Four Ways to Create a Sanctuary in Your Home

In one verse from the Old Testament, or Torah, lays an invitation for each of us.  We are asked to create a sanctuary in which to join together with God. In Exodus 25:8-9, God says, “Build for me a sanctuary (mikdash), and I will dwell among you.”  What follows this verse is a detailed description of how to build the mishkan. Students of Torah often ask why the instructions for building this structure are so elaborate. The description asks us to pay attention to detail.  In other words, we must be conscious of how we create this sacred space in which God will dwell with us.  If the Divine Presence actually is to live among us when we, too, enter this Divine dwelling place, we want to be careful in creating that particular space. So all that preparation Jewish women traditionally do – the cleaning and cooking and setting a nice table, the trip to the mikveh and the dressing in white or in nice clothes – all become part of the “details” of building a mikdash. 

According to the Kabbalists (Jewish mystics), the Indwelling Feminine Presence (Shechinah) comes close each time a sacred space is created. Much like the Israelites in the desert, Jewish women build a mikdash every time they prepare carefully and elaborately for a holy day like Shabbat.

Yet, we need not go to great lengths to create a sanctuary within which we can spend time with God.  If we have the appropriate intention – the desire to invite God into the space we design – and we pay close attention when creating sacred space, we can build a sanctuary without needing wood, stone, gems, or precious metals. In fact, it takes little more than our mind to create a sacred space.  If we visualize the space we are in as surrounded by a Divine light, and we set aside a time to be in that space, we begin to create a sanctuary. 

However, Jewish women should try actually “building” a mikdash as well, because having a physical sanctuary truly helps invite the Shechinah to dwell within it. Here are three more things any Jewish – or non-Jewish – woman can do to physically “build” a mishkan in her home:

1. Find a spot in your home –a corner of a room, a small table, an empty closet, or an entire room – and designate that as your sanctuary.  Don’t use it for anything other than prayer, meditation and religious or ritual observations. 
2. Beautify the space in some way.  Hang spiritual pictures on the wall, place a beautiful table cloth on the table, bring in candles, ritual objects, crystals, and flowers. 
3. Sanctify the space as sacred.  Take some incense or sage and “smudge” the area in the custom of the Native American Indians.  Simply walk around the room or area and allow the smoke to “cleanse” the air and the space and to leave its sweet smell, reminiscent of the sweet experience of Divine Presence, there. As you do so, say, “I now sanctify this space (room, altar, table) as my sanctuary.” 
4. State your intention that this area be used as a sacred space.  Light a candle and as you do so state with conviction, “I light this candle as a statement of my intention for this space, which I have created, to serve as a sanctuary in which the Divine can dwell.”
5. Use this space on a continual basis -- meaning every day, every week, or every month -- for spiritual, ritual or religious purposes.

Synagogues, churches, prayer circles, and other spaces used for spiritual rituals tend to invoke a spiritual feeling even when no rituals are being performed in them. They become vortexes of spiritual energy, and it takes little effort to recreate the sense of sanctuary and to invoke the Divine into the space.  When we create sacred space in our homes or in our offices on a continual basis, these also become vortexes of spiritual energy. Eventually, just entering the space and performing a small act, such as saying a prayer or lighting a candle, draws the Divine into the space with us.  This is the beauty of creating sacred space and using it for spiritual practices or rituals on a regular basis.  The more we create and use the space, the stronger becomes our spiritual experiences in that space.

So, if we create for ourselves – and for God – a sanctuary, use it well and allow it to be well used, each time the response to our Divine invitation will come more quickly.  We will find ourselves dwelling with God each time we enter our sacred space.

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