Sheva Brachot (Part 5)
A husband and wife are one soul, separated only through their descent to this world. When they are married, they are reunited again.
Zohar HaKadosh
The third of the Sheva Brachot is: Blessed are you, Hashem, our
Why is this blessing included as part of the Sheva Brachot? In Bereshit (1:26) Hashem declares, “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.” The use of the plural term “us” is unexpected. It would seem to make more sense had Hashem said “Let Me make man.”
Among the several fascinating interpretations offered to explain why Hashem speaks in the plural is that of the Zohar HaKadosh. The Zohar HaKadosh (1:13) offers an astonishing insight. When Hashem said “Let us make man”, He was talking to mankind. It is as if Hashem is saying to each and every one of us, “I am giving you all the raw material that you need. I am placing your soul in a corporeal body so that you can exist in the physical world. I am equipping you with your traits and your capabilities. I am supplying you with everything that you need to reach your potential. And now it is up to you to stretch beyond the physical and to identify and to connect to the Divine that is within you.”
Or, in the words of Rabbi Mendel Kaplan (1913-1985), the legendary educator, Maggid
Shiur and spiritual mentor in the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, “The whole aim and purpose of a Jew is that your grandfather should recognize you, and your grandson should recognize you!” And, perhaps, it is possible to add that a person should recognize themselves.
The Gemara relates (Chagigah 12a) that Reish Lakish, on expounding the Name of Hashem “E-l
Shad-dai, explains that it means “Ani Hu sheamarti leolam di – I am the One Who told the world ‘enough’.” The word “di – enough” infers that there was room for more but by declaring “enough” Hashem deliberately left the world unfinished. It goes without question that Hashem could have created a world that is perfect. A world that requires no human participation to bring it to a state of completion. But Hashem chose to leave the world incomplete so that we should bring it to a state of perfection. In the words of the Zohar HaKadosh, “Let us make man” means that human beings have become partners with Hashem in the creation. The Zohar HaKadosh continues, “Hashem made us in such a way that we are able to benefit from each other and to fill the needs of each other.”
And that is the connection between our blessing and the Chattan and the Kallah. As they stand under the chuppah and start the process of building their home together, our blessing is informing them that the foundations that they are preparing must reflect the fact that they are partners with Hashem. Partners in building, not just their own personal home, but, in a certain way, the whole world. Because each Jewish home has the potential to be a Mikdash
Me’at – a microcosm of the Holy Temple.
As the Torah begins the narrative that contains the command to build the Tabernacle, Hashem reveals its raison d’être (Shemot 25:8), “They shall make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.” The commentaries point out that, seemingly, the verse should have said, “They shall make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell in it.” But Hashem says, “…so that I may dwell among them.” The Rabbis explain that Hashem is teaching us a fundamental lesson. Our relationship with Hashem is not reserved only for the “religious” moments in our lives. We should not make the mistake of imagining that Hashem can only be found in the synagogue during our Tefillot. That when I am in the synagogue I am with Hashem, and when I leave, I leave Him there.
Nothing could be further from the truth! When Hashem states, “They shall make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.” He is telling us that, because we are partners with Him in the creation, He will dwell in each and every Jewish home so long as it is established in purity and sanctity.
And that is the essence of our blessing. As Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner so eloquently describes: There are two structures mentioned in the Torah, the Ark that Noach built and the Tabernacle. A Jewish home must be both an Ark and a Tabernacle. Our homes must keep the forces of corruption outside just like the Ark did. And our homes must also be a Tabernacle, imbued with holiness so that they become a fitting place for the Shechinah to dwell in.
To be continued…
