"It's A Bridge!"
Life as a bridge... A very narrow bridge... It's all about balance, an inner sense of direction and connection... Last week at the Shabbaton we began Shabbos with a brief discussion about how the number 7 (flanked by 3 numbers on each side) represent the inner sense of balance that Shabbos (flanked by 3 days on each side) can bring into our lives. More talk the next day about the vision needed to create that inner sense of balance in all areas of our hectic lives. Shabbos ended with a Havdalah ceremony beginning with the "Life's a bridge" song ("Kol Haolam kulo...") Someone commented to me afterwards that they felt an true sense of inner peace at that point... I guess it's difficult to articulate that feeling, and it must be experienced, but it was real. We all felt a sense of the "Shechinah" (Divine presence) in Aurora, Ohio. It was powerful!
Yesterday while leading a service at the Grafton Correctional Institute, we concluded our session with a 15 minute meditative session singing that very same song, "Life's a bridge" ("Kol Haolam kulo..."). Jose was on his guitar, and all eight of us lost ourselves for a few minutes in the meaning of the song. It was definitely the spiritual peak in the week for these inmates. They don't have the luxury to really enjoy the gift of Shabbos in their hard-core environment. But for a few minutes, we re-created a little bit of sacred space and brought the "Shechinah" down to Grafton, Ohio.
I guess that's the lesson of this week's Torah portion: The building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The Torah teaches us that what's really at the root of this Mitzvah is the charge to create that inner space wherever we are. Discover and develop a relationship with G-d in our personal lives, in all areas of life. I am grateful for the opportunity to recreate that space each week in the confines of my own home as soon as those candles are light! And I am grateful for having been blessed with the opportunity to share that space with so many others this past week!
Shabbat Shalom!
