We recently began our junior congregation Shabbat service without a minyan of kids. The nine of us waited the requisite five minutes before I began the discussion of how we should fill the 10th seat.
As every opportunity is a learning opportunity, I suggested to the children that we could open the Ark to complete the minyan. Talmud Brachot 47b says, “R. Huna said: `Nine and the Ark join together to be counted as 10.’ Said R. Nahman to him: `Is the Ark a man?’ ‘I mean,’ said R. Huna, `that when nine look like 10, they may be joined together.'” And so, the children of the junior congregation decided to open the Ark to complete the minyan.
“It is as if we have invited God to complete our minyan,” said one of the kids as we pulled back the curtain. And indeed, the experience of standing before the open Ark, as we recited our prayers, held that power — we each felt God’s presence in a way we did not feel previously. It was not long, however, until more children entered the chapel and we chose to close the Ark.
It is amazing to me, but I still can feel the sense of remorse that overcame me when we pulled closed the curtain. It was as if we truly had invited God into our service and then turned to say, “You are no longer needed — we have many more than a minyan now. We will take it from here.”
We must find new ways to invite God into our lives and retain the feeling that God is present throughout our services and special events. Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin writes about including God in a child’s bar or bat mitzvah service preparations. In his book “Putting God on the Guest List,” Salkin asks us to remember God as we make the hotel reservations and the plans with the caterer. “Have we remembered to extend an invitation to God? Have we planned the bar or bat mitzvah in a way that God’s comfort and dignity will be assured throughout our services and celebration?” And I extend that question to ask: Have we invited God to all our social events and to all our religious services?
It is not difficult to invite God. And unlike Great-aunt Sophie, God will never turn down an invitation. It is simply a matter of adding spirituality to a void. We can light candles, wear a kippah or tallit, say a blessing, sing a Jewish song or make a donation to charity.
These mitzvah moments hold the same power as the open Ark. They welcome God’s presence into our wedding, bar mitzvah, luncheon or party.
A moment of prayer or even a moment of silence can change the entire mood of an event, adding a spiritual dimension. And it is this spiritual dimension that is lacking from our lives today — it is our task to simply welcome the spirit of God to guide us, to lead us and to stand beside us as we travel life’s pathways.
Invite God to your next event. Invite God to join you in the sanctuary of your life.
The writer is director of religious programming at Beth Abraham Synagogue in Dayton, Ohio.