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Nehama Leibowitz, among the great teachers of modern Judaism, posits a controversial thesis: that Judaism is more concerned with the holiness of time than the holiness of physicality and space. She argues that, when the Israelites built the golden calf (which we studied last week), they were in the midst of a faith emergency, feeling isolated and alone in the wilderness due to a 40-day stay atop Mt. Sinai featuring Moses and God. In the wake of this great spiritual crisis, they were commanded to build a dwelling for the Divine Presence amongst them. Hence, explains Leibowitz, the people needed spiritual reassurance first (to hear instructions from God) prior to embarking upon the building of a physical space (the world’s first sanctuary). This theory seems to be confirmed in the Torah portion this week, Vaykahel, where we first start with the consecration of Shabbat (holiness of time) before describing the tabernacle's completion (holiness of space).

This understanding may be new to many of us. Still, it likely feels quite familiar to anyone who has fallen ill or who has had a physical crisis leading to hospitalization. Those in need of healing, and their loved ones who sit by their side, are acutely aware of the preciousness of time. It is in the midst of a crisis, or just on the other side of a crisis, that we learn to cherish each minute of our lives and each minute that others share with us.

We are accustomed to measuring time in minutes, which is far from sacred and allows us to waste it freely. Were we to measure the passage of time in how many heartbeats or breaths of our life we choose to share with others, we learn that time is indeed sacred. Such a gleaning, whether from Nehama Leibowitz, our own struggles, or the struggles of those whom we love, should give us pause and provide us with an opportunity for reflection and, should we need, a plan to reinvest how we spend our time.

May we measure time by the moments we devote the breaths of our hearts to others, and to the moments that wow us, that inspire us, and that, in a most beautiful sense, take our breaths away.

Shabbat Shalom.