Terumah תרומה

I'll be honest - I was considerably less excited to read this parsha then those that came before. 95% of Terumah deals with the particulars of building the Mishkan - the traveling home for the Torah. We read about the materials used, the length of various cuts of wood, the colors of wools, the shape of the menorah, etc. Not exactly hair-raising.

We do have the famous related quote from the great unknown Torah scholar:

"אם תבנה את זה, הוא יבוא"

If you build it he will come…..

Seriously however, I learned an important lesson about the Torah from this parsha. Just like God wants all the precious metals - gold, silver and copper included in the Mishkan, every portion is absolutely essential and meaningful, even if it doesn't seem so on first reading. Once we scratch the surface in the right spots, worlds open up.

Chapter 25 Verse 1:

וַיְדַבֵּר יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר

"The Lord spoke to Moses saying:

דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה מֵאֵת, כָּל אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ, תִּקְחוּ אֶת תְּרוּמָתִי:

"Speak to the children of Israel, and have them take for Me an offering; from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My offering.

וְזֹאת הַתְּרוּמָה אֲשֶׁר תִּקְחוּ מֵאִתָּם - זָהָב וָכֶסֶף וּנְחֹשֶׁת:

And this is the offering that you shall take from them: gold, silver, and copper;

Rashi points out that the word תרומה , , meaning offering or contribution, is used three times in these verses. He explains that there are three types of offerings. The first two are mandatory for everyone - a half shekel of silver for making the sockets into which we put the poles ti carry the Mishkan, and another half-shekel to purchase the communal sacrifices. The third offering is a voluntary offering for building the rest of the Mishkan, taken from those whose "heart inspires them to give."

At first glance, this seems like a pretty straight-forward system - the basic costs are shared by everyone, while those who choose to make up the difference. However, looking deeper, we find a lot more going on here. First off, the mandatory contributions are not nearly enough to provide for the Mishkan as it is described - only the finest of materials can be used. The vast majority of the expense needs to be raised from volunteers. Why would God not simply require a higher standard? That way everyone would contribute equally, which shouldn't be a problem, because the Israelites recently plundered the Egyptians. After all, building the Mishkan is not optional - it is a commandment!

I believe that funding the building of the Mishkan in this way is representative of the covenant - it's a two way street. To truly take part in the covenant, we must be active participants - to "put our hearts" into it, as the verse states. In English, when we say "put your heart into it," we are signifying intention and attention to getting the job done right - not just doing it to do it. I believe that God wants us to be living, breathing witnesses to God's presence in our own personal way. Taking part in the covenant is not just a matter of doing what we are told.

When we uphold our part of the covenant, we make a place for God's presence on this earth and are rewarded. Chapter 25, Verse 8 reads

וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם:

"And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst."

Note, God does not say "and I will dwell in the sanctuary" but among the people themselves, who build the sanctuary.

There is a great Hasidic story to this effect - When the Kotzker Rebbe was a young boy his Rebbe asked him, “Where can HASHEM be found?” The future Rebbe of Kotzk answered, “HASHEM is everywhere!” The Rebbe shook his head disapprovingly signaling that he had answered incorrectly. The Kotzker Rebbe insisted - 'HASHEM is truly everywhere!' Finally his Rebbe told him the correct answer to the question. “HASHEM if found wherever He is allowed to enter!”

Rashi defines Mikdash as בית קדושה - a house of sanctity or holiness. Why does Rashi choose the word house? There is a beautiful Gematria explanation, provided by Rabbi Label Lam.

The Gematria value of מקדש is 444. בית is 412. The difference? 32 - the Gematria value of לב - heart.

To change a normal building into a place where holiness dwells, we need to add one thing - our hearts.

I was thinking about hearts, giving, spirituality, etc., and had a hunch. In the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, chakras are said to be energy centers in our body. I looked up Anahata, the heart chakra, and was SHOCKED by what I found.

The symbol of the heart chockra is none other than the מגן דוד - the star of David! Not only this - in Hindu tradition, they call this shape shatkona and think of it as made up of two triangles. The symbol represents the union of Purusha (the supreme being) and Prakriti (casual matter).

This is just like how we think of the Star of David. One end of the star points up, into the heavens, and one down below, to the earth, perhaps reminding us of the angels on the ladder in Jacob's dream. Seen in this light, it is clear that one very important aspect of building the Mishkan is the unification of the divine and the everyday.

This is a also a major theme of Jewish spiritually - how can we bring holiness to our most simple, "animal" actions? For this reason. we are taught to say blessings over using the bathroom, eating food, waking up, falling asleep etc.

