Sound the Trumpets!
Often, teachers of meditation use a small bell to guide students in meditation. When they sound the bell, they may invite individuals to return their attention to their breathing, to deepen their practice. The chiming is a means to an end, a way back to the breath. The simple sound helps us to refocus. It points to all that is within and beyond ourselves. It calls us back to our higher purpose. Our Torah reading this week offers sound as a tool for connection to what is essential.
In our Torah portion, Beha'alotcha, we find ourselves traveling through the wilderness with the Israelite community. God's presence keeps us company, as a pillar of cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night. When the cloud moves, it is a sign that God wants us to move forth on our journey, and when it is at rest, all the people rest as well. When it is time to travel again, the Levites perform the duties of sacred schlepping, carrying the components of the Mishkan, the Tent of Meeting. From place to place, they are the ones who pack up and reassemble the woven curtains, the bars, posts and sockets, the ark, table, menorah and altar - all the holy vessels of service to God.
We know it is time to go when we hear the sound of the trumpet reverberate through the camp. God tells Moses and the people, “Have two silver trumpets made; make them of hammered work.” These trumpets will be used to gather the community together and to call the people to motion when it’s time to set out to a new place. As music emanates from the trumpets, the notes point to what is beyond us, reminding us of God’s presence and lifting us up toward our higher purpose.
The cloud, the lights of the Tabernacle, the sounds of the trumpet, and all the pomp and circumstance of the people’s procession through the desert are tools to connect us to the spirit of God, which cannot be contained or understood. In an age when it is all too easy to get swallowed up in our small screens - our Torah and our Jewish traditions call us to attention and they link us to a sense of meaning beyond ourselves.
As we journey forward, may we stay connected to each other and to what we know to be essential. May we set out with hope for all that is yet to come.
