Exodus 25:8 - "They shall make a Sanctuary for Me - so that I may dwell among them." The verse should have read "that I may dwell in it (the Sanctuary)". But rather the Torah is teaching us that the true indwelling of the Divine Presence is not in a structure of inanimate components but rather in flesh and blood bodies of humans.
How do we bring the Divine Presence (Shechina) to dwell in our bodies. Through filling our minds with G-d's Word, the Torah, and occupying our limbs with the fulfillment of His commandments to us. These two components, Torah and commandments, are parallel to the Tabernacle that was made up of external elements and internal elements. The most external element was the outer cover of the Tabernacle made from skins. While the most internal element are the First and Second Set of Tablets of the Ten Commandments contained within the (3-layered) Holy Ark within the Holy of Holies.
Our lives are also made up of external and internal elements. The external parts are the ones we do automatically without investing much thought or understanding why they're necessary, while the most internal are the ones we think about a great deal and we feel are most important to us. In fact, sometimes actions that seem insignificant and external in our eyes are actually essential in our relationship with G-d. While certain aspects that seem central to us are actually peripheral to the relationship.
The work of building a Sanctuary for G-d is about taking worldly aspects and transforming them into the Divine. How do we do that? Simply by changing our perspective - by affixing greater importance to the tasks in our lives that relate to the refinement and elevation of our worldly reality, and by striving to make even the most mundane (and seemingly peripheral) actions, Holy and Divine.
Our success at accomplishing this hinges on beginning the day with prayer and meditation on the Oneness of G-d with his creation.
Based on Talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Vol. 11 and a Discourse from 1983.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment