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Parasha Vayakhel: Exodus 35:01-38:20
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Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Hilton Head Island, SC;Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
"She's a Brick House. She's Mighty Mighty, Just Lettin' it All Hang Out"
In this Torah portion we are given the mandate to build the sanctuary. The details of how it was built, who funded it, and who was in charge of its construction are given. It is interesting to note that a 13-year-old named Bezalel was put in charge of the artistry and construction of the Tabernacle. We can learn from this that even a great man such as Moses, cannot be perfect in everything. We are a community and depend on each other for our different skills and strengths. Bezalel needed Moses to teach him Torah. Moses needed Bezalel to teach him architecture and gold crafting.
Moses asks the people to contribute all sorts of items to be used for the Mishkan's manufacture. The people voluntarily delivered gold, silver, gems, jewels, cloth, silks, furs, and hides. They were so giving that there was a surplus of donations. God instructs Moses to "restrain us from giving" (Ex. 36:06). If only our modern building funds had this problem!
Why did we need a Mishkan? Why did we need the first and second
Bezalel made a wondrous menorah (Ex. 37:17-24). It was of pure gold.. Did you ever note that the seven-candled menorahs in traditional synagogues are never golden. Perhaps they are bronze or silver. This is because the Talmud ruled that a gold menorah can only be used in the
In our synagogues, in our hearts, and in our good deeds are where we say God's presence, the Shechinah, dwells. The Divine Light is accessible to us each and every day. We know from our history that God's presence left the
The Talmud teaches that studying Torah at night (when melancholy can set in, when one can cry over the reasons for the
We have freedom of choice. "Who is strong? The person who practices self-control."(Pirkei Avot 4:01). Rabbi Chanina said, "Anyone whose good deeds are greater than his wisdom, his wisdom will endure. Anyone whose wisdom is greater than his good deeds, his wisdom will not endure." (Pirkei Avot 3:12). Torah study, or going to synagogue, or even teaching a class there, does not change people. Only by practicing what we learn or teach can we influence our own behavior and the behavior of others. Our actions of good deeds and tikun olam are essential
They show our commitment. They help us to grow spiritually while at the same time help others. The Talmud Bavli, in Tractate Sotah 3a, tells us that we only sin when we are not thinking straight. God rewards us, in traditional teaching, for planning to do a good deed along with the finished deed itself. But God punishes us for sinning only if we do the act, not our thinking about it (Talmud Bavli Tractate Kiddushin 40a).
What if Moses said he did not want Bezalel's help because he knew it all? What if Moses acted jealously toward Bezalel or sabotaged his project? Do any of us today get jealous of the successes of our friends and undermine their advancement? Do we have folks in our synagogues who would be great resources, but do not use them because our fear and our jealousy keep us from doing so? This comes from a lack and faith a trust in God.
Are we so silly as to think that there is a finite amount of goodness in God's universe? Are we so unsophisticated to think that if we ignore our friends when they are in need, and do lashon ha ra about them when they wish to succeed, that these sins do not affect our own wellbeing? These types of behaviors only reinforce our own fears of mortality and insecurities. After all, is it not illogical to think that if we help another, there will be less help available to aid us when we are in need? Is the Divine Light available to us only finite?
What do we do in our modern Mishkan that we call our synagogues? "The people has approached Me with its mouth and honored Me with its lips, but has kept its heart far from Me, and its worship of Me has been a commandment of men learned by rote." (Isaiah 29:13).
The Torah is a tree of life. Judaism is not just a religion, it is a way of life.. "L'chaim – to life'' – is our toast. The Torah teaches us to behave at all times "when we lie down and we rise up." Although we are taught to "love your brother as yourself" and to "pursue justice," do we? What does our Judaism mean to us?
Is it just matzoth balls and singing our prayers without trying to act on them in our daily lives? We are all children of God. If you want to make a parent happy, be nice to his or her kids. "You are children of God, your Almighty." (Deut. 11:01).
We are also servants of God as it says in Ex. 19:06: "You shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests." We are to act holy, in all of our activities. "You shall be holy, for I God am holy." (Lev. 19:02). This holiness is not genetic. We need to work at it regularly. As Isaiah says it best in Chapter 44, Verses 6-10, "You are My witnesses...a light unto the nations, so that My salvation may be unto the ends of the earth!"
These are interesting times in which we live. It seems that politicians running for public office face a litmus test that forces them to explain to voters the role religion plays in their lives. Does this marginalize us as Jews since we are taught not to wear our Judaism on our sleeves?
Also, many or our Christian brothers wish to see the Ten Commandments posted in courthouses and other public facilities. While we recognize their intent – a reminder that our Founding Fathers were guided by their faith in God when crafting our system of government – it nevertheless creates conflict for Jews on two fronts. First, we might ask again; does it marginalize Judaism in American society to point only to the Christian Ten Commandments? You'll remember; Jews do not assign any special significance to these ten out of concern that the other 603 equally important mitzvoth would be forgotten. Second, from a Jewish point of view, with spirituality so blatantly absent from the workings of our government, such a display is as vain as the
In
Bezalel's menorah in his Mishkan, as our menorah and Torah in our own sanctuary, remind us about God's dwelling in this world. By virtue of our incorporating Godliness and holiness into our own lives we can redeem the world! This was the message that Moses brought to us from Sinai. This is our mission as Jews. We cannot avoid it. Once we do, we are not Jews, and not worthy of our synagogues, Torah, and menorah. May we all try to act better toward one another so that our neighbors can see that if we make our synagogues a place for brotherhood, there is hope, tikvah, to make our cities, nations, and world fulfill our prophets' dreams. Let us give a little "extra" so that one day, there will be so much love, peace, and understanding. God will tell us all to "restrain" with a loud "Dayenu!"
Shabbat Shalom:
Rabbi Arthur Segal
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Hilton Head Island, SC;Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
A Short Snap Shot of Rabbi Arthur Segal
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