I Kings 19: 11, this week's haftarah, we read first of God not appearing in the loud, awesome, natural events: wind, earthquake and fire. These 3, as Hirsch pointed out, are destructive, as we see the events of this week are loud and destructive. Where does God appear? God is in the inaudible sound emerging from silence with great focus and concentration. Often this "still, small voice" is thought to emerge from within, as many have experienced the God who emerges from the inner recesses. But I am enamored of the sound that emerges and yet is not quite heard, for which we lean forward and strain to hear, the auditory expressed in "Hear, O Israel." One never quite knows if it's there, and yet we seem to hear in the midst of silence. Sound flows. It's never absorbed all at once. A musical score, unlike a static picture, unfolds and develops. It's serial, as God's existence comes into our lives over time, if we listen and respond, the meaning of "shema." Elijah, the eternal prophet, flees to Sinai, and there encounters the True Presence. After great travail, and in the midst of stillness, Elijah feels the the auditory Presence, an emerging God that cannot be seen, but he feels the commands within, the voice that urges us to our mission. May your shabbat enable you to share Elijah's Sinai.