Shmelke of Nikolsburg (?-1778)

I enjoyed this passage by Shmelke of Nikolsburg the most out of all the readings so far. I believe that all religions say that God is everywhere and nowhere, that He is in all of us. This passage did a great job of explaining how God could be in everyone, even wicked people. He said that “For all souls are one. Each is a spark from the original soul, and this soul is wholly inherent in all souls, just as your soul is in all members of your body…the original soul came out of the essence of God, and that every human soul is a part of God?” People may be wicked, they may do wrong; but they are still human, they are still Gods creation, and they still hold God somewhere within them. So how can we so them cruelty even if we strongly believe that they deserve it, how can we ourselves go down to their level. If we see ourselves as faithful to God how can we ourselves show cruelty or hatred to his creation. If we see someone being wicked is it not in our power to show them the way to the light, should we just sit back and watch them be wicked or should we help them? We may not be able to forget their wickedness, but we should at least forgive them, so them mercy just as God would show us mercy if we did wrong. This idea is very easy to preach but very hard to follow. It is easier to tell someone else to forgive the person that has wronged them, but it is extremely hard for one to forgive someone that has wronged them. “It is our right to hate and evil man for his actions, but because his deepest self is the image of God, it is our duty to honor him with love.”