I Need To Come Closer To God Poem by Shalom Freedman

I need to come closer to God
I need God more
I need God’s help more
I do not know why
But I want to serve God more
Is it because I feel not alright within myself and my family
And must atone for something?
Or because the world seems more insecure?
Or because Israel is more threatened and in greater danger?
Or because it is now the month of Elul and this is the traditional time for Repentance?

I don’t know
I feel I need God more
To pray more intensely is only one part of it
It is beyond this
I cannot understand
I need God more
And as I write this
I am praying that by writing this small poem
I am in some small way serving God
And atoning for whatever it is not right in myself and in my world