Temple or Home? We are at the point in the story when G-d asks for a temple. We were liberated from Egypt. We received the Torah, and now G-d tells Moses to speak to the children of Israel, telling them: “Make for me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst.” When we think of a sanctuary or temple, we think of a grand structure, a monument, a citadel that expresses the grandeur of G-d, an imposing building designed to make a person feel small and humble in its presence. Yet, as we read through the details of this week’s Torah portion, we realize that the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, was actually a furnished home, incorporating the essential elements and furniture of a modest, but beautiful home. A home needs two basic rooms (larger homes have two categories of rooms): an outer room for eating, relaxing, and living, a room to spend time with family and friends, a room with a table and some light; and an inner room, a bedroom, a personal and intimate space. The Tabernacle, too, possessed these two rooms, “the holy”, the outer chamber with a table, a menorah, and an alter; and an inner room, the “holy of holies”, the place of intimacy with G-d, which contained only the ark with its covering of Cherubim, male and female winged figures, symbolizing the romantic and intimate bond between G-d and the Jewish people. Perhaps the overarching lesson of this Parsha is that, G-d wants his temple to look like a home, to indicate that the reverse is also true: each of our homes can be a temple for G-d. As G-d wants to dwell not only in the grandeur of a temple but also in the daily life experienced in our homes. Further in the book, the Torah relates, “he places the menorah in the tent of meeting facing the table”. The Table and the Menorah must be placed across from and facing each other. The Torah is teaching us that the table with the showbread, symbolizing the physical needs and experiences of life, must face the Menorah, which symbolizes the spiritual parts of life. Our home becomes a home for G-d when our physical experiences are impacted and illuminated by spiritual light and purpose. Every activity can create a home for G-d when it is a component of our spiritual purpose and journey.
Blog - Torah Insights
Temple or Home? - תרומה
G-d is in the Details - משפטים
G-d is in the Details
Where in the World is Mount Sinai? - יתרו
Where in the World is Mount Sinai? The Jewish people are very good at preserving their history. We know where and when all the significant events of our past occurred. There is, however, one exception. The location of the most important event of our history, the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, is unknown. Immediately after G-d descended on Mount Sinai and imparted the Ten Commandments, G-d conveyed to Moses a grammatically problematic statement: An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall slaughter beside it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. Wherever I will mention My name, I will come to you and bless you. (Exodus 20:21) Rashi explains that “I Hebrew אַזְכִּיר, lit., I will mention. [This should apparently read תַּזְכִּיר, you will mention. Therefore, Rashi explains that it means: whenever] I will permit you to mention My Explicit Name, there I will come to you and bless you. I will cause My Shechinah to rest upon you. From here you learn that permission was given to mention the Explicit Name only in the place in which the Shechinah comes, that is in the Temple in Jerusalem. There, permission was given to the priests to mention the Explicit Name when they raise their hands to bless the people. While, according to Rashi, this verse refers to one specific place, the sages of the Mishnah introduce a revolutionary interpretation. The Mishnah states that “when ten people sit together and occupy themselves with Torah, the Shechinah
How do we know that the same is true even of one? As it is said: “In every place where I will mention my name I will come unto you and bless you”. (Avos 3:6) According to the sages of the Mishnah, immediately after the awesome experience at Sinai, G-d informed Moses that whenever one person, wherever he or she may be, studies Torah, the Divine presence will rest there. In other words, there is no need to know the precise location of Mount Sinai because whenever we study Torah, we recreate the revelation of Sinai wherever we may be. How is it possible that every Jew can transform any corner of the world? How can our mortal lips utter words that will accomplish the seemingly impossible, transporting the experience of Sinai to the most distant location on earth? It is because when we speak words of Torah it is G-d’s words speaking through us. The verse says, “I Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Shabbat Yisro 5751
How to Split a Sea - בשלח
How to Split a Sea They were trapped. The Jewish people had just departed Egypt, hoping to experience freedom and liberation, but now they were trapped. Pursuing them was the Egyptian army, the Red Sea was before them. They did what you would expect them to do, they called out to G-d. The Torah recounts G-d's response: The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel and let them travel. (Exodus 14:15) G-d's response is totally unexpected. After all, what is wrong with prayer? Isn't it a Mitzvah to pray to G-d when in distress? The Ohr Hachaim, the 18th-century commentator and mystic, explains that, the Jewish people were not worthy of the great miracle of the sea splitting on their behalf. G-d commanded Moses "speak to the children and let them travel", the people should travel forward with faith that G-d would protect them. The miracle would occur in the merit of the faith they would display. This story is a lesson on how we can achieve personal freedom in our own lives. Occasionally, we feel stuck, we don't see how our own challenge or difficulty can be resolved. Our natural impulse is to remain paralyzed. What is the point of taking positive action when we don't see how it will solve the overarching problem? This attitude is, in fact, what keeps us "imprisoned" in the adverse circumstance. G-d gives us the key to freedom, "speak to the children and let them travel"; the key to liberation is taking a positive step. This will trigger a divine blessing which will free us of negativity, bringing us to a place of positivity and liberation.