לזכות רבי חיים יהושע הכהן בן חנה לאה וכל משפחתו!
Have you ever seen a funeral? There is often so much crying and overhelming feelings of loss. The word in Hebrew for cry is בכיה which comes from the word נבוך - perplexed. A person cries because he doesn't know what else to do. He feels powerless so he cries. At a funeral, the mourners want nothing more than to have the dead person back but they can't so they cry.
I have a question. How was it when the person was alive? When the late father came home did the kids greet him excitedly at the door after having waited all day anxiously for his return? Is the [positive] feeling of HAVING a father nearly as powerful as the [negative] feeling of LOSING a father. Or how about a child? There are few sadder scenes than watching parents at the funeral of their child. But how did they relate to him when he was alive? Were they overjoyed every second that he is alive?? No. Never.
So if they weren't overjoyed when he was alive then why are they inconsolable when he dies??
Here is the secret: When someone loses something of value he had a כיספין, a השתוקקות, a pining, a yearning, for what was lost. When he has it then it goes underappreciated because he has nothing for which to yearn.
That is why a wife is forbidden to her husband for two weeks every month. If she were always available, he would have nothing to anticipate.
That is also why Hashem hides from us. If He were close by and available, we would take Him for granted and look for things less attainable to strive for. Yirmiyahu says מרחוק נראה לי השם - You appear to me from AFAR. When he is far then we seek Him out.
מלכותך מלכות כל העולמים - The word עולם can also mean hidden. Your Kingship is hidden in all of the worlds. That is why we must constantly seek you out.
Bottom line: Let us not take things for granted. We shouldn't wait to lose what we have in order to appreciate it. We say ONE HUNDRED BRACHOS a day, at least, in order to instill within ourselves an appreciation of all of our gifts.
As for Hashem - He is indeed hiding but the Sfas Emes [ויגש תרל"א] writes:
מלכותך מלכות כל עולמים - כל עולמים הפירוש שכל התנועות וחיות האדם שעושה כרצונו גם בזה הכל על ידי מלכות שמים רק שהאדם צריך לברר זה ומתגלה.
All of the movement in the world is from the hidden vitality of Hashem. If a person clarifies [מברר] this then He reveals Himself.
So all we have to do is realize that everything flows from Hashem's rulership and the we won't have to believe it anymore because it will become evident. [See also שפת אמת בהר תרמ"ט, נח תרנ"ז, שלח תרל"ב, ויחי תרנ"ז, חנוכה תרל"ז]
