Thou Shalt Not Break Laser Beams!

Recently we took the kids to the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. They have a new exhibit there called “Spy” all about espionage. One of the activities is a Laser Maze, where you are challenged to make it through a room littered with laser beams without breaking any of the beams. Just like the great spies who defy impenetrable laser security systems, you get to do the same thing.

Before entering the maze, one of the kids asked, “What happens if we break a beam?” The lady answered that a buzzer sounds and NOTHING HAPPENS.

And that set me a-thinking. How infinitely removed is this game from the heart-thumping, terrifying experience of a real spy in the clutches of a real, deadly foe, snaking through a real laser maze, in real danger, on a real mission?? What happens if he breaks a beam? Freedom and life are jeopardized and the crucial mission is a failure. It matters.

And here? Nothing. It doesn’t matter.    

As discussed at the Wednesday night class, here lies the difference between faith-talk and faith-walk:

If you believe in Him, what He says matters. It really, truly matters. If the faith is not real, then when it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter. You may try it for its cultural and social value and if it works, fine, and if it doesn’t, what happens? Nothing, it doesn’t matter.

So, if you want one simple reminder to use any time you find yourself uninspired to do a Mitzvah or refrain from a mistake, remember the laser maze and tell yourself, “This is not a game; this is not a drill; this is real; you are real; G-d is real; His rules are real; the consequences are real. IT MATTERS!”

This week’s Torah portion is replete with instructions regarding the design and construction of the Mishkan (the Holy Temple in the desert.) Dimensions, directions, colors, orders and placements are specified in minute detail, down to the inch.

But all these details make sense only after the story of the revelation at Sinai a few weeks ago. There, amidst all the flashing lightening, the roaring flames and the billowing smoke, the most critical thundered across the universe and into the heart of every Jew: IT MATTERS!

Life as a Jew may be a complicated maze with 613 twists and turns (imagine sneaking through a laser maze with Tzitzis dangling everywhere!), but it helps so much to know that your labor is not just for fun and the future of the world and the success of the universal mission of creation depends on you and your bravery, wisdom and endurance: IT MATTERS.

Shabbat Shalom!