Elul -- 5775: God in Mishkan HaNefesh

When you say “God,” what do you mean?  Is it the same as I mean?  Is it what the Torah means? 

Has your understanding of God transformed as you have?  Does it change depending on what’s happening in your life?  Your mood?

The Jewish concept of God is vast and subtle.  It has evolved through the centuries and, what’s more, it evolves through the year.  At Passover, we call God “Redeemer.”  At Rosh HaShanah, “Creator.”  At Yom Kippur, God is “Judge.”  And often, God is “Sovereign,” “Lover,” “Shepherd” or “Rock.”

We never believe that God is any one of these alone.  Rather, these are aspects of Divinity to which we relate in the moment.  God is Judge when we need to be judged.  God is Rock when we need something substantial in our lives.  God does not change, but human needs of God do.

Mishkan HaNefesh, like Mishkan Tfilah before it, uses “Integrated Theology.”  That is to say that it presents a range of God-ideas, traditional and transcendent, anthropomorphic and mysterious.  From page to page, each takes its turn.  It is certain that some prayers and poems in the new machzor will not satisfy you.  And it is also certain that some of them will thrill you – regardless of your vision of God or the God-language you employ, and regardless of whether or not you believe in God.

Integrated Theology does not mean “that one looks to each page to find one’s particular voice.”  Rather “that over the course of praying, many voices are heard, and ultimately come together as one. 

As a worship­per, I must be certain that I am not excluded; yet, it is not my partic­ular belief that needs to be stated each moment. As worshippers, we realize that our community, however diverse, includes me—but it is the community that matters most.”  (Rabbi Elyse Frishman, “Entering Mishkan T’filah,” CCAR Journal) 

Flipping through Mishkan HaNefesh for Rosh HaShanah, here are some of the metaphors I encounter for God:

“God of all who in every way works wonders” (21)

“Adonai who spins day into dusk.”  (23)

“Sovereign of the Universe” (25)

“Living Source” (97)

“Straightener of Bent Backs, Source of strength for the weary” (125)

“Beloved Friend” (139)

“Oneness that exploded into cosmos, spun the double helix” (139)

“Infinite” (143)

“Engineer” (171)

“Power of All” (205)

Some of these may appeal to you; others will not.  Some may surprise or even offend you.  Regardless, if a name for God catches your attention, pause to consider it.  What does it mean?  Why does it move you the way it does?  When might it be useful?  What value might someone else find it in?

The purpose of prayer is not to reinforce our conceptions of Self and the World, but rather to have them enlivened.  In Frishman’s words, “prayer must move us beyond ourselves. Prayer should not reflect me; prayer should reflect our values and ideals. God is not in our image; we are in God’s. Our diversity is God. The integrated theol­ogy in Mishkan T’filah [and Mishkan HaNefesh as well] suggests that it is the blending of different voices that most accurately reflects God.”

When all members of the community are represented, so too are aspects of God.