"Terumah" – Building a Tabernacle Within Us

One of the topics of this week’s Parashah, Terumah, addresses the construction of the Tabernacle, Mishkan, the transportable house of worship which G-d orders Moses to instruct the Yisraelites to build for him: “have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8). The Parashah discusses the subject at length, rather exhaustively and with much details.

“It was a modest affair,” states Rabbi Sacks when reviewing the issue of the Tabernacle in his excellent book, “The Home We Build Together.” According to him, and rightly so, “it had, or so it seems, no lasting significance….. So why is the story of the Tabernacle told at such length?” he asks.

Sacks believes that “the {Tabernacle} narrative is deliberately constructed in such a way as to create a set of linguistic parallels between the Yisraelites’ construction of the Tabernacle and G-d’s creation of the universe.” According to Sacks, in “commanding Moses to get the people to make the Tabernacle, G-d was in effect saying: To turn a group; of individuals into a conventional nation, they must build something together.” The kind of Nation that the children of Yisrael were destined to become “is created through the act of creation itself,” Sacks adds.

The Tabernacle which “was built out of difference and diversity” and which was built out of the differential contributions where each was valued equally…….was a visible emblem of community,“ Sacks goes on to say. “It represented…, in social terms integration without assimilation.” The Tabernacle, therefore, is the symbol of society,” Sacks explains. Once we recognize that, we understand the parallelism between the story of creation and the construction of the Tabernacle and its “immense implication: Just as God creates the natural world, so we are called on to create the social universe.”

As always, I am, again, in awe of Sacks’s brilliant interpretation of this Parashah.  I believe, however, that there is another angle that it can be looked at. It stems from the Hebrew choice of words in G-d’s directive to Moses regarding the construction of the Tabernacle, which, unfortunately, is mistranslated..

The Hebrew word, “B’tocham,” that the text uses, means “in them” and not “among them” as the English translation states. That difference sheds another light on what I reckon G-d intended.

My understanding of G-d’s command to Moses is that it is not only the material portable structure that He was referring to. I believe that G-d also meant a spiritual Tabernacle, one that will create a permanent dwelling place for Him not only in their camp but also in their heart, in their soul. G-d wants to dwell “in them,” not only among them. He wishes to be part of their essence.

As significant a step as it was towards helping them become a nation, the Yisraelites did not need only a social universe.  They need to remember that G-d did not intend for them to be a nation just like any other. They are G-d’s chosen People. Without internalizing that notion, without understanding it, their social universe, on its own, would not last long. Without G-d ‘s dwelling in them and not merely among them, as a constant reminder of the Covenant entered at Mount Sinai, they would never accomplish the role that they were called to fulfill.

I would venture, therefore, to add another dimension to Rabbi’s Sacks’s drawing the parallel between G-d’s creation of the natural universe and the social universe symbolized by the construction of the Tabernacle. In my view, the Tabernacle also represents the creation of our Jewish spiritual universe, the one that cements the natural and the social ones into a cohesive unshakable, indestructible and powerful force.

Shavua tov.

Physical Strength and Faith, the perfect blend for Yisrael's survival

One of the themes in last week’s Parasha, B’shalach, was the war against Amalek. The Torah tells us that while the Yisraelites were camping in Refidim, they are confronted by Amalek, the eternal enemy of Am Yisrael. The former wages a war against them.

The former slaves, who have not yet become a nation, are still nothing but a mere collection of uneducated and untrained multitude are, naturally, confused, worried and terrified. They have witnessed some of G-d’s powerful wonders, the supernatural ten plagues that were dealt to Egypt, one of the most powerful empires of its time. They saw the splitting of the Red Sea. They tasted the delectable flavour of the Mana. Despite all these manifestations of the glory of G-d, they are still shrouded in uncertainty and ask, “Is there a G-d among us?”

This is the nature of doubt. There is doubt that is based on rational questions. There is doubt that stems from the subjective wishes and intentions of the skeptic; but there is also a pure and simple form of doubt, the irrational kind, an uncertainty that is much more powerful than logic. It is the kind of distrust which neutralizes the most convincing arguments and the inspiring experiences by a simple cynical shrug of the shoulders.

It is this perception of doubt that left the Yisraelites exposed to the imminent attack by Amalek. Spiritually, Amalek is the embodiment of that baseless and illogical indifference.

What the Yisraelites seem to lack is faith. They are also in a need for an army and a military leader to conduct and oversee the war against the ferocious enemy they are about to face. Without these two very essential elements, they will be defeated.

Moshe knows it. He, therefore, appoints Yehoshuah, his student, and instructs him to select able men and go fight Amalek the tangible, the military kind of war. At the same time, he positions himself on top of the hill along with Aharon and Hur. His task is to keep the faith and the belief in the omnipotent and ever presence of G-d among His Chosen People. His role is symbolic albeit vital.

Each time Moshe raises his hands towards heaven, the Yisraelites prevail. When he lowers them, the Amalekites prevail. His hands are getting heavy and relies on the support of Aharon and Hur. Eventually, Amalek is subdued.

