Yesterday was an especially moving evening. This is our final Shabbat for the spring season here at Beit BINA in Puerto Viejo. In a few days, the doors of this house will close, we will conclude our volunteer chapter and move on. But the local community, the beating heart of this place – remains here.
Symbolically and precisely, this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Naso, touches exactly on these moments of transition and the dismantling of structures.
The Parasha describes in great detail the process of taking down, packing, and carrying the “Mishkan” (Tabernacle) in the desert. The Mishkan, the spiritual center of the people of Israel, wasn’t made of stone. It was a “Tent of Meeting” (Ohel Moed)—a structure designed to be temporary and modular.
Every time it was time to take down the Mishkan, the Tribe of Levi would roll up the fabric sheets and load the wooden planks. At first glance, when you dismantle the center, it might look like something is lost. But the truth is, the moment the walls came down, the truly important thing was revealed: the camp of Israel. The community standing around it. The Torah teaches us that holiness isn’t found in a specific address or within walls, but in the connection created when people choose to gather together as a community.
Over the past few months, we operated Beit BINA here together with the community. This place became a meeting point, a center for conversations, action, songs, and a sense of home.
Now, we are closing the physical doors of the building and packing up the equipment. But we know that the true Mishkan of Puerto Viejo is not the building—it’s the people who were here with us. The Jewish and Israeli community that lives here and creates the unique fabric of this place. The building might be taking a break, but the connections we’ve made and the community we’ve built stand stable and strong.
Towards the end of Parashat Naso, we find the “Priestly Blessing” (Birkat Kohanim). This isn’t just a prayer; it’s an action based on a living, physical presence in front of others. The power of the blessing doesn’t lie only in the words, but in how they are spoken: with true presence, a confident voice, hand movements directed outward toward others, eye contact, and an energy of enthusiasm and confidence passed from one person to another.
On our final Shabbat here, just before we parted ways with everyone, we chose to offer this blessing to everyone who was present with us:
“May God bless you and keep you. May God make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May God lift up His face upon you and give you peace.”
Thank you to everyone who was part of our work and community this season. Wishing you all a continued life full of community, light, and connection here in Puerto Viejo.
Shabbat Shalom!