“Jacob awoke from his dream and said, ‘Surely the ETERNAL is present in this place, and I did not know it!’ Shaken, he said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven.’” (Genesis 28:16-17)
This week’s Torah portion includes the beautiful text that we read above our Ark in the Sanctuary – מַה־נּוֹרָא הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה — How awesome is this place! And then inside the Ark we learn what it is that is supposed to make a synagogue or any other place for that matter, awesome: it should be a שַׁעַר הַשָּׁמָיִם, a “gateway to heaven.”
A synagogue is to be a place that brings us closer to God, to our highest values, and to our best selves.
Tonight we return indoors to our Sanctuary for Friday night services. Whether you join us in person or online, it is our goal in our worship to uplift and inspire so that we can be filled with a sense of awe and wonder and the beauty and possibilities of what we as individuals and as a community can become.
Shabbat shalom.
— Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback