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February 23, 2001/Shevet 30, 5761, Vol. 53, No.21
Strive to 'be there' with God
Torah Study
RABBI BARRY TABACHNIKOFF
Mishpatim/Exodus 21:1-24:18
One of my favorite passages in the Torah appears in this week's portion, Mishpatim: "God said to Moses, 'Come up to Me on the mountain and be there.' " (Exodus 24:12) Using the classic style of interpretation found in Midrash Rabbah, I will start with an altogether different verse and move on from there to link up with the main theme in Exodus 24:12.
Gates of Prayer contains a quote from the Zohar that is included in service No. 3 on Friday night. It is a commentary on the verse "God said: 'Let there be light.' " (Genesis 1:3) The Zohar teaches: "At the creation, the universe from end to end radiated the light (of God's presence or Shechinah)." This holy light of God's indwelling was withdrawn and removed from us because of our sinful nature. But it is always there, waiting for a time of harmony in a future world when God's presence will be revealed once again, as it is written: "Light is sown for the righteous." (Psalms 97:11)
The Kedushah prayer quotes Isaiah 6:3: "Holy, holy, holy is Adonai of Hosts! The whole earth is full of God's glory." The Hasidic response to this verse is Ayei m'kom k'vodo? "Where is the place of God's glory?"
There is the story of the child who went crying to his grandfather, complaining about his playmates: "Grandfather, we were playing hide-and-seek, and it was my turn to hide. I hid really well, but they wandered off and did not even try to search for me."
The grandfather hugged his grandchild, nodded his head, and replied: "So, too, God hides from us and God weeps when we fail to search (for God)."
In a sense, life is like that. We are engaged in a process that can be compared to the game of hide-and-seek. We search for God, and it seems to us that God is hiding.
Several years ago, I taught a lesson from "Sparks Beneath the Surface" by Lawrence Kushner and Kerry Olitzky. They refer to a teaching by the rabbis, who taught that every word in the Torah is deliberate, and no word is redundant. With this principle in mind, the Kotzker rebbe questioned why our Torah tells Moses to "come up ... on the mountain" and then adds, "and be there."
If Moses goes up to the top of the mountain, is it not obvious that he would "be there"? The words "be there" seem unnecessary. Upon reflection, however, we realize that they do not merely describe a location but refer to a state of being, a mindset.
Moses' ascent to the mountaintop can serve as a model for each of us. We, too, are climbing spiritual mountains and striving to get closer to God. At a wedding, the bride and groom ascend a platform to stand under a chupah (marriage canopy), where they are commanded "to be fully present" to the experience of kiddushin, "sanctification of their lives through marriage."
Through the observance of the Holy Days, festivals, Sabbaths, and life-cycle events - even during ordinary, everyday moments - we strive to draw close to God, embrace the moment, and aspire to "be there." We are taught to be fully awake and fully present to each moment of our life experience.
Tomorrow when you wake up, don't just follow your routine of washing, dressing, eating, and going to work. Instead, imagine that you are responding to the divine invitation in Exodus 24:12: "Come up to Me on the mountain and be there."
Barry Tabachnikoff is the founding rabbi of Congregation Bet Breira in Miami, Fla. Torat Hayim, produced by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, is on the Internet at www.uahc.org/growth.
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