an emanation—of the qualities of infinity, eternity, Divinity. There is never a separation between God and His creation.
Simply, the teacher points this out and reminds the child that this Divinity is his own Self and Being, and that of everyone and everything else; All the many aspects of creation are the Creator’s own forms and expressions. This is God.
These simple expressions of knowledge in the context of the main theme that “God is Everything and More” help enliven an ever-growing understanding, devotion and appreciation for God.
I invite all of you with—or without—children to participate. This devotional activity of our religious tradition enlivens the totality of God in our lives.
Waves of the Ocean
[1] If you would like a free copy of Universal Principles of Life
Expressed in Maharishi Vedic Science and in the Scriptures and Writings of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, please email Dr. Finkelstein at efin@miu.edu
© Copyright 1996 Evan Finkelstein
All rights reserved.
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