One of the deepest questions in Judaism is: Does God feel and share our pain? We experience existence from within time while God experiences existence beyond time
We live scene by scene. Moment by moment. We see fragments. A painful conversation. A disappointment. A loss. A chapter of life that feels confusing or unresolved. And because we only experience the present scene, we naturally become frightened by what we cannot yet understand.
But God does not experience reality scene by scene.
He sees the whole story at once.
The beginning, the ending, and every hidden connection in between.
In Jewish thought, asking whether God feels and shares our pain is not a philosophical abstraction. It is deeply personal. Every person who has ever experienced heartbreak, loneliness, confusion, loss, or unanswered prayer has asked this question in one form or another. Not only, ‘Why is this happening?’ but also, ‘Is God with me inside this pain, or am I suffering alone?
The pain is real. The confusion is real. The loneliness is real. But perhaps what appears meaningless from within one moment belongs to a deeper story whose beauty can only be seen from beyond the scene itself.
In this fascinating dialogue between a publisher and a writer named Jeff, a powerful metaphor slowly emerges — one that hints at the mysterious relationship between the human being living inside the story and God, the Divine Author who is somehow both beyond the story and intimately present within it.
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Publisher: “I’m sorry, I can’t publish your book. The story is convoluted. Just not credible.”
Jeff: “I’ve poured hours into this story. Where did I go wrong?”
Publisher: “Great authors both know and do not know the end of the story. They write from two opposite points of view — like authors and characters — each vantage point having its own advantage.”
Publisher: “Because the author knows where he wants his character to go, he’s able to masterfully write every line and every scene to move the character toward that predetermined goal.”
Jeff: “Yes, exactly. So where did I go wrong?”
Jeff: “I saw the entire story in my head like a picture painted on the canvas of my mind. I saw it all at once — the beginning, the end, and every scene in between. I then edited and often re-edited each scene bearing in mind all the other scenes.”
Publisher: “Yes, I could tell that you’ve got the author part of writing down pat. But to write a truly thrilling adventure, you need suspense, risks, hopes, daring choices, and surprises.”
Publisher: “And to do that, you need to forget all you know about the story as the author and get into the head and limited perspective of the character.”
Jeff: “And I didn’t do that?”
Publisher: “The character doesn’t know what will be and may only partially know what was. Therefore, he must face the challenge of deciding the meaning of his past and boldly risking the choice of his next move toward his unknown future.”
Jeff: “Ah, so I have to write the story as both the author and the character — from above the story and yet also from within it — knowing it all and not knowing at all.”
Publisher: “Yes. Writing through the eyes of the character is a whole other story, because only then does a genuine rich inner drama of restless dilemmas emerge. The character’s life is full of turbulent highs and lows, emotional setbacks, and courageous breakthroughs.”
Jeff: “So the secret here is to conduct within me a creative dialogue between me as the author and me as the character, writing the story together in a cooperative partnership?”
Publisher: “Bingo.”
Jeff: “Awesome. I’m loving this. I’ve got a million ideas—”
Publisher: “Whoa, slow down a bit. Here’s the tricky part. You can’t get stuck in your author’s perspective, nor lose yourself in your character. There needs to be a fine balance of pace and peace.”
Publisher: “As the character, you’re anxious to get to the happy ending as soon as possible. But as the author, you cherish being in the glory of every dramatic living moment.”
Jeff: “So to the character, the goal is the end. But to the author, the goal is every step in the journey?”
Publisher: “Precisely. The author is fully present in every moment and in no rush to get to the end, because his joy is in creatively expressing himself.”
Publisher: “To the author, no scene is better than the rest. Every scene is precious.”
Jeff: “Exactly. Because the author sees the whole story, every scene is perfect and beautiful.”
Publisher: “The character, however, is mostly forward-thinking and anxious to get to the future.”
Jeff: “But isn’t this cruel? What right does the author have to frustrate the poor character? How painful—”
Publisher: “You just got lost in the character. There’s really nothing but the Author within. Capital A Author. There are two facets in dialogue — author and character.”
Jeff: “Whoa… maybe this is a metaphor for us and God. And there’s really nothing but God.”
Publisher: “Why do you think it’s called His story?”
A Thought to Sit With
So much of human suffering comes from believing the scene we are in now is the entire story. We want clarity while we are still inside the confusion. We want to understand the meaning of the chapter before the chapter is complete.
But emunah does not necessarily mean understanding the story while we are inside it.
Perhaps emunah means trusting that even the scenes we cannot yet understand are still held within Divine wisdom and Divine love.
The character experiences uncertainty. The Author sees connection. The character sees fragmentation. The Author sees wholeness.
And maybe one of the deepest ideas in Judaism is that God is not merely watching the story unfold from far away. He is present within every scene, every struggle, every prayer, and every moment of longing.
And perhaps that is why no moment is meaningless.
Perhaps that is why it is called His story.
Learn more teachings on emunah and prayer:
https://www.rabbidavidaaron.com/books/
https://www.youtube.com/@RabbiDavidAaron