Just like this seemingly dull Torah position - with the right כוונה- - intention, we can find holiness everywhere we look.

I want to send a blessing to everyone here today that we find the time to truly put our hearts into something and find holiness in an unexpected and surprising place.

Mishpatim משפטים

Mishpatim משפטים

This week's Torah portion, Mishpatim, laws, represents a stark departure from the kind of Torah we have been reading for the past 17 weeks. We enjoyed the awesome spectacle of the creation of the world, wandered with our forefathers and foremothers, stuck it through with Joseph from bondage to the pinnacle of power, witnessed God's miracles and our people's redemption from Pharaoh in Egypt, and last week took part in divine revelation.

We've been on a wild ride experiencing God's power, but the time of reckoning is upon us. Now that we are free of Pharaoh, God has prepared a series of laws for us to follow from now until eternity. I don't say this to imply that receiving the laws is a negative thing - perhaps the defining characteristic of Judaism is the focus on lawful action, and not belief alone - but our childhood of mostly passive participation is over. The onus has shifted onto us to uphold our end of the covenant, and as we read this week:

וְאַנְשֵׁי קֹדֶשׁ תִּהְיוּן לִי

"you will become holy people unto me (God).

This week's parsha wastes no time, the first sentence reads:

- וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶם

And these are the ordinances that you shall set before them. Them, in this case, means us, the Jewish people. These laws are not for anyone else, unlike some of the Ten Commandments.

Rashi explains that when the Torah uses ואלה, (and these), it is to separate what comes next with what came before. Hence, the following laws are also from Sinai and are divinely revealed. Rashi says we should place the court of law, the Sanhedrin, next to our holiest place, the Bet HaMikdash. In other words, the following laws are not to be taken lightly.

However, as we begin to read the following משפטים, the 21st century Jew is perhaps given pause. We read about slavery, the death penalty for cursing, an eye for eye, and more. What is the connection between being a holy person unto God, and following laws that seem barbaric, cruel, and dehumanizing?

The answer is that torah, and halachah, Jewish law, is a living document. Our people have a long history of reading, analyzing and interpretating these laws not just at their most basic level, but diving to the core of what is really being said. For thousands of years now, and especially in our time, there are deep arguments about the correct interpretation of these laws and their application to daily life. I will briefly discuss 2 sets of laws found in our portion, with an eye towards showing how these laws can be either problematic and dangerous, or enlightened and inspiring, depending on how we read the text.

The first ten laws in Mishpatim deal with the particulars of slavery, it's abolishment is nowhere on the agenda. This would seem to say that the Bible is pro-slavery. If God wanted to outlaw slavery, God could have with one simple decree. By creating laws around slavery, God give a legal background for it's perpetuation. True, the biblical version makes the system more humane, but slavery is definitely legal in the bible.

On the other hand, slavery seems to fly in the face of other biblical precepts. In Genesis, we read the each human being is created in the image of God. How can one man rule over another? The Israelites just experienced firsthand the bitterness and injustice of slavery in Egypt, and now it is being recreated? We read in Leviticus 25:55 that we are to be slaves only to God, and not to men - so how could slavery be ok?

During the American Civil War, almost all of the thought leaders on both sides were deeply religious men. The theological underpinnings of the conflict focused on whether the Bible supported slavery or its abolition. Even back then, the "battle over hearts and minds" was very much in effect, and both sides could make solid biblical points. Abraham Lincoln said it best at his second inaugural speech:

“Both read the same Bible and pray to the same G‑d, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just G‑d’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged.”

Bruce Feller's book America's Prophet goes into this fascinating topic at great length, but for now, let's leave it like this: One can make a sound biblical case either way.

Another potentially controversial law is stated in Chapter 22, Verse 27:

אֱ־לֹהִים לֹא תְקַלֵּל וְנָשִׂיא בְעַמְּךָ לֹא תָאֹר

You shall not curse a judge, neither shall you curse a prince, or ruler, among your people.

Note the first word of the pasuk - א-לוהים . We usually translate this word as "God," but in this context our sages take it to mean the judges, who are interperting God's laws.

From this vantage point, it's easy to understand that by cursing a judge, who is representing God's laws, you are indirectly cursing God, clearly a violation. This point of view can be taken pretty far:

I have a friend who studied at a few Haredi Yeshivot for ladies, and lived in their community for a number of years, both in New York and Jerusalem. She explained to me that members of the community, and especially young people, frequently go to their rabbis for advice on any topic imaginable, and that the decision of a community's rabbi is unappealable - they basically have the authority of God. You are forbidden to ask a second Rabbi the same question you posed to the first Rabbi - "God" doesn't change his mind or permit disagreement.

Another interaction I had illustrates a similar point: I sat in the office very-hard line Orthodox Rabbi as he explained to me the details of a public debate he had with a Conservative Rabbi. In the end it came down to the following: He pointed to a duffel bag on the floor, loaded down with papers. The rabbi said that using those papers he can trace the teachings of his Rabbi all the way back to Mt. Sinai and divine revelation. Can the Conservative Rabbi do that? To him, that was the end of the argument.

On the other hand, there is the opinion that to "curse" is different than to criticize. To libel, call names and demonize is clearly wrong - but in a democracy, we have the right, nay, the responsibility, to constructively criticize our leaders if we disagree with them. It is the job of the people to make sure justice and the rule of law is dispensed properly.

There is lots of biblical precedent for this type of criticism. In last week's Parsha, Moses's Father-in-Law Yitro, an idol worshipper no less, tells Moses he is acting improperly, and that he will wear both himself and the people out. Moses accepts his advice and changes the way cases are judged.

We also have the prophet Natan's famous rebuke of King David, after David had Bathsheba's husband killed so he could commit adultery with her. (2nd Samuel 11-12) Natan has the gall to approach the king directly, and gets David to confess.

Finally, we have the ultimate example - Abraham arguing with God God's self before the destruction of Sodom and Gemorrah.

"Will you destroy the righteous along with the wicked? ... Far be it from You to do a thing such as this, to put to death the righteous with the wicked so that the righteous should be like the wicked. Far be it from You! Will the Judge of the entire earth not perform justice?" (Genesis 18: 23 and 25)

It doesn't get more chutzpadik than that!

Clearly, this law can be interperated in at least two different ways. The way I see it, one view punishes any kind of dissent and stifles intellectual investigation, while the other view opens the door to accountability, better governance, and the empowerment of the individual neshama. You can probably gather from my presentation which point of view I support, but the point is that a biblical argument can be made to support either one!

This is vitally important to us today because the Jewish people, and the world in general, stands at a crossroads. The forces of intolerance and religious extremism are making inroads all over the world - from to Iran to Nigeria, Egypt to Malaysia, Jerusalem to New York, and B'nei Brak to small town USA.

There are those who will fight extremism with appeals to Western ideals and modern philosophy, and we can certainly participate. However, it is our job, as Jews, to make our voices heard through the words of Torah. Not the Torah of exclusivity and power over others, rather the Torah of light and love, empowerment and connectedness with other human beings and God.

We cannot afford to let the powers of extremism take sole possession over the Holy Books, we must fight to take them back and make our voices heard. To truly have a say in this debate, we must know our roots. To study, read, learn, interpret and most of all - take action. If we believe ourselves to be the chosen people, then let us choose to take on this holy mission to bring the light of God into this world and make it a better place.

I wish all of us the opportunity to study some Torah, have an impassioned discussion, and find the courage to, as Gandhi said "be the change you want to see in the world," .

Yitro יתרו

If this week's Parsha, Yitro, were an episode in a TV series, I'm pretty sure it would be the double length season finale, complete with a special guest appearance by God God's Self.

We would have been seeing commercials for weeks now hyping the finale, for really everything has been building to this. God's destruction of Egypt and redemption of Israel is almost complete - we are finally ready to receive the law - be prepared!

As I read through the parsha this week, the aspect that struck me most was the juxtaposition of the supernatural awesomeness of God giving the 10 Commandments with the appearance of Jethro in the same parsha.

Here we have quite possibly the most dramatic episode in the entire Five Books of Moses, complete with "seen sounds," "trembling mountains," and divine revelations, interspersed with a seemingly routine matter of local jurisprudence. Going back to the TV series analogy, I am not sure the Jethro's scenes would have even made the final cut.

So why did our sages choose to include Jethro in this week's reading? True, this way the Parsha starts at the beginning of a chapter, but there are plenty or parshiot that begin in the middle of a chapter. Perhaps last week's parsha was so full they didn't want to overburden us, but I think there is a deeper answer.

As Jews, we are always struggling with dichotomies. Particularism vs Universalism, The Spiritual Life vs Day to Day life, Torah learning vs. Worldly Wisdom, Jewish Religion vs Jewish Peoplehood, Israel and the Diaspora, the desire for peace and the need to protect ourselves, Milk and Meat, etc.

We are people with way more questions than answers, which I think we can all agree is a good thing. By not being provided with simple maxims to repeat, we need to constantly quest for new knowledge and figure out what role these lofty ideas play in our own lives. The Jewish contributions to the fields of science, literature, etc., can at least be partially explained by our constant questioning.

