Provisional Providence

The Jews have always been a protected people. Yes, bad things tend to befall us, and we constantly have engaged in one struggle or another, but overall, we have survived. Somehow, God has allowed us to prevail and persevere, never failing to make that one last push in order to conquer or at least continue on.

This week's parsha, BeHa'alotecha, shares the beauty of how God made God's presence known to the Israelites in the desert. God would show up as a cloud during the day and then fire at night to light the way, as it is written in BaMidbar 9:16, כן יהיה תמיד הענן יכסנו ומראה-אש לילה, so it was always; the cloud covered it and there appeared fire at night When the cloud would go up from the tent of meeting-the Mishkan-that was the symbol that the people of Israel were to journey on. God provided an almost constant protection, keeping the Israelites from bad.

Even more important is the care that God gives us Israelites. God provides support, food, water, and even meat when the people beg and whine (or cry) for it. Tired of their complaining, God gives in and says the people will get meat for a month, so that they will get tired of it and not ask for it again (much like the way ice cream places let you eat all the ice cream you want when you work there, because you eventually grow tired of it and stop consuming). Yet still, God provides and protects.

The question is: does God still protect us? Is God still watching over us, even though we as Jews have the land of Israel (even if we don't necessarily live there)? Or, has God decided that we have the land of Israel, we made it, we can support ourselves. That it is now up to us to take care of ourselves and not rely on the kindness of that ethereal being.

The idea that God is responsible for the well-being of the Jewish people does not sit well with many Reform Jews. It defines a notion where God has the plan of our life, that God is in control. Many people want control of their own fate. This being the case, many discard the idea of God's hand in our lives. On the other hand, the idea that God is present is demonstrated in prayer, in how we speak to one another, in how we eat and choose to conduct our lives. Even if God is not directly providing the food we eat directly from the sky, God is responsible for making us and giving us the ability to produce the bounty we need to survive. In that regard, it is very apparent that God is still active in our lives, in protecting us. God makes the rains occur and allows the produce to grow, the animals to be prosperous. God is the impetus for all of this.

Yet, many of us stand in the middle ground. We do not believe that God holds all the control, nor do we believe that we hold all of the control. God is protecting us, maybe providing that cloud above our own personal Mishkan (whatever that might be in our own lives). Yet we are still firmly rooted in reality and we make the decisions that rule our lives. We hold destiny in our own hands.

Whatever your own beliefs, take this Shabbat to consider the ways in which God protects you, if God protects you. What does that look like? How do you open yourself up to those beliefs? What kind of relationship with God do you want to foster?

Shabbat Shalom

Parshat Tzav and Purim

מי שניכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה

Whomever welcomes the month of Adar, increases in joy!

Saturday night (Sunday night in walled/fortified cities), begins the holiday of Purim. A holiday misconstrued as one for children and simply full of frilly or scary costumes. In actuality, Purim is a holiday meant for those of all ages. With the four Mitzvot attached to it, it ensures that there is something for every family member: seudah v'shtiya, kriat Megillah, mishloach manot and matanot l'evyonim (a festive meal, the reading of the Megillah, giving of gifts and giving to the poor. The meal should be relaxed and enjoyable enough, where you drink enough to not know the difference between the phrases 'cursed be Haman' and 'blessed be Mordechai'. The Megillah reading is a family affair, with the mitzvah requiring all to hear it (except for a certain small group of people). The gift giving is also something everyone can participate in, teaching the important lessons of giving to those in need and sharing what you have. All in all, a good holiday.

Yet here in Israel we have been celebrating Purim for the past month and a half, since Adar aleph came in. Meaning the catchy tunes are no longer amusing and the face point no longer appealing. Yet the hamentashin (oznei haman-Haman's ears here in Israel) are still incredibly tasty and the joy still contagious.

The question then becomes, why do we read such a seemingly dry parsha the week before such a happy and joyful holiday? Well, first reason is that the Torah was not designed to be read in conjunction with the holidays (we have special parshiot assigned to certain biblically ordained holidays), and so the reading continues along, week by week, a progression from the week before. 

So what's with this weeks parsha, Tzav, in vayikra 6:1-8:36? We get a continuation of the instructions for the myriad of offerings and are told what the priests can take from each offering. However, all of chapter 8 deals with the consecration of the Mishkan and it's attendants (the priests). We are told in detail how the high priest (Aaron) is to be dressed and the order in which he puts on each piece. As it is written in 8:7, וַיִּתֵּ֨ן

עָלָ֜יו אֶת־הַכֻּתֹּ֗נֶת וַיַּחְגֹּ֤ר אֹתוֹ֙ בָּֽאַבְנֵ֔ט וַיַּלְבֵּ֤שׁ אֹתוֹ֙ אֶֽת־הַמְּעִ֔יל וַיִּתֵּ֥ן עָלָ֖יו אֶת־הָאֵפֹ֑ד וַיַּחְגֹּ֣ר אֹת֗וֹ בְּחֵ֙שֶׁב֙ הָֽאֵפֹ֔דוַ יֶּאְפֹּ֥ד ל֖וֹ בּֽוֹ׃ 

And he put on him (Aaron) the tunic and tied the girdle and dressed him in the robe and gave him the ephod and tied him with the band of the ephod, with the ephod he girded him.

We're also instructed how that Aaron must be washed and at blood must be put on the tip of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right ear, and on the big toe of his right foot (the rabbis likely had a field day with the particulars of that one!).

Here, I am not concerned with the rabbinic interpretation, but rather with the dressing up aspect, of changing into something else. At Purim time, we get to shed our everyday masks and become another being, acquire another identity. The priest in this week's parsha does a similar thing. He shed's his former clothing, the mask of Aaron the man and becomes Aaron the kohen, Aaron the high priest. This new identity sets him apart from all the other Hebrews. Unlike with Purim, where we can simply take off our costumes and re-don our former identity, Aaron has been formally given this position, unable to simply abdicate or say he doesn't feel like it one day.

Fortunately, we can abdicate many of the masks we consciously or unconsciously don. This Purim, I challenge you to look within and discover what masks you wear, what identities you portray. Decide what is appropriate and what you can choose to discard. Become a new person or re-discover the best you. Be like Aaron and wear your identity with pride, demonstrating the process and necessity that comes with some masks along with the excitement of newness and passion.

חג פורים שמח, ושבת שלום

Happy Purim and Shabbat shalom!

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