This week we join with synagogues around the world in reading Parshat Terumah from the book of Exodus. This portion focuses on the details of the building of the Mishkan, the portable tabernacle the Israelites used to make offerings to God.

In the description of how the Mishkan is to be assembled we find the following mitzvah in Exodus 25:8: V’asu li mikdash – make Me a sanctuary – ‘vshachanti b’tocham – and I (meaning God) will dwell among them (us, the Children of Israel).

What does it mean for us to make a sanctuary? Well, a sanctuary is a holy space, an area set aside for the pursuit of a relationship with God. This can be a space anywhere. This can be a certain spot inside the chapel or sanctuary at Congregation Beth Mordecai, it can be a spot in your home or in nature. Where ever you make room for God, God will dwell with you.

In our hectic, modern world, where things constantly beep and buzz for our attention, set aside the time, set aside the space and set aside those devices so that your actions truly reflect your highest values. If you can do that, working with the others in your family or the others in your community to create a shared vision reflecting those values, you too can make the spaces in which we live, work and pray into sanctuaries. And in doing so, you too can feel the presence of God dwelling among you.

Shabbat Shalom,