At the beginning of the third book of the Torah, the book of Vayikra, the Torah says (lit.): "When a man offers a sacrifice from among you to God..." It should have said "When a man from among you offers a sacrifice..." Why, apparently, does it reverse the words?
Herein lies a fundamental concept in the Jewish people's relationship with God. The Torah tells us the path to drawing closer to God. In fact, the idea of korban, the offering to God, is directly related to the idea of drawing near to God. The word korban shares the same root as the word karov—meaning "near.".
In other words, the Torah teaches us: "When a man offers—wants to approach God [where can he find Him?]—"from among you," meaning, He is within you. It is not necessary to go out and look for God outside of oneself. God is within us. He is our very essence.
This explains the perseverance of the Jewish people throughout the generations. Great and powerful empires and governments tried to wipe out the Jewish people and failed. Just as God is eternal, so is the Jewish people, because God is within us.
From this also arises the answer to a problem that constantly plagues us. As soon as someone approaches Judaism, derogatory comments from others immediately surface: "And this guy, who never set foot in a synagogue, now does this and that," or "So you suddenly became religious?" It's something clear in Judaism: we have an essence, and it's within us. One can complain about someone who has become a different person than they are, but not about someone who goes back to their own being and reveals it.