Pointing to the Heavens
When Rabbah asked two young boys where Hashem dwells, Abaye walked outside and pointed to the sky, and Rabbah foresaw that both would become great sages.
It is told that when Abaye and Rava were still small boys, they sat together and learned before Rabbah. One day Rabbah decided to test them with a question that had nothing to do with the page in front of them.
To whom do we say a bracha? he asked.
To the Merciful One, the boys answered at once. To Hashem.
Rabbah pressed further. And where does the Merciful One dwell?
Rava raised his hand and pointed up at the ceiling of the room. Abaye did something different. He stood up, walked out of the house, and pointed up at the open sky.
Rabbah looked at the two children and said: Both of you will become great sages. As people say, you can tell a cucumber from the time it first flowers.
Neither boy was wrong, and both of them did indeed grow into the leaders of their generation. But Abaye was not satisfied with pointing at a ceiling. He wanted to show that Hashem is not contained inside the walls of a house. He fills the heavens and the whole world, and a child who already sensed that had the beginnings of greatness.
Source: Gemara, Berachos 48a (Talmud Bavli); English: The William Davidson Talmud (Koren–Steinsaltz translation), Berachos 48a.
This week, take one bracha outside with you. When you say a bracha on an apple or a drink, or Asher Yatzar, pause for a moment and look up, at a window or at the open sky. Remind yourself that the One you are speaking to fills the whole world, not only the room you are in. If you have children, ask them Rabbah's question at the table: Where does Hashem live? Listen carefully to their answers.