It's hard to develop a "yiddishe kopf" if we simply repeat what our parents tell us!

That being said, constantly engaging with heavy issues can really tax the mind. We become so involved with the pursuit of an ideal, we can lose track of what it is gong on around us, especially with those we love the most.

This is exactly what is happening with Moses. He is literally engaged in real time application of Halachah.

Exodus, Chapter 18, Verse 15:

וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה לְחֹתְנוֹ , כִּי יָבֹא אֵלַי הָעָם לִדְרֹשׁ אֱ־לֹהִים:

Moses said to his father in law, "For the people come to me to seek God."

Verse 16:

כִּי יִהְיֶה לָהֶם דָּבָר בָּא אֵלַי וְשָׁפַטְתִּי בֵּין אִישׁ וּבֵין רֵעֵהוּ וְהוֹדַעְתִּי אֶת חֻקֵּי הָאֱ־לֹהִים וְאֶת תּוֹרֹתָיו:

If any of them has a case, he comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the statutes of God and His teachings."  

Moses is doing this all day, from the morning unto the evening. Jethro sees Moses's burden and wants to help.

The Torah uses a beautiful literary parallel here. Jethro says to Moses, describing his judgement of the people כָבֵד מִמְּךָ הַדָּבָר "this thing is too heavy for you." He suggests הֵם וְהָקֵל , that the people can help Moses lighten the burden.

We remember from Egypt what happens when a heart gets hardened, or heavy (כבד).

Taking the world play one step further, כבוד in Hebrew means respect, which is made up of the same letters are כבד, , heavy.

This makes some sense - someone who constantly deals with serious and heavy matters deserves our respect, say a doctor or a lawyer. We think of these professions are more מכובד, respected.

However, as I said before, dealing with heavy matters is not easy on the mind or the soul. Sometimes we all need to take some good advice from a friend and lighten our burden.

In the case of Moses, his acceptance of Jethro's advice shows the unparalleled greatness of his management style. How easy would it have been for him to say, "Listen - I petitioned Pharaoh. I led the people out of the land. I am in constant communication with the almighty - who are you exactly? You want to allow these grouchy and never satisfied people to dispense the word of god? You are out of you depth man!"

This is especially true when we consider Jethro's religious views. In Chapter 18, Verse 11, he says

עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי כִּי גָדוֹל יְ־הֹוָ־ה מִכָּל הָאֱ־לֹהִים כִּי בַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר זָדוּ עֲלֵיהֶם:

Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the deities, for with the thing that they plotted, [He came] upon them."

Rashi interprets this to mean that Jethro was knowledgeable about every type of idolatry in the world - there was no pagan deity that he did not worship. Not exactly a great role model for the leader of the first monotheist people!

Nevertheless, Moses is willing to accept his council - because it is good advice.

Moses teaches us here two examples of great leadership - first, the willingness to listen to advice, even when we are very busy and think we know what we are doing. Second, that good advice is good advice, and that it can come from anyone, even our worst enemy. This is not an easy teaching - our ego likes to get in the way. I certainly have my own work to do in this respect.

This teaching has wide-reaching applications, including in politics and religion.

An example: What can the Conservative Movement learn from the Chabad and Aish HaTorah? Why are they so effective in attracting young people?

Most importantly, we can apply this teaching to our daily life.

I talked before about professions generally considered מכובד, respected. One of my favorite things about Israel is the depth, knowledge and humanity of people I meet who are Davka not in these professions. Shop keepers and taxi drivers have given me some of the best advice I have ever received, and usually right at the time that I needed it.

Especially in this Jerusalem, we can daily run into amazing but random people, whether they are fellow Conservative Jews, Haredim from Mea Shearim, Arabs from East Jerusalem, or tourists.

I wish that everyone here has the opportunity this week to learn from a unexpected place, and, like Moses, have the humbleness to accept the teaching.

Be'she'lach בשלח

This week's portion is the dramatic peak of the Exodus story. The Israelites have been led out of Egypt, but God hardens Pharaoh's heart, again, and the Egyptian Army is right on our tails.

The Egyptian army approaches Bnai Yisrael's encampment at Baal Zephon, next to the Sea of Reeds. The people are justifiably freaking out, and crying out to Moses for help.

Exodus Chapter 14, Verse 13:

וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל הָעָם אַל תִּירָאוּ הִתְיַצְּבוּ וּרְאוּ אֶת יְשׁוּעַת יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה לָכֶם הַיּוֹם כִּי אֲשֶׁר רְאִיתֶם אֶת מִצְרַיִם הַיּוֹם לֹא תֹסִיפוּ לִרְאֹתָם עוֹד עַד עוֹלָם

Moses said to the people, Don't be afraid! Stand firm and see the Lord's salvation that He will wreak for you today, for the way you have seen the Egyptians is [only] today, [but] you shall no longer continue to see them for eternity.

Reading or listening to this passage in the Hebrew can be a bit confusing. When conjugated, the Hebrew words for "fear" and "see" sound very similar, even identical. For instance, when Moses says אל תיראו, context tells us pretty clearly that he means "don't be afraid", but this could just as well mean "don't look".

We have three more occurrences of similar words in this verseראו , ראיתם, and לראותם , with the meaning of "looking" and not "fearing."

This preponderance of the same root structure four times in one verse begs the question 'What is the connection between "fearing" and "looking?"'

To me, these two words remind us of a trusty old adagee that has a great deal of relevance in this week's parsha, as well as the Exodus story in general.

The Hebrew phrase יריאת שמיים" means literally "fear of heaven." However, the phrase is usually taken to mean "fear of god," which is similar to "belief in God." Certainly, to believe in God in the classic sense is to fear God, because we are accountable to God for our actions on this earth, and will receive the various rewards and punishments that go with that. For a elegant summation of this point of view, think of the second paragraph after the Shema.

In any case, 'fearing' is similar to 'believing' and "looking" is the same as "seeing" so perhaps this verse's subtext is reminding us "seeing IS believing."

When God speaks to Moses at the burning bush, God makes it clear that God will be hardening Pharoah's heart. While Pharaoh is not necessarily eager to let his prized slaves go, it may not take the slaying of Egypt's first born to convince him.

There is textual evidence for this. For the first five plagues, we do not read of God hardening Pharoah's heart at all, instead we read וְהַכְבֵּד אֶת לִבּוֹ He (Pharaoh) hardened his (own) heart.

It is only after the plague of boils, which struck the Egyptians and not the Israelites, do we read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart.

Now of course we can never understand God's actions and intentions, but I will argue that the fact that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, and perhaps caused not-strictly-necessary plagues, tells us that God wanted to bring down the ten plagues in order to SHOW the Israelites God's might, so that they might BELIEVE in him.

Don't take it from me, take it from our parsha, Chapter 14, Verse 31, after the entire Egyptian army has been drowned.

וַיַּרְא יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַיָּד הַגְּדֹלָה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְ־הֹוָ־ה בְּמִצְרַיִם וַיִּירְאוּ הָעָם אֶת יְ־הֹוָ־ה וַיַּאֲמִינוּ בַּי־הֹוָ־ה וּבְמֹשֶׁה עַבְדּוֹ:

And Israel saw the great hand, which the Lord had used upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in Moses, His servant.

Seeing is believing.

This observation helps to explain a passage that has long troubled me from the Passover Haggada. During my family's passover seders, my father always wonders aloud how it is truly possible that "WE (those sitting around the table) were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt." We need to believe that WE were the ones who SAW, with our very own eyes, God's actions in Egypt." It's not enough to have been told a story, we need to SEE it, to truly believe.

The same is true in a court of law. If you have witnesses that saw the crime, this can be considered strong proof.

As humans, we really very strongly on our visual sense, whether in the classroom, in court, or in our most deeply held beliefs. As Jews in the modern age, we face twin struggles with this concept.

First off, the advent of computer-imaging tools has allowed us to "create" images of events and people that have never existed. I sat in class and watched a teacher literally take person A's face and put in on Person B's body - seamlessly and in less than ten minutes.

However, this technical problem pails in comparison to the theological one. It is unlikely that we will see in our lifetimes the likes of what B'nai Yisrael saw down in Egypt land. For us to see "hand of God," we need to look closer at the world around us, and understand it in new ways. We are not being spoon fed anymore.

How do we counteract this phenomenon? I won't pretend to have the answer, but one technique that our Rabbis recommend is prayer - exactly what we are gathered here today to do.

Even if we don't believe that each and every one of our individual petitions are each being weighed and heard, we can find deep meaning in the action itself.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel says “Worship is a way of seeing the world in the light of God…. Prayer may not save us, but prayer makes us worth saving.”

I wish that all of us here today, and those in faith communities the world over, experience ever more powerful prayer experiences that can unite us as one. As it says in Aleinu:

וְהָיָה ה' לְמֶלֶךְ עַל-כָּל-הָאָרֶץ. בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה ה' אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד: