' Who am I '...

"There is a story told about a hasidic rebbe who came into synagogue and sat down to pray.

The hasidim noticed that he did not move and they went on with their prayers.

By late afternoon the rebbe still had not moved from his chair.

Finally, the hasidim dared to interrupt him and ask if something was wrong.

'No,' he said, 'nothing is wrong.

I opened my mouth to say "I give thanks before You" and suddenly I began to think, Who is this "I" that is about to give thanks?

Who am "I"? What am "I" '?

And I have been meditating on that all day long.'"



-David Blumenthal
"Kabbalah: Mystical Ways in Prayer"