-A
'ZZSA
;
SANCTUARIES
‘
Evefy sermofi, efén a sermnnétte,‘must haVe a starting-point, and
‘the Sidra of the week is as good g stérting—point as any; esnecially
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1
when it includes such a thofight-provoking §erse as this: Vbaasu 11
mikddsh; veshachanti fietocham, “Let them makevmé a.éanctuary3 that
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may dfiell,in théir midst" (Exod, 25:8). fThe context, briefly, is-as’
follofis. ‘The Israelites had trekked thrnugh the wilderness for séveral
Ehey‘had begun; unaer fihe ieadership’of-Moses, to begome a united
people and to‘unaerstand‘whatuGod‘reduireg of thgm.in terms of behaviouz;E
years.
‘
f
MiBfim they had 35 Yet no place of wdgshifi; except MguaSinai, whiéh§fihé§;fl,
had left behind, and the sun-drenchéadesert sand, whiph Gas" aiways wi’hh
yfihém. ’At thiéxstége, wé are fibld, God instructed Moses
t9 erect a ;arge
tent which flight sérve as a porfiable shrine;
It is sametimes called
Qikdash, which means Sanctuary, anfi S?metimes)Mishkan, which-meafis
lbwéiling~P1ace,g£hat is, the dwelling—plage of God.
‘
Afid our Sidra —
L
it is called Tgrumah — describes 1h every detail the wéy in which it
is to bé constrfibted.
This portable shyine was later replaced by the
Témple in Jerusalem, anq ultimately by the Synagfigue.
Translated into
modern terms; thefefore, our verse says that the purpnse of thé Synagogue
that
.is"
Gold
'shoulcfdwel’l in our midst".
objectq
‘
‘
'To this
absurd
§§XEXXXEK-to beiieve that God
v.
‘
M
sgme people will
:dwells in a particular place.
,
Surely God is everywhere!
‘
Did not Solomnq
l‘say XfiXfiEfiXKXfiKfiEXX”HeaVen and the heaven of haavens cannot cantain thee,
‘how much less this house which I have builtf?‘ It is a
‘man
H
to
supposthat
G96 inhabips a particular place.
mark of primitive
The Pagans
‘aséociated théir‘gqas with rivers, trees and étones, The ancient
‘.fi15raelites‘believed Ehafi‘théifi God résidéd on particular mhuntains,
“‘I‘
h
I.
~‘ _ 2“—
;
»“
like Sinéi and Zion, or else in the ski, so that he héd to "60mg dSWnV
before his presence could be experienced.
‘
1
:
XXXXEXHK Later Jews war?
inclined to be1;eVe that God's épecial abode was the land of Isfiaéi —
hence ifié characterisation as the "Holy Land" —
so that it was a real
But fie have outgrpwn 1
handicap to live in the lands of the dispersionm
all inat.’ We know that G66 ié omnipresent, that his presence is EXXXKEE
no more iimited by space than by time.
From this point the argument takes one 6f,two lines.
one line is
pémtheism, ihe identification of Gdd with naturgj according to
whiéh"7
religion\does ngt réquire any particfilarwagtioq but'fiecOmes rathér~the
passive bantemplatiofi 0: an all—pervading
réaia‘gtyw
The ohherclgné is
.
a type of fiersonal religion in which a;1'the‘efinhaeis is put 6n privafié
prayer, to the exclusion_of public woréhip."
Judaism seesléome validity ih both these pbints of View.
Certainfiil
the céntemplation 6f nature is‘one way of apnrehendifig God, ffir the heavens:
declare his glor§ And the firmamentrégngs his handiwork;
tcéfi Be ekpéréenceg in fihe privaéx of‘thg human heartk
t
Cgrtainly God
For, séyé
g§§§§§3 if an-inéiViduai sits in completé sniiyude and studies Torah;
the ShecfiinatweiLs with him, and they g0 on in ounté tfié vefse,
:"In every place where I cause my name fin be remefibered I will come t6
you and-bless yofi,"
1
pointing éqt fihat "you" ié in the singuia}.
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Nevertheless it is essential to have houses of worship, synagogues,
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‘whepe‘Jews can meet to study and to‘pray together.
Why?
becafise
dwelis in some places and nbt in atherSa’
.‘ For the verse with which
A‘
‘we begén does nqt éay, "Letifihem bfiild mé é sanctuary that I may dwell"
F»
‘
,
",
y
£3 2;," but "Let them build me assapctuar& that
a
.
‘
‘
I
may dwell betngham,
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a
‘
‘
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gg‘ggggg Egggg.""’ The syfiag5gué is our Fhief fioiht of cdntact with
,
“I
‘
the Jewish péople,rwifih Judaiém and with G95; (it is nat 5n1§ Here, but
it is chiéfly hepe, that we becdme conSpiwfis bf nur Jewishness; that fie
learn about our faith, that we realise nur religious rafipanéibilities,
‘
thgt we recgive insp§rationhfor”the peliéiqus life.
It is in the
Synagogue that we acéuire the rélig pus 6nientatibn,‘thé Spiritual
perépective, fihichlcdn and which should fiermeate and guide our life
‘outside the Eynagfigue,
If it weré nfit.f0r the synagogue; spfiuid we‘
inciinedrfio pray a? hbme?. surely w; shnuld be ;ess
If it fiéra q5t_f‘fltheheynag$gue, Shépld'we 63 fidfé er less
~be more or less
inciined.
likely to diécbven God in the beauties nf‘nature?
:
Surély,
'1"eh:=1rxou1r3"vL
be leés I£;:ly t9 do so; Thosezwho say that prayer ié éfprivatevmatEer
,are all tob apt not £0 firay ét Alli ‘Ahd fihosé WhO'a flhat d isK
‘
everywhere are all'too apt-t6 ééé hifi‘nowhérew We,éofie to fhe synagogue
not because Ehat alone is,where we can behbld him, but in order to
obfiain the spiritual vi§ion which shali épable us to behold fiim évebiwhene.
Wé fi§§§§3§ in the synagogue‘nofi because God’s fipesence can be fe1t only
during the hdur of worship,'but in ordeg EXKXXKE‘SO to deépen our snibituai
‘
I
awareness that we may feel his presence 83 all times. We need t1 build
*
,wqrship within
that
order
God
in
a sanctuary, and to Xgfifififihx it,
may dwell among us
‘
1
outside the sanctuary, in our every day life.
9
.