What does it mean to be a sacred community, a congregation? In this week’s Torah portion, Terumah, we read these words of God, “Let them build me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8) This sentence contains a grammatical problem. It should read, “Let them build me a sanctuary that I may dwell within it,” but it does not. Clearly the sanctuary, the Mishkan, is not about the physical structure, it is about the connection between the Divine and people. It is easy to confuse a physical structure with a spiritual purpose. People love to build beautiful buildings, but it is what goes on in the buildings that matter. The Hebrew verb to dwell (l’shachen) shares the same root as God’s indwelling, feminine, presence: Shechina. If our congregation is a place of warmth, welcoming, and care, then we have earned God’s presence and we will feel the Ruach HaKodesh, God’s holy spirit, dwelling amongst us. When we share joys together and are present for each other in times of sorrow our biulding is filled with holiness. If we care more about physical matters, then we may have a beautiful worship space but it will feel empty. The choice is ours.
Terumah, Exodus 25:1-27:19, Parashat Hashavua for Shabbat February 17, 2024
February 15, 2024 by Dean Kertesz • Drashot
What does it mean to be a sacred community, a congregation? In this week’s Torah portion, Terumah, we read these words of God, “Let them build me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8) This sentence contains a grammatical problem. It should read, “Let them build me a sanctuary that I may dwell within it,” but it does not. Clearly the sanctuary, the Mishkan, is not about the physical structure, it is about the connection between the Divine and people. It is easy to confuse a physical structure with a spiritual purpose. People love to build beautiful buildings, but it is what goes on in the buildings that matter. The Hebrew verb to dwell (l’shachen) shares the same root as God’s indwelling, feminine, presence: Shechina. If our congregation is a place of warmth, welcoming, and care, then we have earned God’s presence and we will feel the Ruach HaKodesh, God’s holy spirit, dwelling amongst us. When we share joys together and are present for each other in times of sorrow our biulding is filled with holiness. If we care more about physical matters, then we may have a beautiful worship space but it will feel empty. The choice is ours.