The Book of Exodus, mapping our people’s journey to Freedom, culminates in the building of the Mishkan (the portable sanctuary that we carried through the wilderness). Va’asuli Mikdash v’shochanti b’tocham. “Build for me a holy place so that I might dwell within.” This commandment is the one that I hear, the one that guides me each day as I journey to Freedom. Mishkan means “dwelling place”. Shochanti means “I will dwell.” And from the same root, Shechina… “She who dwells within us.”
God will take us out of Mitzrayim, the narrow place, the place of separation… in order to “be your God” which means to be in connection and to know the Oneness of all. How do we know that oneness? How do we come into connection? By building a holy place, by making a space in our hearts, relationships, communities, world… for God’s Presence, for Shechina. Without that holy place, that innerness… we are back in slavery, disconnected from the whole.
I make my heart into a Mishkan, a dwelling place for God, by cultivating an inner life, by listening into the silence, by being vulnerable to the beauty that transforms, by learning the power of wilderness, by clearing away the ashes of the past, by honoring the Holy of Holies at my core. From within, Shechina whispers.
I make my relationships into a Mishkan, a dwelling place for God, by stepping back in awe of my beloved, and trusting the space between us as holy, by stepping forward in service, by taking responsibility for my own triggers, by acknowledging the mystery of Love, by paying attention to the details of kindness. From the space between, Shechina speaks.
I make my community into a Mishkan, a dwelling place for God, by honoring differences while celebrating our shared humanity, by making room for expression, by not being afraid of conflict, by having faith in the process of collaboration, by laughing together, by learning from our mistakes and inspiring each other with visions. From among us Shechina sings.
I make my World into a Mishkan, a dwelling place for God, by trusting my heart, honoring my relationships, building communities, by knowing and living the interconnectedness of all Being, by enjoying each miraculous moment in unconditional gratefulness for the journey of Life, by spreading joy whenever I can, by keeping my heart open in compassion, by awakening the light at the core of darkness. From that innerness, Shechina shines.
Shechina isn’t somebody “other.” She lives whenever I build that holy place, whenever I make space for Her, whenever “I” get out of the way. She whispers, speaks, sings, shines whenever I am still enough to listen or transparent enough to channel Her Light.
Shechina isn’t some goddess outside us. She is the force that underlies and unifies all that is. When she touches me, I can only surrender to her power. In Her absence (my forgetfulness), I am inconsolable. When Shechina is hidden, I am enslaved, held captive on the surface of this world, a victim of circumstance. When Shechina reveals Herself, each moment unfolds in infinite, intricate beauty; each molecule vibrates in exquisite harmony; and darkness itself shines.
When Shechina is at home in my heart, my relationships, my community, my world… then this is The Promised Land flowing with milk from the Source of Nurture and honey from the sweetness of some unnamable essence.
It is the Mishkan that gives us access to the Shechina. And Her Presence opens the door to the infinite, right here at the heart of this finite world. She shows us the vastness, the eternal soul that still shines in each moment, even through the ravages of change, even through our dying. To experience that radiance, that light of Shechina, is to know Freedom.
It is the Mishkan that gives us access to the Shechina. And we must build the Mishkan by being generous, by paying attention to the details of spiritual practice, by forgiving the past and opening completely to the Divine flow, by bringing to this project, a highly-refined sense of beauty, creativity and adventure.
Shechina longs for us as we long for Her. “Build for me a holy place,” she calls, “so that I might dwell within.”
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