Making Space for God鈥檚 Presence
At the outset of the pandemic, the hospital in which I served as a chaplain put all of the Covid+ patients in one Intensive Care Unit, which became known as 鈥渢he unit.鈥� But as days turned to months this Covid+ unit became 鈥渢he first鈥� Covid unit, and when the entire hospital was filled with Covid+ patients, there was no longer a need for the name. During those dark days, I often referred to the hospital as my congregation; in it we all sought God’s presence in a new way, since these were times of uncertainty and terror.
Two years later, when most of the Covid patients were being managed on medical floors, the ICUs could once again be used for regular intensive care patients. The close-knit staff on 鈥渢he unit鈥� were having trouble with this transition, and they called me. They needed help to turn 鈥渢he unit鈥� back into their ICU. 鈥淭he unit鈥� was where people went who could not be helped. The ICU was a place of sophisticated technologies and medical miracles. They had witnessed so much loss and trauma in this space, they could not imagine the ICU treating patients who were going to heal and go home.
鈥淚t’s not that we believe in ghosts, rabbi, but we literally see the ones we lost鈥攕o many of them. Their faces are everywhere鈥�.
When my staff and I entered the unit, we were astonished. It really didn鈥檛 look like 鈥渢he unit鈥� anymore. The walls had been spackled and painted, the floors had been waxed, the windows cleaned. But the staff could still see the faces of thepatients they had lost. I could see them too. We all could. The goal of our visit was to rededicate 鈥渢he unit,鈥� restoring it to a place of physical healing and a sanctuary for God鈥檚 presence.
We began to sing:
鈥淥h Lord Prepare me, to be a sanctuary, Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living Sanctuary for You.鈥�
Our rededication of the hospital鈥檚 ICU echoed for me the original 黑料社 sacred space described in the Book of Exodus. The double Torah reading for Vayak-hel and Pekudei provides God鈥檚 blueprint for a traveling sacred space that the Israelites would build during their journey through the wilderness. As they travelled, they would carry a place for the presence of God and for revelatory encounters between God and the high priests on behalf of the people. It would be a space for doing sacred work and for being with God.
The Torah embeds its design plan with a series of doubles鈥攏ames, spaces, and imagery.
First, this double Torah reading provides two different parts of the construction that appear to be referred to by different names: the tabernacle (Mishkan) referring to the central space, and the tent (ohel) referring to the covering spread over it and enlarging its area.
In Exodus 40:19 we read:
讜址讬执旨驻职专止砖讉 讗侄转-讛指讗止讛侄诇, 注址诇-讛址诪执旨砖职讈讻指旨谉, 讜址讬指旨砖侄讉诐 讗侄转-诪执讻职住值讛 讛指讗止讛侄诇 注指诇指讬讜, 诪执诇职诪指注职诇指讛–讻址旨讗植砖侄讈专 爪执讜指旨讛 讛鈥� , 讗侄转-诪止砖侄讈讛
And he spread the tent (ohel) over the tabernacle (mishkan), and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as God commanded Moses.
The instructions for building the Mishkan contain distinct parallels to the creation of the world, resulting in a kind of doubling. In both the creation of the world and the creation of the Mishkan, work ceases on Shabbat (Gen. 2:1鈥�3; Exod. 35:1鈥�2). In the descriptions of the creation of both the world and the Mishkan, the work is judged to have been appropriately done (Gen. 1:31; Exod. 39:43), after which the same Hebrew verb 讻.诇.讛. is used to describe the completion of both the Mishkan and the world (Gen. 2:1; Exod. 40:33). Just as God had built a space for humanity, humans were to build a space for God.
The Torah devotes 31 verses to the creation of the world, and between 300鈥�400 to the Sanctuary. Why does this project with two names and two parts and doubled imagery receive so much attention? And if it is so important, why would it have dual purposes?
A verse earlier in Exodus gives us a hint. In Parshat Terumah (Exodus 25鈥�27), the first of the four construction parshiyot, verse 8 explains very simply to the Israelites why they will build this 鈥淢ishkan鈥�:
讜职注指砖讉讜旨 诇执讬, 诪执拽职讚指旨砖讈; 讜职砖指讈讻址谞职转执旨讬, 讘职旨转讜止讻指诐.
And let them make Me a Sanctuary that I may dwell among them.
From this verse we learn that God understands the people need tangible evidence of the indwelling of the Divine Presence鈥攁 place for God to be. The following midrash from Shemot Rabbah responds with great relational sensitivity to the idea that God will 鈥渓ive鈥� among the people. It explains that theSanctuary was created for two purposes: a place for God to be and a place for encounters with God to be enacted.
The midrash tells of a person who gives his only daughter in marriage to a suitor from another place. The person says to their daughter, 鈥淚 cannot ask you not to move away, but it makes me so sad to know you will be far from me. Please, wherever you live, build an extra room for me, so that I can come to visit you.鈥� The Israelites are like the daughter, creating a space in their home for God even when God feels distant, and a place for encounters with God when God does visit.
This parable explains that the people needed two things from this relationship; to be assured of God鈥檚 presence among them during their journey, as well as a place for special moments that elevate their worship. The people can experience God as a powerful encounter that comes from the formal worship of the high priests, or as a constant presence of protection and comfort. And so the project needs to be both; the Mishkan鈥攁 place for God鈥檚 presence as well as an ohel moed鈥攁 sacred space for Divine encounters.
After our voices quieted, I talked about how 鈥渢he unit鈥� had been a sanctuary. It once held unforgettable sacred encounters. I had counseled many times there that surely God too, was deeply saddened by the fragility of human life they鈥檇 witnessed. It was also, I stretched, a place of God鈥檚 comforting presence, joining them through the work of their tender hands and hearts. Now, through this time together, it would be a tabernacle with two distinct, sacred purposes: an ohel moed, a tent of meeting, for coming together to encounter God in doing the sacred work of healing, and a Mishkan, a space for God鈥檚 presence to dwell among them.
Quiet tears on smiling faces showed that we had in fact rededicated this Mishkan. This ritual of naming the awful experiences of the past foreshadowed the way the medical staff could envision themselves as God鈥檚 partners moving forward and working together to heal the sick.
The publication and distribution of the JTS Commentary are made possible by a generous grant from Rita Dee (锄鈥漧) and Harold Hassenfeld (锄鈥漧).
