"The Kibriner Rabbi turned to his Hasidim and said: 'Do you know where God is?' He took a piece of bread, showed it to them all and continued: 'God is in this piece of bread. Without the manifestation of His power in all nature, this piece of bread would have no existence.' "

With a piece of bread, say a prayer of thanksgiving and spend a moment contemplating its origins. Look into the bread to see the baker, the measuring cups, the warm ovens baking the bread; look deeper to see the wheat mill and the raw grain; and look deeper yet to see the wheat fields, the rich soil, the clouds offering rain, the sun making new growth possible. See the farmer planting the fields in spring and see the farmer's parents nurturing him or her from childhood. Continue back as far as you like, realizing that "in the beginning" there was only God. This is the unfolding story of Creation and the Eternal One's power of transformation; this is knowing that God is in a piece of bread.

James L. Mirel, Karen Bonnell Werth in Stepping Stones to Jewish Spiritual Living by James Miral, Karen Bonnell Werth