You Do You

Terumah 5784 - It is by inherently being ourselves in the world that we turn ourselves into a sanctuary

Sanctuary by Randy Scruggs and John Thompson, son by Cantor Rachel Brook at Anshe Emet in Chicago, IL

“Lord prepare me, to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true. And with thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for You.” This beautiful hymn (originally written for churches by Randy Scruggs and John Thompson) has been making the rounds in Jewish communities, congregations, and communal song circles over the last decade or so. The melody (sung here by Cantor Rachel Brook) is so beautiful and so easy to jump in and sing along to. But what do the words actually mean? 

The sentiment and the idea come directly from this week’s parashah, Terumah (and many Jewish communities who sing it now add this Hebrew verse into the melody when they sing it). We read, 

"וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם (שמות כה:ח)"

“And you shall make for me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them (Exodus 25:8).”

There is an important difference to notice in the Hebrew and the English prose of the song. If you look in the Hebrew, you’ll see that it is not us asking God to prepare us to be a sanctuary, rather it is God asking us to make the sanctuary. The Chassidic masters all understood that we’re talking not about the physical tabernacle but about turning ourselves into a sanctuary for holiness. The explicit difference here is that the actor in the situation is us - not God. It is up to us to make the change.

Rabbi Shalom Noach Berezovsky (AKA the Netivot Shalom) tells us that this is the objective of creation, that each and every Jew should be in and of themselves a Sanctuary/Temple. And when a person really thinks about this idea, their souls should light up and they should say to themselves, “Who am I, a human being made of dust and ashes, that the Holy One who cannot even be contained by all of the heavens wants to reside within me?! I should make sure that that residence is pure and holy and beautiful and true...

We are worthy! Even from the outset we are worthy. But how do we see ourselves as such? And how do we ready ourselves to receive holiness, to share space with divinity? The Netivot Shalom continues: 

וְהַדֶּרֶךְ לִבְנוֹת כָּל יְהוּדִי אֶת ביהמ"ק שֶׁלּוֹ, הִיא כְּדִכְתִיב "וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה מֵאֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ (שמות כה:ב)," 

And the way to make yourself into a sanctuary is through “you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves them (Exodus 25:2)...” 

לְכָל אָדָם יֵשׁ עִנְיָנִים מְסֻיָּמִים שֶׁלִּבּוֹ מִשְׁתּוֹקֵק אֲלֵיהֶם בְּיוֹתֵר, כָּל אֶחָד וְעִנְיָנָיו, וְהַתְּרוּמָה הִיא מֵאֵת כָּל אִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ,  שֶׁיִּמְסֹר אֶת הַדָּבָר הַהוּא שֶׁתְּשׁוּקַת לִבּוֹ מְיֻחֶדֶת אֵלָיו תְּרוּמָה לַה', וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה הוּא בּוֹנֶה אֶת בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ שֶׁלּוֹ... 

Each person has certain interests that their heart yearns for the most, and the “gift from every person whose heart moves them” is when they seek after that interest that they yearn for. And by way of that they build a sanctuary of their own. 

It is by inherently being ourselves in the world that we turn ourselves into a sanctuary. You are you and you are special. No one else is like you or has ever been. And when you walk through the world in a way that is true to yourself, you turn yourself into a sanctuary. 

Our sages teach that each and every person has something on this earth that only they can fix, and when each person goes after their purpose, that which their heart yearns for, behold they are building that sanctuary for themselves.

You are holy. You are worthy of love and desire and success and community. You are worthy of being seen and being heard. Be yourself, pursue your passions, and in doing so you will be making a sanctuary, a mikdash - you will fill yourself and the world up with holiness and connection. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Josh Warshawsky