Pikudei: repetition or reification

Tv host: "Welcome back to wandering the desert. And building a tabernacle in which to worship God!"

Audience member: "What, I can't hear you!!"

Tv host: raises voice "I said, WELCOME BACK TO..."

Sometimes we repeat ourselves. In fact, this happens often that we are asked to repeat an argument or a statement because someone else didn't hear or understand. This second time we speak more clearly, try to reiterate the point within a better framework. Whatever the reason, we speak twice.

However, the Torah rarely demonstrates redundancy. Words are chosen carefully and not wasted. Each word, each letter even, has a purpose and any additional letters would be excessive. Our Mitzvot are present in the Torah, irregardless of how fleeting their mention might be. That indeed is the purpose of the Mishna and Gemara; to explain and expand.

What then, do we make of repetition? Parshat pikudei, the last parsha in the book Shemot, is a reiteration of the past few parshiot, in particular Trumah and tetzvah. We are faced with a present tense retelling of story of building the Mishkan. The description is again detailed and the various jewels and colors necessary for the construction are specific to the end.

Noticing this redundancy in passing, I mentioned it at my weekly Torah study. As it turns out, Chabad rabbis also had a question about this. Their explanation centers around  Moses's commune with God. Rabbi schneerson argues that Moses's soul is already elevated to another level, the level of the heavens, so he can commune with God. Yet the people are not, so they must receive the instructions again, this time from Moses.

When I consider this issue, I see the idea in a slightly different light. First, it is possible that this is a demonstration of multiple authorship. The redundancy in Torah, with slight differences often regales the reader with the form knowledge that a descrepency between sources may have occurred.

Another explanation centers around God. God is this central character in the Torah and we do not take lightly the words which God utters. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that we reveer the actions God intends us to take. Following that line of logic, a repetition of the instructions of building the Mishkan is reasonable, even logical. How can we possibly imagine constructing the resting place of the holy God in any manner less than perfect?

Third and last, the whole book of Shemot, exodus, tells the story of the exodus from Egypt. The sensibility of ending this chapter of the saga with a description of how the Hebrews built the tabernacle is not only reasonable, but marvelous. Only a short time before, they were slaves in Egypt and now they are building a tabernacle of precious jewels and metals. This is definitely a demonstration of God's power and ability.

Whatever the reasons are for repetition in the Torah and in particular in this parsha, we may never know. In fact, we may not need no know. What we can know is that there is  God and God's dwelling place, which we do respect.

Also, we have officially finished the book of Shemot, which means next week we move onto a whole different method of communication and passing on knowledge: vayikra, Leviticus (the laws!!!)

Shabbat shalom!'

Sanctifying our vessels

We've spent the past few weeks worth of Torah portions learning about the Mishkan (the sacred sanctuary in the desert): how to build it, with what materials, the particular colors and specifications, and who should be responsible for the actual building. The detail with which God describes this beauty is minute and may even seem trivial. Yet, with the surrounding narrative telling the story of the Hebrews receiving the Ten Commandments and the ordeal with the Golden Calf, the reader must recognize the significance of these details. There must be something profound in the detailed directions painstakingly described for us over and over.

Of course there is. We pray to God, we sanctify God and we are reminded more than once in the Torah that we shall have no other Gods (I.e. don't pray to idols and whole variety of other things). God is this powerful entity to whom we give our thanks and receive atonement, so the necessity of remembering how sacred God is shouldn't be surprising. Even more specific, the vessel through which we approach God must also be constructed with the utmost care and particularity. Hence, the multifaceted instructions.

If we consider that another vessel through which we approach God is through our bodies, we must also remember to protect and guard our bodies, maintaining their purity so we can commune with God when the time comes. In the 21st century, for most reform Jews, that the time is Shabbat. Therefore, we see that Shabbat can be our modern day Mishkan, making the mention of Shabbat in this weeks Torah portion very reasonable.

In this week's torah portion, vayekehal, in Shemot 35:2 we read ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה להם קדש שבת שבתון, for six days you will do work and on the seventh day you will have for yourselves a holy day, a Shabbat of solemn rest. Shabbat is our chance to remind ourselves of our own holiness and experience the shabbaton, the cessation of work and constant movement. We must demonstrate the respect we have for our bodies. Not only that, but before we are able to pray using the Mishkan, we must sanctify ourselves and ensure our own purity. Therefore, the Torah first mentions Shabbat and then mentions the construction of the Mishkan.

May we take this Shabbat to sanctify our own vessels, ourselves, and truly feel ready and able to continue with the week to come

Ki Tisa: repentance to humanity

The psychological deprivation is astounding. Although the metal sheeting that serves as a roof is patterned red and white, there seems to be a distinct lack of color. No where is this more apparent than in the contrast between the muted tones of the metal walkway and the brightly colored jumpsuits of the boys walking through. Wrinkled men and women, intermingled with the vibrant life of youth, wait patiently for their number to be belted out by the garbled loudspeaker.

This site, the Qaladiya checkpoint, resonates with denigration and active dismissal of humanity. Instead of focusing on the necessity of treating every human as created בצלם אלו-הים, betezelm elohim, in the image of God, this check point focuses on demoralization and how to demonstrate Israeli superiority. As people who only recently experienced being hoarded into cattle cars, how is it that we can imagine a torture chamber of a fenced walkway, roughly the width and height of a human body? Only once a trigger is released does the mechanical turnstile progress to let in the next victims to search and questioning.

