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For close to two weeks, we've been watching the news about missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370 with bated breath. Despite many theories, from pilot suicide to hijacking, we still have no concrete idea what happened to the airplane, and its passengers. It seems to have simply vanished.

Twenty-six countries are involved in the massive international search. It is the largest search in aviation history, costing hundreds of millions of dollars. Air-travel is considered the safest mode of transport, and this was a Boeing 777 - the safest passenger aircraft! So, understandably, this incident has been highly unsettling. For a plane this size to disappear without a trace is virtually unprecedented. 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the 239 individuals on board the aircraft. 

What can we learn from the massive search?

Chassidic masters liken the ocean to the “hidden worlds.” Inside its murky depths is an entire world: mountains and canyons, rivers and weather systems, and living organisms of every type and form imaginable. But everything is submerged within its watery depths, almost completely hidden from inquisitive eyes

This is a parable for spirituality and G-dliness. When we look around at our physical and mundane world, we do not see G-d. In fact, often His involvement is so hidden that we even question His existence. When something goes wrong in our lives we think that G-d does not truly exist. We see the sun rising every morning and the moon taking its place at night. We see tall mountains, majestic rivers and beautiful buildings, but what's missing from the picture is G-d. He is lost in this beautiful natural world. This is like looking at the surface of the sea and not seeing anything beyond.

But just as we discover an entire world and ecosystem if we look beneath the ocean's surface, so will we find an additional dimension to the physical world if we probe deeply enough. This is our mission in life - to search for and uncover G-d's involvement in the physical world. 

Millions of dollars are being poured into the search for flight 370. Over 25 countries have contributed ships, planes and satellite imaging to assist with the search. The search area is enormous - millions of miles. 

This is what we ought to be doing on a daily basis. Search! Search! Search! Searching for the G-dliness and spirituality in our lives, and finding ways to reveal it. 

When we make a blessing over food, we are drawing G-dliness into the steak that we are eating. When we give a dollar to charity, we plant a spark of G-dliness inside that dollar bill. When we visit someone in the hospital, we are bringing G-d along for the ride.

The name of this week's Torah portion, Shemini, means "eight." Seven represents the natural cycle of the world. There are seven days in the week. A mourner mourns for seven days. When a person gets married there are seven days of festivity. Eight, however, represents the supra-natural; the G-dly. Our role, our mission in life, is to search for the "eight," identify it and uncover it. 

So let's get to work and start searching! 

My good friend Ilan* phoned me last week with a very serious question. 

"Rabbi," he said, "I've never kept kosher in my life; I didn't grow up in a kosher household. But when I attended your services this past Rosh Hashanah, I felt very moved, and resolved to make an effort to keep kosher.

"Today I had a lunch meeting with a Jewish client, and I figured a kosher restaurant would accomplish two mitzvot - I would keep kosher and my client would also eat a kosher meal. So that's what I did. We went to a kosher restaurant in Midtown and I ordered classic gefilte fish, followed by chopped liver. 

"In all honesty, it was difficult, because: a) it's much easier to find a non-kosher restaurant nearby, b) I find non-kosher food better tasting, and c) certainly kosher food is more expensive. But hey, we all know it's not easy being a Jew, so I bit the bullet and did it anyway!" 

"That's fantastic!" I told him. "So what's your question?"

"In one of your sermons," he explained, "you spoke about the difference between a mitzvah and a sin. Both have an 'oy' and an 'ahhh,' the difference is in the timing. When you sin, the 'ahhh' (i.e. enjoyment) comes first, and only afterwards do you feel 'oy' - what did I do?! But when it comes to a mitzvah, first you feel the 'oy vey', this is so difficult. But afterwards, you feel the 'ahhh' - the pleasure of knowing you did the right thing.

"Well," Ilan continued, "I had my 'oy' moment while doing the mitzvah. It was difficult for me - out of the way and expensive - but I did it regardless. Then later, when I was supposed to feel the 'ahhh' moment, I was suffering from severe food poisoning, holed up in the bathroom for hours. It was terrible! (And my client, who also ate the chopped liver, suffered the same fate.) I was in sheer agony, and all because of that chopped liver! I could have eaten in a non-kosher restaurant and saved myself all this trouble. Why must I suffer for doing a mitzvah?!"

My first thought was, Didn't he get the memo? Sushi is the new chopped liver. We Jews haven't eaten the real stuff since Egypt-times! 

But what I ultimately told Ilan was, "I have no idea. Yes, I am a rabbi, but I am not a prophet. I have no idea why your mitzvah ended in painful food poisoning. But what I can do, is assure you that your mitzvah counts, and G-d will most certainly reward you. 

"Our finite minds cannot comprehend His ways. Perhaps he already rewarded you. It's possible there was some heavenly decree in store for you, and because you went out of your way to keep kosher, Hashem lifted the decree. Perhaps you were destined to lose a lot of money or a big client that day, but instead you were gifted with a bout of food poisoning. We do not know His calculations, but rest assured, your mitzvah was not ignored or overlooked." 

We're about to celebrate the holiday of Purim - the most joyous day on the Jewish calendar. During the times of Mordechai and Esther, the Jews were under threat of annihilation every single day. For 11 months Haman's decree hovered over them. Interestingly, the megillah, which records the story of Purim, is the only book of the Torah where G-d's name is not mentioned. During the entire 11 months that the story of Purim played out, G-d was hidden. He was there, orchestrating, but in a hidden fashion. Only after Haman was killed, did it become clear that G-d had been guiding them and helping them every step of the way.  

We look forward to the day when we will see G-d in a revealed and obvious fashion. Even though we've been waiting for thousands of years, we believe that Moshiach will come any day now and pluck us out of exile. When Moshiach arrives, we'll enter a new era - one in which we will see how everything G-d has done for us, was ultimately for our benefit. May that day come very quickly! Until then, however, we just have to continue doing mitzvot and believe that everything He does is for our benefit. 

*Name changed to protect privacy.