Rabbi's Letters

Dear friends, 

Well, here we are facing our first “Grounded Shabbat.” How strange to think that we won't be greeting each other face to face and wishing one another peace and joy. That’s really what Shabbat is all about, taking time to reach for, to dream for and to share the hope inside each of us, for a good, safe and meaningful life. We humans need that space where the possibility of joy is made real just by our showing up.

This weeks' Torah portion of Vayakhel-Pekude is filled with the million and one details of how to build the Mishkan. The Mishkan was seen back in the day as the place where God’s presence resides and so the building of that holy space was a serious endeavor indeed. I believe that one of the most glaring differences from our ancestors perception of God with ours today is that for us,  God is seen as residing in the human heart instead of in a place of brick and mortar. And that makes the sacred space of God’s presence to be found right inside of each of us. Yet the message of this Parashat, what ever we believe of God’s residence,  is that one must BUILD the space. And like an architect of any sort, the details matter and being proactive is the key. No blue prints make themselves. That’s up to us.

Look at the time we now have to take a deep and serious look at the details that make up the many layers of our lives. Is your heart the master of your intricate detailing? Is God’s goodness the impetus for the seeds you sow? These questions are at the core of this weeks' Torah. 

It seems to me that, one way or the other, this frightening shut down of our lives and all of the systems that we know and thought to be true, are not the real truths of our existence at all. We are mostly able now, to take this time to look inward, there’s not much more that we can do, locked up in our personal isolation. Perhaps the time has arrived for us to settle in and focus on the only things that a human CAN KNOW, if you are here you have been invited. If you have been invited it is because something good is expected of you that only you can bring to the world stage. Now’s the time to look deep into the details of how you live your life, because answering those questions will show you the spiritual direction you need to go. These days are for listening to that still small voice within, it is coming from your heart and it is the place of God.

Please follow the links below if you would like a short Shabbat service on YouTube. We are still figuring out better streaming options, but for now, YouTube will do. Please click directly on the links to watch. 

Part 1- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCHRn-HNl4A&t=12s

Part 2- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijNl-mJlQwE&t=2s

With a deeply connected love,

Shabbat shalom

Rabbi Julie Kozlow

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