Putting God First

Putting God First. This headline was posted on my LinkedIn feed. The questions we can ask. Do we put God first? Why and What does this mean?

This Parsha continues with the Mishkan, a building, a place where seek to connect to God. This is the prototype of our shuls, churches, mosques, or house of prayer.

Exodus 29:45

ושכנתי בתוך בני ישראל והייתי להם לאלהים׃

And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God.

We seek to connect to a higher power. Why? We seek to find meaning in life.

This blog will not focus on why we are not always inspired by going to Shul. I will leave that to another blog.

We are commanded to love a God we can not see or feel the impact.

We need to be conscious (have gratitude) of the gift of life, health, wealth, and have empathy for others and especially the poor, the stranger, and widow.

We are involved in a materialistic world, with structures and ceremonies.

The Mishkan itself is involved in ascetics, ceremony, clothing, and procedures.

Our shuls and life mirror these motifs.

But, as highlighted we were commanded to give with our hearts.

So, what is the heart of Judaism?

The heart of Judaism is the community. The community is made up of families and in the centre of this is the Shul.

When writing about the Heart, I was reminded of the fundraising campaign of Daughters Yishuv of Keren Reim.

I am sharing with you a moving video in English — “the heart” and a link to the donate page.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdkcCoSiJXo

https://givechak.co.il/kerem_reim?ref=sn

The video is very moving and is titled the Heart, And what is the Heart?

The community, the families, and the meeting place and house of worship. A place to nurture the next generation.

A community where God is put first, a community of helping each other, a place of friendship and caring.

These yIshivim are indeed an inspiration, a place where the eternal values of Torah and connection to our biblical homeland can spread the light of God.