Shemot 25:8: חוְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָֽׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם

“They must make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst.”

Our free will leads us to exciting destinations, but inevitably, off the beaten derech (path).

We commute, travel, and relocate. There is always a point A and a point B.

But this presents a challenge to the self-aware Jew. We are a people with deep attachment to community, customs, and our institutions, even if just “culturally”.

There is often no synagogue in our travels. No Jewish home. No kosher (or even kosher-style) foods.

What is lacking in these environments is our physical dimension of serving and connecting with Gd, a uniquely Jewish concept.

Yes, Hashem is always accessible on an emotional-cognitive level through thought, reflection, or personal prayer, but this can be abstract and limiting.

Arguably, our deepest connection to Hashem, when we feel closest to Him, is a physical one.

For instance, the mezuzah on our door.

The physical parchment is holy and makes the space it occupies holy. We’re reminded of this whenever we pass it by.

The Shabbat table and the food and wine on it are made holy when we recite berachot over them.

A Torah scroll is the most valuable and holy physical object in the entire world.

Articles of transcendence.

Parsha Terumah, in detailing the Mishkan, teaches us, among other things, that the kedusha of tangible objects and our capacity to attain spirituality through them is portable.

We are challenged to ask, what do I carry with me when I leave my Jewish home and my community?

Like our ancestors, both modern and ancient, we too possess the ability to infuse our journeys with connection to Hakadosh Barachu through keeping at hand objects which embody kedusha.

A siddur on a camping trip, tefillin and a talit on an airplane, or shabbat candles in a suitcase offers more than protection.

It is a modern iteration of assembling and carrying the Mishkan.

It’s the comfort of Gd’s presence in our coming and going, and assurance that He is with us, physically present, as we pursue redemption, in whatever form we perceive it.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)