אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: מִנַּיִן שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִתְפַּלֵּל? שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַהֲבִיאוֹתִים אֶל הַר קָדְשִׁי וְשִׂמַּחְתִּים בְּבֵית תְּפִלָּתִי״, ״תְּפִלָּתָם״ לֹא נֶאֱמַר, אֶלָּא ״תְּפִלָּתִי״, מִכָּאן שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִתְפַּלֵּל. מַאי מְצַלֵּי? אָמַר רַב זוּטְרָא בַּר טוֹבִיָּה, אָמַר רַב: ״יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנַי שֶׁיִּכְבְּשׁוּ רַחֲמַי אֶת כַּעֲסִי, וְיִגּוֹלּוּ רַחֲמַי עַל מִדּוֹתַי, וְאֶתְנַהֵג עִם בָּנַי בְּמִדַּת רַחֲמִים, וְאֶכָּנֵס לָהֶם לִפְנִים מִשּׁוּרַת הַדִּין״.
Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: From where is it derived that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays? As it is stated: “I will bring them to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in the house of My prayer” (Isaiah 56:7). The verse does not say the house of their prayer, but rather, “the house of My prayer”; from here we see that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays. What does God pray? Rav Zutra bar Tovia said that Rav said: God says: May it be My will that My mercy will overcome My anger, and may My mercy prevail over My other attributes, and may I conduct myself toward My children, with the attribute of mercy, and may I go beyond the law in supporting them.
הַמֵּאִיר לָאָֽרֶץ וְלַדָּרִים עָלֶֽיהָ בְּרַחֲמִים וּבְטוּבוֹ מְחַדֵּשׁ בְּכָל־יוֹם תָּמִיד מַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית: מָה־רַבּוּ מַעֲשֶׂיךָ | יְהֹוָה כֻּלָּם בְּחָכְמָה עָשִׂיתָ מָלְ֒אָה הָאָרֶץ קִנְיָנֶֽךָ: הַמֶּֽלֶךְ הַמְ֒רוֹמָם לְבַדּוֹ מֵאָז. הַמְ֒שֻׁבָּח וְהַמְ֒פֹאָר וְהַמִּתְנַשֵּׂא מִימוֹת עוֹלָם:
He illuminates the earth [and provides light] for those who dwell on it, with compassion; and in His goodness renews every day, continually, the work of creation. How diverse are Your works, Adonoy; You made them all with wisdom, the earth is full of Your possessions. The King Who alone is exalted from then, Who is praised and glorified and uplifted, from the beginning of time.
מרחבים מרחבים
מרחבי אל איוותה נפשי
אל תסגרוני בשום כלוב, לא גשמי ולא רוחני
שטה היא נשמתי ברחבי שמים
לא יכילוה קירות לב ולא קירות מעשה, מוסר, היגיון ונימוס
ממעל לכל אלה שטה היא ועפה
ממעל לכל אשר יקרא בכל שם
ממרום מכל עונג, מכל נועם ויופי,
ממרום לכל נשגב ונאצל
From the poetry of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook
Expanses, expanses
Expanses divine my soul craves
Confine me not in any cage, of substance nor of spirit.
My soul soars the expanses of the heavens,
Walls of heart and walls of deeds will not contain it;
Nor [walls of] ethics, logic, and custom.
My soul soars above all these,
Above all that bears a name,
Above any pleasure,
Above every delight and beauty,
Above all that is exalted and ethereal.
From Majesty and Humility by Rabbi Joseph B Soleveitchik
Eleven years ago my wife lay on her deathbed and I watched her dying,
day by day, hour by hour; medically, I could do very little for her, all I could do was to pray. However, I could not pray in the hospital; somehow I could not find God in the whitewashed, long corridors among the interns and the nurses. However, the need for prayer was great; I could not live without gratifying this need. The moment I returned home I would rush to my room, fall on my knees and pray fervently. God, in those moments, appeared not as the exalted, majestic King, but rather as a humble, close friend, brother, father: in such moments of black despair, He was not far from me; He was right there in the dark room; I felt His warm hand, as it were on my shoulder, I hugged His knees. He was with me in the narrow confines of a small room, taking up no space at all.