In
this week's Torah portion we gain a perspective on the importance of making
space for others in order to help everyone fulfill their potential. We read that Moses finished the work of the Tabernacle
and then: “the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Presence of Adonai
filled the Tabernacle. Moses could not
enter the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud had settled upon it and the
Presence of Adonai filled the Tabernacle. When the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the
Israelites would set out, on their various journeys; but if the cloud did not
lift, they would not set out until such time as it did lift” (Ex. 40:34-37).
In
this way when God’s presence came to rest upon the Tabernacle God filled up all
of the space, and that's hardly surprising.
But with God taking up all the space it was impossible for the
Israelites to continue on their journey; only when God lifted the cloud, hovering
above the Tabernacle, were the Israelites able to move forward.
In
that situation God once again made the necessary space for the Israelites to
continue on their journey. God lifted and
allowed the people to once again be God's partners moving forward into the
wilderness and towards the Promised Land.
It must have been a powerful image for the people to look at the
Tabernacle in the center of the camp and to see that when it was filled with a
cloud they stopped. But when the cloud
was above, beckoning them, calling on them, then they were able to move forward
on their journey.
If
God was able to make space for the world to be created, and if God was able to
make space for the Israelites to continue on their journey into the wilderness;
how much the more so should we be conscious in our own lives of making space
for those around us. We can make the
space to allow others to flourish with us, rather than stifling them.
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