25 Jul Staying Grounded
It’s an interesting period for our family. Dassy and I still have the opportunity to serve in the role of spiritual leaders here in town. There’s a lot taking place within the shul and community, and we also feel a sense of urgency to spend some quality time with so many of you who made our 12-year journey here such a special one.
Then there is the need to prepare for our move to Florida later in the summer. While there’s always a need to balance work and family life, the juggling act can sometimes feel daunting. We’re here in Raleigh with an eye towards embarking on our new life, with a new school, home, positions and community. What is an effective way to remain present and focused?
As some of our faithful readers may be accustomed do, I look to the weekly Parsha for guidance. This week’s portion of Beha’aloscha did not disappoint! There is a significant section that describes the travels of the Jewish people in the desert.
At the very center of the Israelite camp stood the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary that housed the Divine presence. Surrounding the Mishkan were the tents of the Kohanim and Levites who served in the Sanctuary, and beyond that, where the tent communities of the 12 tribes of Israel—three tribes to the east, three to the south, three to the west and three tribes to the north.
During their 40-year journey in the desert, the Jewish people sometimes stayed in one place for over a year and sometime only encamped for a single day.
What determined when it was time to pack up? Above the Mishkan hovered a cloud signifying the Divine presence which dwelled within it; when the cloud lifted, that was the sign that it was time to move on. There was no pre-set period for each encampment.
Yet even the very brief stops did not prevent the Jewish people from constructing the approximate 4,600 sq foot Mishkan with all of its heavy panels, sockets, posts and other structural components with the same diligence and focus on detail, as though they it would remain there for many years.
What gave them the encouragement to unpack, schlep and assemble the large and heavy Mishkan? The awareness that the command was coming from a Higher Authority. When G-d tells you to build a structure, even if only for a few days or weeks, it loses the status of a temporary structure and gets upgraded to the status of a majesty, significant and lasting structure. After all, it is G-d who wants this to be put up!
What a powerful lesson in how we view each stage of our lives! If at every period of life, we are preparing for the next stage, when is the right time to be fully focused, happy, and content that I have reached my destination and that I’m not just preparing for the next stage of life?
Back to our case, the decision to leave was a very difficult one, as many of you know. Yet the awareness that Hashem has directed us to have our Mishkan, our dwelling place here in Raleigh for 12 productive years is truly gratifying. And the strong belief (after much deliberation and prayer) that Hashem is guiding our steps by sending us the signal to move to a new destination per our family’s needs while another dedicated couple assumes our role is invaluable.
I want to share a story that powerfully highlights this point. In the mid 1920’s the Rebbe entered the apartment of his father-in-law and previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (who our son is named after). The previous Rebbe was living in Leningrad at the time and was scheduled to leave for the train station just a few minutes later where he would travel to Moscow. The purpose of the trip was to meet with some foreign businessman to raise funds to support his underground network devoted to keeping Judaism alive throughout Soviet Russia.
The trip was fraught was danger as the previous Rebbe was constantly being watched and closely monitored by the NKVD (later known as the KGB). Spreading Judaism was strictly prohibited by the Communist regime. Indeed, a short time later, Schneersohn was arrested and sentenced to death for his “counter-revolutionary activities” (the Previous Rebbe subsequently was miraculously spared and ultimately released from prison.)
When the son-in-law walked in, he was shocked to find the Previous Rebbe working calmly at his desk, deeply immersed in thought, while writing a Torah essay, as if it were an ordinary day.
When the future Rebbe marveled at the extent of his ability to remain composed and focused in such trying of circumstances, his father-in-law responded:
“There is a concept called “hatzlocha in zeman,” success in time. We cannot make our days longer, nor can we add additional hours to our nights. But we can maximize our usage of time by regarding each segment of time as a world of its own. When we devote a portion of time—whether it is an hour, a day or a minute—to a certain task, we should be totally invested in what we are doing, as if there exists nothing else in the world.
You must of course be aware of the differences between important things and things of lesser importance, between means and ends, between journeys and destinations. But in whatever you are involved, you are fully there. You are never just “getting it done” or “getting it over with.” When you are on the way to something, you are fully invested in being on the way to something.”
Every segment of our lives, no matter how fleeting or temporary, has a center, a purpose, an objective: it is what G-d wants from me, now at this moment, hence it is not only an obstacle to get over, but possess meaning and magic all its own. It’s certainly a challenging lesson to pick up, but if we can be mindful of this even some of the time, we will view the many junctures of our lives in a more fulfilling and enriching manner.
Wishing you much success in wherever your Mishkan is encamped!
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