Location Matters: Creating Sacred Spaces in our Communities
Location, Location, Location.
In the world of real estate, those are keywords. A gorgeous mansion in a run down neighborhood and basic home in a lavish community are viewed through different lenses by potential buyers. The physical structure is not as critical as the location in which it is located. We see that clearly in this week’s parsha, Parshat Re’eh.
הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֔ פֶּֽן־תַּעֲלֶ֖ה עֹלֹתֶ֑יךָ בְּכׇל־מָק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּרְאֶֽה׃ כִּ֣י אִם־בַּמָּק֞וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֤ר יְהֹוָה֙ בְּאַחַ֣ד שְׁבָטֶ֔יךָ שָׁ֖ם תַּעֲלֶ֣ה עֹלֹתֶ֑יךָ וְשָׁ֣ם תַּעֲשֶׂ֔ה כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י מְצַוֶּֽךָּ׃
Guard yourself lest you bring an offering to any place that you like. Only in the place that Hashem has chosen in one of your tribes should you bring your offerings and there you shall do all that Hashem has commanded you.
- Devarim 12:13-14
During the early stages of the Jewish people crossing the Jordan River and beginning their conquest of the Land of Israel, the Jewish people sacrificed and cooked the meat they ate on altars known as bamot. The altars were not to be used for sacrificial offerings. They were only to be used to prepare our daily consumption of meat. They were sanctioned as long as the Temple and the altars within were not fully constructed and in use.
We see the contrast later in the parsha regarding tithes:
וְנָתַתָּ֣ה הַכֶּ֡סֶף בְּכֹל֩ אֲשֶׁר־תְּאַוֶּ֨ה נַפְשְׁךָ֜ בַּבָּקָ֣ר וּבַצֹּ֗אן וּבַיַּ֙יִן֙ וּבַשֵּׁכָ֔ר וּבְכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּֽשְׁאָלְךָ֖ נַפְשֶׁ֑ךָ וְאָכַ֣לְתָּ שָּׁ֗ם לִפְנֵי֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֖ אַתָּ֥ה וּבֵיתֶֽךָ׃
You shall take your consecrated funds to purchase whatever your heart desires - meat, sheep, wine, beer - anything that you desire, and you shall consume it before Hashem, your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.
- Devarim 14:26
The altar of the Temple and that of the bamot, the external altars outside to Temple, were constructed exactly the same. They were made of stone, with a pyre on top to cook the meat to crispy perfection. Yet, during the time of the Temple, those structurally identical bamot were no longer sanctioned and able to be used. Why the change?
Our second source gives us a bit of insight into this question. How does something mundane become sacred? How does a heap of stone and a pyre of fire become the tools for religious expression? Location.
In our first source, we are talking about the time prior to the settling of the land of Israel. The Jewish people will undergo years of nomadic movement as they travel from location to location settling the land of Israel. During this time, their religious centers are in constant flux that it requires the Jewish people to make a shift. There is not one center of religious ritual, there are many. Each of these locations allows the nomadic nation state to continue to connect and center themselves in the image of the Torah.
Once the land of Israel is within Jewish hands and the Temple is established, the shift from nomad to settler begins to take shape. The altars come into the embrace of Hashem’s home in the Temple and allow the Jewish people to reconnect and invest in their relationship with Hashem. This altar, in this location, is not like before.
In our modern times when we are not yet privileged to have the third Temple reestablished, our shuls, school and study halls are where we have created locations of communion with Hashem. How we show up, dress, engage, interact and focus in these shared spaces shows us and others what these places mean, what they represent and how central the relationship with Hashem is that we are intentionally investing in.
In our modern times, our locations challenge us to create these sacred spaces for our communities.