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me’at), a microcosm of the Holy Temple; and the study hall (beit God’s ideal vision for His world. Ultimately, no evil comes directly
midrash), the house of learning, embodies a special sanctity as well. from God, yet He allows the possibility of evil to exist in order to
Every Jewish home can potentially be transformed into a “holy allow human beings to choose. Why does He do this? Because without
space” if it is treated properly. When filled with holy books, Jewish this ability to choose, human beings could not actualize their full
art, and ritual articles, a spiritual ambience is created. Words of potential – living as beings created in “the image of God.” And yet,
Torah and the observance of mitzvot raise the level of holiness even ironically, the choices made by human beings often seem to prevent
further. Finally, when shalom bayit (peace in the home) saturates the God’s ultimate will from coming to fruition.
home, it becomes a fitting place for the Divine Presence to dwell.
Herein rests the even greater paradox of how human free will can
Parenthetically, just as the home can lack spiritual content or fail exist simultaneously with God’s Omniscience and Divine Providence.
to be a fitting vessel for God’s Presence, the body, which is the soul’s If God possesses foreknowledge of all things and nothing occurs in this
home, may also turn into a distant and cold host. The soul itself is a world beyond the purview of his overarching Providence, how can
“actual part of God Above,” yet it may either choose to minimize or human being’s truly possess free will? At the heart of Moses’ question
maximize the spark of God animating it: keeping the spark small and about God’s goodness and the existence of evil lies an even deeper
insignificant or fanning the flame until it bursts into a fiery torch. existential paradox concerning the seeming contradiction between
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Regarding holiness in time, Shabbat is transformed from “ordinary” human free will and God’s Omniscience and Divine Providence.
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time into holy time when a person plugs into the inherent holiness As the Midrash states, Moses “is the first redeemer and he [his soul
that the Shabbat was imbued with by God during the seven days reincarnated as Mashiach] will be the last redeemer” (Shemot Rabbah
of creation. This holiness exists independently of human action and 4:2). This statement links the souls of Moses and Mashiach together.
unless we tune into this dimension it may go completely unnoticed. The connection between Moses and Mashiach is further stressed by
All of time in potential can reveal the holiness of God’s presence both their Hebrew names beginning with the letters mem and shin. In
within it, yet Shabbat has been chosen by God as the most auspicious the future Moses’ unease and worry will be transformed and uplifted
day to feel the holiness in time. by Mashiach who will usher in a new level of human consciousness.

The fourth level of understanding the juxtaposition of Shabbat The worry Moses carried in his heart was in a sense a reflection of
and the Tabernacle lies in sod, the mystical realm. On this level, God’s own discomfort, as it were, with the way human history has
the juxtaposition of the realms of holy time and space reveal their evolved. Moses had tapped into the very essence of his Creator and
ultimate unity, as discovered on a scientific level only a hundred years into the intrinsic state of paradox inherent in any understanding of
ago by Albert Einstein. Until Einstein’s discovery, scientists assumed God’s fundamental nature and of the purpose of creation. Only in
that time and space were unrelated; science now understands that the future will God reveal His face. At that time all the secrets of
they are intrinsically interwoven. Sefer Yetzirah actually revealed human history will be revealed and humanity will then be able to
long ago that all reality consists of “world” (the three dimensions fully comprehend what at this time is still concealed.
of space), “year” or “time” (the dimension of time), and “soul” or
“consciousness.” Einstein united the dimensions of time and space,
yet science is still only beginning to comprehend the impact of
consciousness on reality. (See the portions of Re’eh and Ki Tavo in
Deuteronomy for a lengthier elucidation of this idea).

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