Tetzaveh
Where is the meeting point of the simple and the elaborate?
Reflection by Ariel Yisraelah Hendelman, the Or HaLev Team:
"The Torah portion of Tetzaveh, as the name indicates, details further instructions for the Divine service of the Mishkan, specifically the elaborate clothing (or `sacral vestments` as it is translated) for Aharon and the other Kohanim, including a special stone for each of the 12 tribes of Israel. Aharon and his sons will not only perform the priestly service, they are to do it in a particular way, adorned in gold and linen.
The word tetzaveh shares the same root as the word mitzvah. We often translate that word as `commandment,` which can sound heavy or rote. We see instead in this parshah mitzvot as means for coming close to the Infinite and of beautifying Divine service.
Amidst it all, we learn about the ner tamid, the candle or lantern that is kept continually lit in the Mishkan.
It seems that as adorned as the Kohanim are, the ner tamid is simple and unembellished.
We have here two models of spiritual practice - the elaborate and the simple. Both are necessary, somehow complementing each other.
In our meditation practice, there is an incredible attention to detail. Like the intricate vestments of the Kohanim, n retreat, we choose our spot in a particular section of the room, sit on a cushion or a chair, adjust our posture, ensure that our legs and arms are placed just so. All of this serves as a sacred container for the incredibly simple practice of meditation itself – inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, getting lost in thought, waking up and returning to the rhythm of the breath. It is this simplicity that rouses the hindrances which every meditator encounters. Boredom, fatigue and agitation only arise because the practice is so damn simple.
This moment contains all of it – the intentional and the effortless. Here and now is the only place where the two can meet in holy confluence.
May our practice become a holy of holies, where the simplicity of presence can illuminate every stitch and stone, and return them to their source."