The term “Holy Ground” may bring to mind many famous locations including the Kotel (The Western Wall),synagogues, churches, etc…
Having visited Arlington National Cemetery and Ground Zero near the World Trade Center,I am sure that you would agree that final resting places of our loved ones are also holy ground. Ask yourself what sanctifies ground? Perhaps a shul is considered holy because a community of people has agreed that this particular building will serve unifying spiritual purposes, including prayer,gatherings for mutual support, Torah study, shared Tzedakah and Yomtov (Holiday) observances. Perhaps a cemetery or the site of a terrible and tragic loss is holy because it is a tangible link to our loved ones. Visiting a cemetery or a place where a tragedy has occurred connects us to those loved ones who are at the very core of our being; having shaped our identities they contributed to who and what we are as people.
When standing at a cemetery or at the site of loss, often overwhelmed with emptiness we are carried back to a moment or a season of fullness. It is that journey from fullness to emptiness that we sense at a cemetery. It is that stark spiritual awareness of loss and the awareness of what we possessed and still possess that is Kedushah (holiness). Kedushah is that heartfelt call to anchor ourselves with love and memory in the past while seeking to transmit an essence of our loved ones into the future.
In this week’s Parsha (Tzav), Aaron and his sons are dedicating the first Israelite worship site which is called Mishkan (portable sanctuary). For seven days, Aaron and his four adult sons dwell in a small enclosure located just inside the outer gate of the Mishkan. They are not allowed to exit the gate to enter the camp, nor are they allowed to go further into the Mishkan. They are on holy ground in preparation of establishing a sanctuary for the community and a spiritual support system for individuals who celebrate joy and experience grief. In those ancient days, the Mishkan was the greatest embodiment of holiness (Kedushah) because it served to connect Israelites to G-d. Now that we no longer have sacrifices and incense offering, how do we connect ourselves to G-d? In your own lives, where is the holy ground?
May your Shabbat be a season of holy time. May you find an element of the non-ordinary realm by rooting yourself in Shabbat, by being with family and friends in a way which is anything but routine.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Steve Silberman
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