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Bricks and Mortar?!

Friday, 20 February, 2015 - 1:00 pm

We Jews are known for bringing ethical monotheism to the world. At a time when the standard bearer for spirituality was prostrating oneself to idols of stone, we insisted on devotion to an invisible G-d.  While others were trying to curry favor with the sun and stars, we were emphasizing fidelity to the one Master of heaven and earth.

Jews of all walks can rattle off the Shema, the basic Jewish prayer, proclaiming the oneness of our Creator.

It seems rather odd, then, that this week’s parsha Teruma is all about building a home for G-d.  We read about the gold and silver; the wood and the wool. All of it was used to create the Mishkan, the traveling Sanctuary that was a precursor to the Bait Hamikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Aren’t we the nation that focuses on the spirit? Doesn’t the Torah promote the soul over the body? Why are we investing all this energy into material effects? Shouldn’t we be searching for – and finding – G-d in a more sublime setting?

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The most sacred item in the Mishkan was the Aron, the Ark. It housed the tablets on which were inscribed the Ten Commandments.

This too, intrigues the mind. Why did G-d designate these two tablets as the greatest investment of His sanctity? Doesn’t that steer us away from the focus on His infinite, nonphysical reality? Is G-d truly contained in a couple pieces of precious stone? Are we somehow regressing back to the ways of preferring matter over spirit?

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The Midrash explains that the famous words of the Shema, “Hear O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is one,” do not simply express that there exists but one Creator. Rather, they declare that there exists but one reality, namely G-d. In other words, all of creation is but an expression of G-d. The trees are but an expression of G-dliness, as are gold, silver and water.

The Jewish view of monotheism is not that there is one Supreme Being ruling over all of creation, but that there is nothing outside of G-d. There is one.

Now, we can appreciate the emphasis on physical tablets and a material structure for G-d.  A true appreciation of G-d exists when matter is not divorced from spirit. Rather, ideally, matter itself displays the true origin and nature of its essence.

This was accomplished when we built a home that was 100% consecrated to G-d. The walls of the Mishkan declared, ‘Don’t be deceived by my material façade. I am truly an extension of G-d.’

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We, too, can – and must – create a home for G-d.  When we put a mezuzah on our doorposts, when we set up a tzedakah box on our desk at work, and when we keep our homes and stomachs kosher – we are proclaiming that there are not two domains, but one G-dly domain.

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