Spiritua_
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14:
'Tr •T.
"ORAH PORTION
Creating Time
To Worship God
Parshat Terumah, Shabbat Rosh Hodesh:
Exodus 25:1-27:19; Isaiah 66:1-24.
A
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Ole •
MU Millt MI MI SUS tea
February 3 • 2011
VIM NM MO
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MIN
few years ago, I was in
Jerusalem. I ascended
the southern steps of the
Temple Mount to Huldah's Gates.
Huldah was a great biblical
prophetess. The gates were
named after her.
There is a triple gate
through which our ances-
tors entered our Holy
Temple. I stood before the
gates as tears ran down
my cheeks. They have been
filled in with stone, block-
ing the entrances.
Having traveled widely,
I've entered some of
the greatest mosques,
cathedrals and Buddhist and Hindu
Temples of the world. They are mag-
nificent. But now I stood, at the gate
to my own Temple, and could not
enter. It had been destroyed.
An immense pile of Herodian
stones lie in a heap hundreds of feet
below atop the ancient pavement,
just where they landed 2,000 years
ago after the Roman destruction. All
that is left for us is a Wall. I felt so
cheated.
Our Torah portion this week pro-
vides the details for building the
desert Mishkan, the Tabernacle, our
Temple of the desert. God says, "Let
them build Me a sanctuary, and I will
dwell among them."
In the desert, our people didn't
have a lot to do. They gathered
manna to eat, and that was about
it. Now and again they moved their
location, but usually they stayed put.
So designing, fabricating and build-
ing the Mishkan not only gave them
something to do, but also forever gave
them a place to go to connect with
God, their Savior and Protector.
Prior to the Mishkan, they had
plenty of time. But they didn't have
a place. Our situation today is the
opposite. We have lots of places, but
very little time.
We certainly have great syna-
gogues. Some are great architectural
marvels; some are great in their sim-
plicity; some evoke great warmth. All
are places where we can connect with
God. What we moderns lack is time.
Many of us run furiously through
our lives every single day from one
task or activity to another,
rarely stopping to connect,
to contemplate, to breathe.
Our lives can become so
full that there is no room
for God.
So for us, "building a
sanctuary so that God can
dwell with us" involves
the inner work of mak-
ing room for God — not
adding a room to the syna-
gogue, but making room in
our hearts and souls.
We do this by pausing now and
again as we move through our days to
acknowledge our blessings, to thank
God for our bounty.
We do this by pausing for lon-
ger periods, especially on Shabbat,
to reconnect with our Source and
realign ourselves with our souls.
We do this by engaging in mitzvot
and by offering blessings.
It means deconstructing our hectic
schedules in order to build in "God
time."
We do this by opening our hearts
and souls through meditation or
prayer.
May we let God guide us to connect
more profoundly to our people, our
family and friends, our community
our sacred traditions and our God. Li
Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg is spiritual leader
of Congregation Shir Tikvah in Troy.
Conversations
How can we diminish the
impediments that get between
us and God?
What would our lives look like if
we were well connected to God?
How can we effectively cultivate
a place for God in our lives?