Can human beings really build a House for G‑d? King Solomon himself questioned this when he built the very first Holy Temple in Jerusalem. “The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this house I have built!”
And yet, the Almighty Himself instructs us to do just that: “And they shall make Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell among them.” How are we to understand that the Infinite Creator can be contained in a physical house built by finite men and women?
Let’s do what Jews have always done and answer this question with another one.
Why is the Sanctuary described in this week’s reading so small? One would imagine that the very first House of G‑d would have been spectacular. Yes, it was a portable temple which needed to be erected and dismantled regularly over 40 years in the wilderness, but still. It was smaller than a starter home! A roof of animal skins, held together with bolts and nuts, hooks, pegs and sockets. And while it was, admittedly, covered in gold, it was a far cry from the magnificent palaces and citadels of others.
The moral of the story? G‑d does not require spectacular spires or museums to house His holy presence. Where is He found? In the nitty-gritty nuts and bolts of a simple synagogue.
The Alter Rebbe, founder of Chabad chassidism, once said:
Avodah—true service of G‑d—does not imply, as some think, altogether erroneously, that one must pulverize mountains and shatter boulders, or turn the whole world upside down.
No!
The absolute truth is that any act is perfectly satisfactory when performed with authenticity and true intent. A blessing pronounced with concentration, a word of prayer as it should be with awareness of “before Whom you stand,” a passage in Chumash while being aware that it is the word of G‑d, a verse of Psalms, an act of kindness and compassion expressed in befriending another person with love and affection.
It is precisely the small things that build the Sanctuary of G‑d and bring heaven down to earth. G‑d is not looking for grandeur or opulence, but the ordinary acts of sanctity and spirituality, goodness and kindness that make our world a better, more G‑dly place—a holy house where He feels most comfortable.
Let us make Him our own little sanctuaries and He will dwell among us.
-adapted from www.chabad.org
