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E and J M CLARKE 19 05 2920 TEXT

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“   And G-D said to them …”It’s the first recorded conversation we encounter in the Bible. Humans are the only creatures to whom the Creator speaks in this manner. In the same section of Genesis we are shown that each of us has a special capacity to relate to nature to our fellow man, to ourselves and to G-od. Of course, these relationships which man is inclined to form are not like watertight compartments which are independent of one another.

   Our relationship with nature results from our observations and the detailed handiwork that we observe relationshipswith our fellow man are based on our interests and life experiences;

   and our relationship with G-d, which comes from deep inside our being, is a result of self-dialogue, and is nurtured by all other relationships mentioned above.

True dialogue is at the heart of the thinking man’s life and demands that each person tries to get to know and understand the person with whom they are conversing. As Ernesto Sabato expressed in his unique style in the prologue of his book One and the Universe. One sets off for distant lands.Or seek the knowledge of man, or investigates nature,  or searches for G-d, only afterwardsdoes he realise that the phantom he was chasing was Himself. When conversing with one’s fellow man, words are only vehicles for communicating, although even in societies where everyone speaks the same language, the exact same words take on somewhat different meanings. sach person adds their own nuance to many of the words they use, which then become part of the linguistic heritage. Dialogue requires that participant become acquainted with the other person.

G-d’s candle is man’s soul which reveals the innermost parts of his being”.  In its most

profound sense, to have one’s soul nearer to another’s in order to reveal and illuminate 

his or her core.”

2 Uno y El Universa  Edicion definitive, Seix Barral,  Buenos Aires, 1995

3 Proverbs 20-27

When a dialogue reaches this level of magnitude, one becomes aware of what he or she has in common with the other person.  He or she each has the same persistent existential questions with their various interpretations. Each soul is a reflection of the other.

The Divine Breath, which both possess, known to unite the two and then form a link with  Him that will never weaken, as it is written,  A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

There were many different opportunities which helped pave the long road of details  and circumstances that brought Cardinal Bergoglio, and me closer and allowed us to get to know each other better.

One day we set a time and place so that we could just sit together and talk. The topic of discussion was life itself as seen through the prisms of local society, global concerns and the existence of villainy and nobility that surround us. We spoke with complete intimacy, if you don’t count the presence of G-d. Although His name wasn’t brought up consistently (perhaps it should have been?)  We felt that He was always present. 

The meetings became recurring events, with each one focussed on a different topic one time,

 our meeting took place in my office in the synagogue and I was commenting on some of the framed documents that adorn the walls. I paused to focus on some pages

From a manuscript written by the great thinker Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and some  

of the other texts as well. Regardless, my friend had stopped following me, having spotted  

a  greeting that I had hung next to the Heschel documents. He had presented it at the

 synagogue some years before on the occasion of the Jewish New Year. While I went about

re-arranging some things in my constantly cluttered workspace, I saw that he continued

 to focus on those particular pages, which he himself had signed and dated.

4 Eccleciaciastes 4:12