Did you notice the inscription above the entrance?
בֵּ֖ית יְהֹוָ֣ה נֵלֵֽך
Let’s go to the house of God.
These three words come from Psalm 122
The full verse is:
"שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּעֲל֗וֹת לְדָ֫וִ֥ד שָׂ֭מַחְתִּי בְּאֹמְרִ֣ים לִ֑י בֵּ֖ית יְהֹוָ֣ה נֵלֵֽך"
A song of ascent attributed to David
“I rejoiced when they said to me, we are going to the house of God.”
Welcome to the House of God.
You are in a sacred space.
What makes this a sacred space? What is a house of God?
The holy Baal Shem Tov, a kabbalist and a teacher of deep torah from the 17th century explains that there are three axes through which holiness flows into the world: Olam, Shanah and Nefesh. Space, time and humanity.
I would like to highlight how these axes are present in this space, in this moment and in this community. I will begin with the axis of time.
For some of us, this is a sacred space because we came here with our parents and grandparents, our spouses, children and grandchildren. If you are one of these people, please whisper the names of those who are not physically present at this time, dead or alive, and invite them to be here with you.
For all of us please look to your right, you can see the names of hundreds, maybe thousands, of people who have come here over the years. People who invested in this place. People who contribute their time, treasure and talent to charge this place with meaning and holiness.
Now turn and look to your left. These are windows into the future.
If you look through the windows, you can see the playground of the Gordon school, This is where young Jewish plus children are being raised. Inspired by our history, learning our ancient language-Hebrew, absorbing our values. One thing that makes this place God‘s house, a sacred space, is the axis of time.
Past (point to the wall) future (point to the windows) and present (gesture at them). Shana - time.
The axis of space. This is a holy space.
When I walked into this sanctuary for the first time I was struck with awe.
I’ve been trying to understand what it is in the sacred architecture that makes this a holy space? What is it that evokes a feeling of reverence?
Look around this room and notice a feature of beauty that speaks to you.
Here are my observations.
There are seven arches in the ceiling.
The number seven represents completion. Like the seven days of creation.
There are 18 columns around this room each adorned with a Jewish symbol. In Jewish numerology 18 corresponds to the word chai alive.
There are 10 steps from the seating area all the way to the ark where the Torah scrolls are stored representing the 10 sefirot on the tree of life, The ten energies that the Jewish mystics use to describe the process in which God’s energy and wisdom comes into the world.
The Torah is located beyond the 10th step representing divine wisdom.
When we take an Aliyah to the Torah, we take 10 steps up to wisdom and then bring the wisdom down back to the level in which we live.
Notice the five windows in the back and the five sections in the dome above the ark representing the five books of the torah.
Notice the two burning bushes reminding us to ask: What holy passion is burning inside me?
Another feature of this place is how the indoor corresponds with the outdoor.
Look up at the chandeliers. They look like papyrus plants common in south florida gardens, the column heads are decorated with shapes that look like water plants. Even the AC lattices appear like leaves of native plants.
Olam -sacred space.
And last the axis of soul.
Each one of you brings your soul and you come here to do soul work. As our website declares, we are a place of soul searching, life enriching, and legacy preserving.
Our souls are enriched by coming here to be together with other souls.
Our tradition teaches that our souls are a divine spark from God. When we bring our souls together, those sparks turn into a flame.
We come together to remind each other: You have a soul.
Our souls are here for a journey.
The question we ask ourselves and each other this time of year is: Are we following our soul’s journey?
In some way our souls are like our faces. I will never see my head. I can only see a reflection of my face in the mirror, but I can see your face and your face.
So it is with our souls.
We need each other. Real soul work is done in a real community.
A real community that has a legacy from previous generations, a real community that has Tikkun Olam projects that are ongoing for over 113 years and will continue into the future. A real community is not a place where all you have to do is pay membership. It is a place where you can bring your full you.
Welcome to the house of God!
This is a house where your soul is welcomed, where you are valued not for the material wealth that you produce for share holders, but for the soul value that you bring.
We are extending an invitation to all of you to be part of the present and the future, while preserving the past of this holy place.
Our vision is for anyone who comes to the Center to feel they belong – whether they were born Jewish, chose Judaism, or neither.
We invite all of you.
Together We will make this Center a place where we put the J of Jewish before the oy to get to the possible Joy of being Jewish.
A place where we feel we belong by giving our gifts to each other and to God, however you understand God.
A place that we can all call home.
