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Torah Portion

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Each Living Soul
Houses God's Presence

God's presence within and about us. By
taking time to clear our bodies and
minds of the mundane — the tension,
stress, and distraction that we all face —
we become more worthy receptacles for
the shekhinah, the holy in our midst
and in ourselves.
How might we see ourselves if all our
intentions and actions were formed
lichvod, for the honor, of God? What
liberty and freedom would we have if we
his week's combined Torah
know we were constantly protected by
portion centers around the
kanfei shekhinah — the sheltering wings
buildina and dedication of
of the divine presence? Our lives would
the sanctuary or
b
the mishkan,
take on a sense of profound
tabernacle, in the wilderness.
holiness. The Midrash tells us
Moses asks the Israelites —
that", in the wilderness, God's
"those whose hearts so move
presence surrounded the peo-
them" — to give precious met-
ple Israel: clouds of kevod,
als, yarns, skins, woods, gem-
God's glory or honor, floated
stones, spices and oils. The
to the left and right, front,
response is overwhelming.
back and top of the mishkan.
Once the mishkan and its
The shekhinah dwelled with-
accessories are completed, God
in. It can be so for us, as well.
instructs Moses in the dedica-
Returning to the Torah por-
tion of the sanctuary and its
tion, we learn that, once the
RABBI SHEILA mishkan was filled, a cloud
priests, Aaron and his sons.
GOLOBOY
Sacrifices are offered, incense
settled over it, appearing bril-
Special to The
burned, and water provided so
liant white against the blue
Jewish News
that those approaching the
sky of day and as a ball of fire
altar might wash . Only after
in the dark desert night. The
all this work does the Torah
final words of today's reading,
say God's presence will fill the mishkan.
the final words of .Modus, tell us this
This preparation and commitment
cloud was continuously in the view of
can be a teaching for us all in preparing
all the house of Israel, throughout their
to welcome God into our lives. Indeed,
journeys in the wilderness. The cloud
the word for sanctuary, mishkan, is inti-
was a guide, showing Israel the route
mately connected to the word we use to
from slavery to freedom, oppression to
describe God's immanence, shekhinah.
lliberation, spiritual darkness to enlight-
God instructed Moses to build a struc-
enment.
ture in which God's presence could
The establishment of the mishkan,
dwell, assuring the people that God was
say the rabbis, marked a new period of
among them, with a place in their lives.
peace and love between God and the
Today, we, too, want to build and
people Israel. With the shekhinah in
maintain a world for ourselves in which
their midst, how could the people not
God is a focus. And we desire to have a
be inspired to grow and journey?
sense of the shekhinah, of the divine
This shows what can occur when we
presence, in the lives we lead and the
make God's glory dwell within us, when
work we do. In a sense, each of us wish-
we create our own internal mishkanim.
es to become a mishkan, carrying a sense
And when we do, each of us can find a
of God's indwelling presence within us.
dwelling-place for that sense of hope
But if that is our goal, then we, like
and promise the shekhinah can bring to
Moses and Aaron, must ready ourselves
our lives, just as it did for our mothers
and our homes to receive the divine
and fathers throughout history. God
presence. We will soon begin preparing
does not only dwell amongst us; God
for Passover. Bedikat chametz, the search
dwells within each of us. IT
for leaven, is not simply a seeking out of
crumbs. It is a room-by-room cleaning
of the house, preparing it to welcome in
the spirit and special feel of Pesach. In a
What precious possessions might
sense, it is also a symbolic search of our
you contribute to the mishkan?
minds and souls.
When have you had an especially
Torah study, meditation, continued
strong sense of God's presence in
learning and personal observance are all
your life? How do we honor
ways in which we prepare ourselves for
God by our actions?
Sheila Goloboy is a rabbi at Temple

Shabbat Vayakhel-
Pekudei:
Exodus 35:1-40:38;
12:1-20;
Ezekiel 45:16-46:18.

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