All systems go? We are a go! Lift off! We read at the conclusion of our Parasha, Pekudei, that our tedious preparations for the Tabernacle have been finished and have been accepted. The Divine Godhead, the Shechina, has moved over the now completed and perfect Tabernacle. The Shechina is described as a low-hanging cloud over the People of Israel that guides us from place to place. It is seemingly omnipresent.
The Shechina is described as a low-hanging cloud over the People of Israel
In the Talmud (BT Sukkah 11b) we learn that no matter how hard one tries, the Shechina, sometimes called the Clouds of Glory (‘annanei hakavod), will always hover 10 handbreadths (tefachim) over anything, either the soil or a human-made structure. This symbolizes the inaccessibility and unknowability of the Shechina.
In the early days of the Earth, we read about our progenitors attempting to build a tower into the heavens. It is, of course, ridiculous that any mortal might attempt to touch G-d, which is why G-d scatters all the people to the four corners of the earth, because they thought they could bridge the gap between heaven and earth. We now know that this is impossible.
We are supposed to try to get as close as we can to G-d
This is not an argument by any means to not try to connect to G-d. We are supposed to try to get as close as we can to G-d, but unlike the builders of Babel, we must realize that we are tilting at windmills.
As our early sage, Rabbi Tarfon said, “it is not your responsibility to complete the labor, but neither are you free to spoil it.” If we apply Rabbi Tarfon’s popular aphorism to our connection with G-d, we are obligated to work to bring ourselves closer to the Divine. Yet, we will not and cannot get all the way there. But sometimes we brush on those 10 handbreadths in our spiritual lives. Each time we feel that spark of the Divine, we should see it as a gift, and we must keep it close, and treasure it.
Photo: © Alex Sietyy - stock.adobe.com