Fast forward to the modern state of Yisrael. Last week, I was exposed to an excellent article written in Hebrew by the Yisraeli journalist, playwright and scriptwriter, Tal Gilad which was published in 2015 in Hidabrut. There, Gilad discuses a new law, a law that bears the populist title of, “The Law of Equal Burden,” which Gilad describes as one that forces Hareidi Jews, the guardians of our few millennia old faith, to leave the Yeshiva, leave the spiritual realm and enlist to the IDF solely for “making them dig foxholes and then filling them up again.” (https://www.hidabroot.org/article/178741)

Reading Gilad’s article resonated, for me, with the recount of the Yisraelites first war ever, the one with Amalek which is described in the Parasha. I am specifically referring to the two facets of that war and thereafter with every war that the Jews have been forced to fight for their survival. Thy first is the military- the physical, the kind that Yehoshua was leading. The second is the spiritual, hanging on to our faith and the belief in the G-d of Yisrael. The two are interrelated and are both essential to Jewish survival.

Now, as then, I believe, Am Yisrael and the Jewish People need to maintain that blend. That should be the optimal “Law of Equal Burden.”

Today’s IDF Chief of staff’s role is akin to that Yehoshua fulfilled in the Amalekite war. The Hareidi, yeshiva members among the citizens of Yisrael, on the other hand, are the Moshe who displayed the need to trust G-d, his unending powers and miraculous deeds.

We need BOTH!

Shabbat Shalom.

Saving Yisrael, our Only Home

.The following is the English translation of Tal Gilad's recent FB post which was written in Hebrew

He is not the Garbuz of these upcoming elections. Garbuz uttered his words in different circumstances and different timing and caused them to lose many votes.

The Left today is entangled in a wrathful inertia of hatred, the kind that has not been seen since the Russian revolution. They no longer bother to hide the fact that they deeply despise "the others," because as far as they are concerned, it is some twisted form of carrying out justice and mostly revenge of years of defeat. They hate the Right' enthusiastically and enjoy it. Finally, they can shout it out openly, and to the cheers of their camp, that which they held in their stomach the whole time.

They no longer hide that they lie, mislead and cheat. They no longer hide hat they tailor files, lie in the media, distort information, engage in awareness engineering, control the prosecution department, the police, our educational system that they have the power and will do as they wish. Everything is open and they do not care, because the end justifies the means – and what can we do. We have no 

weapons, no media, no police and no justice system.

Yoez Handel is not alone. We hear more and more such statements because they feel stronger.

Handel spoke directly to his voter base, to the hard core, frenzied lynch enthusiasts. His words empower them. The day is not far when they will admit openly to abducting the Yemenite children and will present it as a heroic deed of saving those children from their inferior parents.

There is only one way of stopping this horror – vote, vote, vote. Arrive from every place and unde 

any condition just as one does during wartimes, no matter where from, fill the planes flying to Yisrael with each running to join their units upon arrival without thinking "one more, one less, who cares

We are in a war over our Home, over Liberty, Freedom of Expression, individual freedom. We are in a war over Democracy.

If you do not vote, you will never forgive yourself.

The Underlyng Essence of the Yisraeli Elections

The following is a translation of Face Book post by Tal Gilad.
He says it like it is.

There is not a single person in the state of Yisrael who is voting for Gantz because they believe he is suitable to be PM.

Each Gantz voter you enter into a debate with does not speak about this amorphous mass, has nothing to say about him and does not care. All they do is speak against Netanyahu.

This is the essence of th difference between the Left and the Right since days gone by, throughout history. The Right is in favour, the Left is against. The Right wants to build, the Left wants to destroy.

Where did the Left begin? The French Revolution, with the desire to destroy. It evenappears in the Socialist International anthem. "An old world, we shall destroy to its core" (translation of the Russian version which, unfortunately was written by a Jew). Therefore, it never has any  candidate which it really wants or one he really believes is worthy. It is there merely an organism with a pulse againt whoever it hates - and it always hates. It fdoes not have any good words about its own candidate, it only has many bad words against its opponent,

The original Yisraeli Left is the only one that did something positive. And so much, big time. It created the infrstructure for founding the State, set up institutions, kibbutzim, agricultural settlements, created facts on the ground and established a substantial fighting and defense system. It understood what its successors of today do not, that one does not build a state through demonstrations, but by doing. And let us not enter now into the destructive steps it took on the way commencing with the "Saizon" and culminating in the sordid affair of the "Yemanite children." But since then, especially since it lost power, it has been going downhill and turned into another shouting angry Left, like its counterparts the world over.

A Leftist and a Right wing person see a rich man. The Right wing person wants to lean from him, the Leftist wants to take from him. The Left is not an idiology, but jealousy and laziness which someone defined in a set of points, so it looks good. Speedy solutions of three year olds. Print money, take from the rich, give away, hand out' don't think, don't try, all will be well, let us sing together, serenade to love. But first, let us hate, let us send to the guillotine anyone who does not sing with us a song dedicated to love.

Netanyahu is everythying the Left despises: successful, positive, optimistic, intelligent, hardworking and a winner, Successful - and the Left hates success - strong- and the Left hates strong people since it reminds them  how weak and dismal. Patient - and the Left hates patienc. Either Peace now, or it throws a tntrum and throws the bowl along with the cornflakes.

Builders versus destroyers, that is what th elections are all about. Positive versus negative, maturity and responsibility as opposed to "they took what's mine."
You decide which side you are on.