When human beings are placed in unfamiliar situations, they look for solutions to bring peace to the tumult this circumstances naturally brings forth. In pars hat Ki Tisa, the Israelites tell Aaron: עשה לנו אלוהים אשר ילכו לפנינו כי-זה משה האיש אשר העלנו מארץ מצרים לא ידענו מה-היה לו, Make for us a God who/that will go before us because this Moses who brought us out of Egypt, we do not know him (Shemot 32:1). This translates into the golden calf, for which Aaron takes all of the gold and jewelry and makes the calf. Instead of destroying the Israelites and just making Moses and his offspring a great nation, God listens to Moses's pleas for salvation on behalf of the Israelites and repents. As it is written in Shemot 32:15 וינחם ה' על הרעה אשר דבר לעשות לעמו, and God repented for the evil which he spoke of doing/wished to do onto his people.

Repentance is the key difference between these two stories. In each, we get a group of people or entity acting as the persecutors, and the victims of the persecution. In both cases, the victims have done something wrong (although arguably not at all on the level of the punishment which they are being served): the Palestinians have raised a number of terrorists and attacks did rock Israel for a number of years while the Israelites created a golden calf after being specifically given the Ten Commandants, which include a prohibition against idol worship. However, the Palestinians are not bad people as a whole, nor do they deserve to be treated as if each individual person is likely going to explode the next Israeli they see. Their address should not be a limiting factor, but it serves to strangle their life capabilities. The Israelites were untrusting of a man who brought them out of Egypt to then leave them standing in the desert as he ascended a giant mountain shrouded in mystery. Who wouldn't be in search of a physical reminder of what meaning their lives hold and which God brought them out of slavery.

The constant struggle between finding the proper balance of truth is tiring. Sometimes humans seek the easy route to simply move on with life. Yet in doing so, the minutia of meaning that exists between the words said and the actions taken are lost and evaporate from accessibility. With the situation of God and Moses, the repentance that God offers of his harsh words, we see that there is a possibility to not lose the beautiful and therefore maintain blessing and truth to life. Unfortunately, the situation and circumstances between the West Bank and the rest of Israel is not one entity against a nation, but rather two nations in direct competition with another. The checkpoints and barriers separating people and worlds, or simply families, are not going to end anytime soon. This week's Torah portion urges compassion and repentance, appreciation for the other in an unthinkable situation. Might we be able to appreciate the other, our brothers and sisters, and see them as human beings deserving of righteousness? Or is that too much to ask of a people who pride themselves on have the third best military capability in the world? Maybe, one day, there will be open borders and interactions between people. But today, God has redeemed the people, and God's self, while the Israeli military still condemns herself to violating human rights and denigrating other lives.

May this Shabbat be one where we explore the meaning of inclusion and understanding, and we recognize our fellow human being as just that, human. May it be God's will.

Tetzvah: purity and perfection

This week, in parshat tetzvah, we read about the priests and the very specific clothing and accoutrements which they are intended to have. Not only that, but we are informed as to how to make appropriate sacrifices and with what kind of animals. The specifications are exact and demand attention to detail.

Aaron's clothing;  a breastplate, an ephod, tunic, mitre and girdle. All this for the priest, where he must stay seven days in the holy chamber, and must only enter when he himself is pure. Each aspect of his outfit must be made delicately and specifically. More importantly, the elements brought for sacrifice must also be pure, without blemish. Everything entering the ארון הקודש, the holy ark, must be pure, including the animals of sacrifice. Shemot 29:1 reminds us to bring ואלים שנים תמימים, two rams without blemish and Shemot 30:9 informs לא-תעלו עליו קטרת זר, don't bring to the alter strange incense. Basically, anything that is not perfect cannot enter or be used in the holy ark.

Yet what about sons of Aaron who were not so perfect, who were born with blemishes, with speech impediments, with special needs? Were they to absolve their duties and simply live, be banished from what seems to have been their birthright?

On a daily basis, I see children full of love and joy, bursting with small tidbits to share, made mute by a disorder or birth defect; from any number of things. These children constantly warm my heart, showing me that it is possible to connect no matter how 'not there' a person may be. These hearts, they are the most pure, the most perfect. My kids only know how to love with a full heart. However, they are often unaware of their surrounding, of what impedes their daily activities. Whether or not they can articulate it, they seem to know they are different. They drool, put their hands in their mouths, are incontinent. Simply put, they can seem unfortunate.

So how do we corroborate the two images; the need for perfection on one hand and the God-given perfection I see on a daily basis? One perfect necessitates an image which society as a whole attempts to raise on a pedestal, the other being oftentimes denigrated to the fringes of society. The Torah, however, is specific: nothing or no one with blemishes. In order to commune with Elohim, we must be in an elevated state, one of physical perfection. Therefore, my children, my students, will never qualify.

Fortunately for the world, we don't do sacrifice anymore, meaning this descrepency no longer has such a strong pull on one's conscience. Instead, we must actively see how society as a whole treats individuals who are different. We must not send our sin offerings and impure people outside of the camp, as sometimes the purity being sought does not exist. Rather, we must welcome these sinners and impurities into our community and demonstrate to them that they too have a place, that they too are part of the greater whole. That is the beauty of this weeks parsha. We are able to recognize the demand for perfection and purity, but look past it towards acceptance and an understanding that purity comes in many forms, sometimes we just may not see it on a shallow, external level.