Trumah: Chapter 52

The center of the World

Synopsis

Here, Rabbi Yosi discusses, "When you have eaten and are replete, then you shall bless the Creator your Elohim for the good land which He has given you." He says the Holy Land is the center of the world, and in the center of that is Jerusalem, and in the center of that is the Holy of Holies. Everywhere on earth is nourished from this one place. In the wilderness where the Other Side dominates, we learn, the children of Yisrael wandered for forty years. If they had been righteous during that time they would have removed the Other Side from the world, but instead they strengthened it. Moses died on Mount Avarim and was buried by the Shechinah. We are next told that Moses dominated the mountain, and that he showed thatthose who die in the wilderness will rise at the resurrection of the dead. Rabbi Yosi then tells us that God sent a goat to a mountain called Azazel, which is the stronghold of the Other Side. Finally, we learn that if one who delights at his table worries about the holiness of the Holy Land and the sanctuary of the King that has been destroyed, he will be remembered by God as though he re-built the ruins of the Temple.

Relevance

A reading of this passage conjoinsour souls to the Holy of Holies, the wellspring and fountainhead of all spiritual nourishment. This sacred connection is critical if our prayers are to be answered, if our lives are to be renewed with passion, peace, prosperity, and blessedness.

The Temple is a refuge from death itself, such is the resplendence of this Light. Thus, a heartfelt visual embrace of this text rebuilds the spiritual Temple, as if by our own hands. The long hidden Light begins to shine and death dies. Evil is laid to waste and goodness fills the land. The dead are readied for Resurrection in a process that will embody sweet mercy and disburden.