The Math Doesn’t Add Up: Why Life’s Most Important Things Break the Rules
This Week's Torah Revelation
In mathematics, numbers follow strict rules—two plus two always equals four. The whole equals the sum of its parts.
But in the realm of human experience, no such rule exists. When intention, creativity, and connection are added, something new emerges. The whole becomes greater than its parts.
Why Some Houses Feel Like Home—and Others Don’t
A house consists of walls, a roof, windows, and doors. But when they come together, these elements create something far greater:
A home—a sanctuary of warmth, belonging, and love.
Or think about your own relationships. You can describe yourself and a friend or a spouse separately—your height, education, interests. But if you want to describe your relationship, would you just merge the two lists?
Of course not.
Something intangible exists between you. A force that makes the sum greater than the parts.
The Invisible Energy That Turns Moments Into Meaning
In Judaism, this force is called the Shechinah—the felt presence of God in the world. Not something we see with our eyes, but something we perceive with our hearts.
This seeing changes us. But the transformation isn’t magical. It doesn’t come solely from God.
God presents us with opportunities—it is up to us to engage.
Creativity emerges from this sacred partnership. Like a flame ignited when two elements meet, producing something entirely new and illuminating.
What If Your Life Had More Sacred Spaces?
In this week Torah reading, called Parashat Terumah, God commands the Israelites to bring gold, silver, wood, and fabric to construct the Mishkan—the portable sanctuary where God’s presence would dwell.
On the surface, the Mishkan was an assembly of objects. Yet in its completion, it became something vastly greater:
A portal to the Divine.
Each individual contribution mattered, yet the final creation was beyond what any one person could imagine.
You’re Not Just Living—You’re Building Something Holy
We, too, have the ability to transform the material into the sacred. A dining table is not just a place to set food—it is where we nourish relationships, share laughter, and create holiness.
When we look with our hearts and not just our eyes, we see that portals to God are everywhere.
In a moment of kindness
In a heartfelt conversation
In pausing to appreciate beauty
How to Make the Ordinary Extraordinary
A simple shift in perspective can change everything.
Consider the Mishkan: it was built with gold and silver, but it was also built with commitment, generosity, and spirit.
Think of a simple wooden bench in a park. At first glance, it’s just a place to sit.
But when a weary traveler finds rest there, when an elderly couple shares stories, when a child sits beside a parent in deep conversation—that bench becomes more than wood and nails.
It becomes a vessel for connection, reflection, and love.
The Simple Jewish Practice That Repairs the World
This transformation of the ordinary into the extraordinary is deeply connected to the Jewish mystical concept of tikkun olam—the repair of the world.
According to Kabbalah, when God created the universe, divine sparks of holiness scattered throughout creation, embedding themselves in the physical world.
Our sacred task is to gather these sparks through mindful action.
When we turn a bench into a place of connection, when we elevate a meal into a sacred gathering, when we build a mishkan from ordinary materials, we are engaging in this holy work of tikkun.
We don’t just make the whole greater than its parts—we help restore the world to its divine wholeness, one sacred moment at a time.
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