spirit

torah portion

Tuning In
To Hear God

Congratulations
Graduates!

There are some great ﬁ lms to see this summer!

MAY

T

he summer is a time for
many of us to get outdoors
and explore some of the
beauty that Michigan has to offer
us.
For some, this can provide spe-
cial opportunities to connect with
God and a sense of spirituality that
us that when the Torah uses the
might be lacking during colder
word midaber (to speak) it is
parts of the year. So, the question
similar to mitdaber (to speak to
that we each have the opportunity
one’s self ) and thus, when
to contemplate is, “Where
Moses heard God speak,
do you go to really con-
he was really hearing the
nect with that spark of the
voice speaking to itself and
Divine that exists inside of
Moses happened to listen
you that we call the soul?
in.
Where is that special place
Today we don’t have a
where you feel you can
Mishkan with an ark and
talk to God and maybe, if
cherubim from which God
you are tuned in just right,
Rabbi Shalom
might speak to us. Yet, it is
hear God talking to you?”
Kantor
still possible for us to con-
For some of us, it may
nect and possibly even hear
be in a synagogue or at
God’s message to each of
the Shabbat dinner table
us. As a spark of God lives
or in a special chair in our
inside us all, perhaps we need to
homes. For others, that special
place may be at the beach with the find a place and a way where we
can “tune in” to the conversation
waves washing up or hiking in a
inside of us.
forest.
How can we get to a place where
At the end of Naso, after each
tribe leader has brought the tribe’s we can hear what our soul is say-
ing to us? What knob do we need
unique gifts for the dedication
to adjust to get the right “frequen-
of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), the
cy?”
Torah tells us: “When Moses went
There is a famous story about a
into the Tent of Meeting to speak
little boy who used to run into the
with God, he would hear the voice
woods to pray to God. One day his
addressing him from above the
cover that was on top of the Ark of father approached him and told
him, “Why don’t you come with
the Pact between the two cheru-
us and pray in the synagogue?
bim; thus God spoke to him.”
You know, my son, that God is
But what was it that Moses
the same in the woods as in the
heard when he went in to the
synagogue.” To which the little boy
Mishkan and the voice addressed
replied, “I am not the same.”
him from between the two cheru-
May we all find that special
bim (angelic creatures) who were
place this summer where we can
sitting on top of the Ark? How did
connect with the voice of our soul
Moses hear this and no one else
as we continue on our journeys
heard it? To answer these ques-
this summer. •
tions and gain a deeper under-
standing of how we might connect
Shalom Kantor is rabbi of Congregation B’nai
with God, we first turn to Rashi
Moshe in West Bloomfield.
(France 1040-1105), who teaches

Parshat Naso:
Numbers 4:21-7:89;
Judges 13:2-13:25.

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June 1 • 2017

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