Yesterday the Jewish Society held a Shabbaton in morning. Leading the Shabbaton was Bill, a Chicago native, but since has moved to Scotland as his wife works here at the University. Bill always leads our Saturday service and each time does something different and unique. Yesterday Bill decided to flip the service on those attending and begin with a bit of Torah and then do a bit of prayer.
Bill walked us through, and asked us to visualize, the tabernacle. He told us of its three sections. The first was a place for anyone to come in and leave a sacrifice for their personal needs. The second, divided by a curtain, was the Tent of Meeting, where Moses spoke with G-d. The third, also divided, was where the Holy of Holies were kept. After the brief tour and the details of its construction, Bill walked us through the prayer service as if we were a person walking through the Tabernacle. First, we say the the Birchot HaShachar, we bless G-d regarding our needs and our concerns. This would be like the sacrifices and offering in the first tent. Next we move onto the prayers like Ashrei and Shma. Prayers that bring us closer to the divine. Our concerns are no longer the main focus, but now our concerns with God our. Finally, we move to the Amidah, the Holy of Holies. Here we are on a whole different level, a level of complete spirituality.
We only said a few prayers, but it was nice to pray with the image of the Tabernacle in my mind.
A word of Torah, I hope you enjoyed. A little late, but Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov.
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