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.
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