Parshat Vayakhel / Inside Shabbat

This weeks Parsha begins with the commandment of Shabbat. "On six days work shall be done, but the seventh day shall be holy for you, a day of complete rest for God (Ex. 35:2). Shabbat is often termed by the Kabbalists as "panim," "the face."

Traditionally, a Jewish wedding ceremony is followed by a glorious week of celebration with seven festive meals. At each meal the wedding is re-enacted by the repetition of the seven blessings which were recited under the wedding canopy.

The blessings may only be recited if there is at least one new face present. Yet, there is one day when a new face is not required to recite the blessings: Shabbat.

This is because Shabbat itself is considered the new face, the source of all renewal. In the presence of Shabbat we move from outward appearances of the outer surface to the infinite depth of the inner face.

Moving inside

The Hebrew term for the Holy of Holies is L'P'nei ul'Panim, literally meaning 'the inside of the inside.' That, however, is but the entrance to the magic of the words. Hold on, for the mystical magic of language has just begun.

The Hebrew word for "inside," p'nim, has two other meanings as well. The first, not surprisingly, is face. My face is the place where my insides are revealed.

There are forty-five muscles in the face, most of them unnecessary for the biological functioning of the face. Their major purpose, it would seem, is to express emotional depth and nuance. They are the muscles of the soul.

Every muscle of the face reflects another nuance of depth and interiority. When I say, "Let's speak face to face," I am in need of an intimate conversation. All of the cell phones and sophisticated internet hook-ups can't give me that. While amazingly efficient and effective, they are cannot supply the face-to-face dimension of true love conversations.

The cherubs were not stationary fixtures. When integrity and good ruled the land the cherubs were face-to-face, and the focal point of Shechina energy rested erotically, ecstatically, between the embracing cherubs.

But when discord and evil held sway in the kingdom the cherubs turned from each other, appearing back-to-back, to reflect a world was amiss, alienated, ruptured. Face-to-face, the world was harmonized, hopeful, embraced. Thus, face-to-face in the Torah is the most highly desirable state.

This inner state is aroused whenever we move so deeply into what we do, who we are with, or where we are, that its interiority stirs our heart and imagination.

Exile and Shabbat

To the mystic, exile is when one's inside and outside are not connected in the day to day of living. This exile is analogous to the six days of the week.

In contrast, Shabbat models interior living. When I am not living from the inside, I am not living naturally. I am not in the flow of my own life.

Sharing ourselves

The Book of Leviticus tells of the temple's high priest who once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of At-one-ment, enters the Holy of Holies. Every person has a Holy of Holies which, in those most intimate of times, we let another enter as the priest to worship at our altar.

And in the gorgeous paradox of the spirit, by letting our loved ones enter, we ourselves are let in as well. For when the Temple door is open and our loved ones enter, we ourselves trail behind.

We gain uncommon access to our inner selves, a place which we alone are often unable to reach. The true lover always takes you home. Love lets us realize the Eden we are dwelling

in every day.

That is what it means to feel at home in your life, the greatest feeling in the world. It is in this sense that the Kabbalists consistently refer to Shabbat as the Garden of Eden.

Rabbi Mordechai Gafni - Teacher and student of Torah; Leader of Bayit Chadash Spiritual Community and Movement; Chair of Integral Kabbalah at Integral Institute of Ken Wilber

The "Bayit Chadash" website: www.bayitchadash.org