This week's word of Torah focuses on transforming Sinai into the everyday. The sign is from my collection of 20th century Jewish material culture.
michael (mjstrassfeld@gmail.com)
A word of Torah:
This week we begin reading about the construction of the mishkan/sanctuary in the desert. It is hard to understand why the Torah spends so many verses describing in specific detail the mishkan since it was basically meant to be used during the forty years of the wandering in the desert.
One answer is that the mishkan was built in response to the revelation at Sinai. God comes down upon the mountain that is shrouded in cloud. The Israelites are terrified by the experience and move back away from Mt. Sinai. They send Moses to hear the word of God and then come back to tell them God’s message. The experience is transcendent and overwhelming. What comes next? How can the experience of Sinai be incorporated into daily life in a constructive way?
The text suggests that the transcendent nature of God is not the answer. The people are told to build a mishkan/a portable sanctuary that will accompany them on their journey. God spoke to Moses saying: Let them make for me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them. (Ex. 1:8). Two things are happening here—the people must build a sanctuary and God will dwell in their midst.
In the beginning, God created the world, “a house of God,” and specifically the Garden of Eden, a place of perfection. Humans ruined that garden and were expelled. This time God will not build the sanctuary—the people of Israel will. The details of the building are a metaphor for life itself. Each of us are building the world by our deeds and our misdeeds. It is built by many small actions and reactions. At the end of the book of Exodus the description of finishing the sanctuary echoes the language of God finishing the creation the world in six days and resting on the seventh. (see va-yikhal in Gen, 2:2 and Ex. 40:33)
It is also essential to note that while the people build the mishkan, God doesn’t reside in the “house of God.” God resides in the midst of the people. It is through the activity of building that the people become connected to the presence of God. It is the immanent aspect of God that is accessible to the people. That aspect will be called Shekhinah/presence the same Hebrew root as mishkan.
The commandments and practices of Sinai provide the details for how we can create a space for God/holiness to dwell in our lives. Even as we engage in the struggles of our daily existence, we can experience God as our beloved traveling companion.
