Shine Your Light!2 min read

In this week’s parsha, Hashem commands the b’nei Yisrael to build a Mishkan, saying, “V’asu Li mikdash veshachanti b’socham”, “Make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell besocham“. Although the Mishkan was a single building, the word “Besocham”, “and I will dwell within it”, is plural, which, rendered literally, reads “and I will dwell within them.” Our sages teach that the reason for this plural form is that in addition to dwelling in the physical Mishkan, Hashem intends to dwell “Besocham – b’soch kol echad v’echad” – within the thoughts, speech, and actions of every Jewish soul. This teaching echoes that of the Midrash Tanchuma which reveals that one of the primary reasons for the creation of our world is that Hashem desired a “dirah b’tachtonim”, a dwelling place in the lower realms. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches that the primary revelation of Hashem’s greatness takes place when those furthest from holiness open their hearts to Hashem and His Torah. When we make the effort to turn the mundanity of our lives into a chariot for the Shechina by seeing every facet of our existence as part and parcel of our general mission as “avda d’Kudsha Brich Hu”, servants of the Infinite One, the illumination of these lowly levels by the light of Hashem demonstrates, better than anything else, the extent of its reach and, thus, the magnitude of its infinite strength.

Building on this idea, that Lubavitcher Rebbe zy”a teaches that if the Torah compares each individual to a mikdash m’at, a small Beis HaMikdash where Hashem’s presence can dwell, each of us must share certain basic characteristics of the Beis HaMikdash and its function as well.

Chazal teach that the windows in the Beis Hamikdash were narrow on the inside and wide on the outside, almost like a funnel. The reason for this was that the function of those windows was not to bring light in but rather to send light out – to light up the world with the reality of Hashem’s hashgacha and His presence in our physical reality. In the same way, says the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the windows of each and every Jew’s personal mikdash m’at of his or her avodas Hashem must be fashioned in this manner as well. In addition to focusing on our own growth and the degree to which we are succeeding in transforming our lives into a chariot for the Divine, we must also remain cognizant of the world around us and how sorely it needs the light that we have to share. When we merit any measure of spiritual illumination and clarity,  it is imperative that we use it to influence our surroundings, sharing what we have learned and felt with our fellow Jews so that they too may merit to host our Father in heaven in the structure of their daily lives.

In the zechus of the tzaddikim whose words bring our souls to life, may we merit to turn our lives into fitting sanctuaries for Hashem’s presence and to share that illumination with everybody around us!