between necessity and meaning

When I was in rabbinical school, we were expected to gather every morning to pray the shacharit service. Most days it started at 8 am but on Mondays and Thursdays when we would read Torah, it began at 7:45. However, most days one of my teachers could be found there as early as 7 am tidying the space and pushing an antiquated non-electric vacuum (apparently called a sweep broom) across the carpet floor. Initially we teased him, as he paced the room Mr. Miagi style picking up paper scraps and pencil shavings. Then naturally he invited us to join him. As someone who tends to run 10 minutes late, it was a revelation that one could arrive early to prepare the space. 

It says in the mishnah that the pious ones would arrive an hour before the morning service to meditate and prepare to pray. But it had never occurred to me to come early to clean. As it turns out, this too is an ancient spiritual practice. 

This week’s parsha, Tzav, details the many sacrifices made by the priests on the ancient altar. Offerings of forgiveness and gratitude. First fruits and entire meals. But what happens when the sacrifices are done burning? Who tends to the altar to keep it tidy?

In an essay entitled, The Removal of the Ashes:Between Necessity and Meaning, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z”l, wrote, "One of the daily services in the Temple was תְּרוּמַת הַדֶּשֶׁן, the removal of ashes from the altar. The altar represents the connection between God and Israel (Rashi, Ex. 20:21) and resting upon it is the ,נֵר תָּמִיד, the deeply symbolic “eternal flame,” which is never to be extinguished (Lev. 6:6). The ashes are removed to ensure that it continues to burn well."

I am picturing the priests with their little sweep brooms, maybe made of olive branches and palm fronds, daily removing the sacred ashes to keep the sacred fire bright. 
When we think of Leviticus, we likely think more about the sacrifices and less about cleaning the ashes. What stands out to me this year is that both are actually forms of terumah - both are sacred offerings. 

I am someone who finds great joy in both tending a fire and cleaning a house. I love cleaning the insides of a dishwasher and a refrigerator, the sacred appliances that keep my kitchen humming. (Early plug for Passover cleaning!) In drafting next year’s budget, we are considering how often our new building should be professionally cleaned. And I am also dreaming of the new ways we will be able to take care of the space together. 

As we prepare for our final shabbat at Calvary and our move on Monday, I am hoping in our new space there will be more joy in taking care of our sanctuary together. This has not been possible or even necessarily safe at Calvary. Vacuuming and doing dishes, resetting chairs and reshelving library books, maybe even sweep brooming! I am excited for the domestic labor that accompanies our spiritual practices to be more shared and seen, as it is in Torah. Maybe we even start a new Terumat HaDeshen: Dusting committee!? May the work of tending to our new perpetual altar live in the space between necessity and meaning, and may we feel more to encounter it as holy.