“And they shall make Me a mikdash (sanctuary) and I will
dwell within them.”
In this week’s Torah portion, G-d commands His people to
build a sanctuary so He can dwell b’tocham, which is often translated as
“in their midst” but literally means “within them”. Writes Marina Goodman on torah.org:
“The purpose of a sanctuary is to help each of us build our own inner sanctuary
where G-d can dwell.”
The purpose of a home, writes Goodman, is to be a
mikdash me’at, a miniature sanctuary. “Women were given the privilege
of being the makers of Jewish homes. The Hebrew word for homemaker is akeret
habayit. Akeret is the feminine version of ikar, which is the
central aspect, or the essence of something. Bayit usually means house or
home.”
“The Temple that stood in Jerusalem was called Beit HaMikdash,
where beit means ‘house of’ and mikdash [related to kadosh,
kodesh and kiddush] literally means holiness. Often it is
referred to simply as Habayit, the House. Thus, in Hebrew the same word
is used for both a home and the Holy Temple. An akeret habayit is
that central figure which transforms home into a sanctuary where each member of
her family can become a dwelling place for G-d’s presence. “
Writes Rebbetzin Chana Bracha Siegelbaum in her book, Women
at the Crossroads: “Being the chief of her home, the woman is compared to
the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) and the work in her home to Divine
service. Just as the Kohen Gadol kindles the menorah in the Beit
HaMikdash, the woman lights the Shabbat candles in her home. The bread she
bakes is like the showbread in the Temple. The food she cooks is like a sacrifice,
and the table she sets is an altar. Her goal is to imbue her home with
spirituality and fear of G-d. In the same manner that the Kohen Gadol
causes the Shechinah [G-d’s presence] to dwell in the world, the woman
invites the Shechinah to enter her home.”
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