Of Home and Heart

“Home is where the heart is”. It’s a great quote; but what does it really mean?
Well, what is a home? Obviously, it’s not just a structure for habitation. ‘Home’ is not just a house. Home is a special place.
Home is where I belong, without any whys or wherefores. No particular reasons, responsibilities or needs bring me there. It’s simply my place. I never feel like a guest, or like I don’t belong, because I’m at home.
At home, I am who I am, with no need to hide behind my protective psychological shields. I feel safe acknowledging and facing my flaws, because my home genuinely supports me.
At home, it’s not what I do, but who I am.  I am perceived – by myself and others – in my entirety.
Home is a place of emotional and psychological security, a place where I operate with my fullest sense of being.
So when Gaius coined the idiom “Home is where the Heart is”, he meant that my home isn’t merely my physical abode. Home is wherever I’m made to feel genuinely secure. I’m at home where people truly feel that I belong; it’s where the heart is.
Following that line: When I make someone else feel entirely welcome and wholly embraced, I am creating a home for them. A home for their heart, within my own.
That’s the bottom line of creating a home.
That’s the bottom line of Torah life, too. Throughout our history, Torah has been our treasured guide toward a purposeful life.
Just as I make total space for someone special, making them at home in my life and heart, I need to create similar space for the Torah, space for my Destiny and Purpose… for G-d.
How do I create a Home for G-d? When I do something meaningful, when I consider my destiny before acting, when I spend a few moments in prayer and contemplation, I am welcoming G-d into my life. Eventually, that mindset becomes my standard operating mode, and G-d is at home within me.

Bottom line: G-d’s home is where my heart can be.