Archive for the '2.07 Terumah' Category

Cherubim in the Knesset

Published February 15, 2013 2.07 Terumah Leave a Comment
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In Terumah, this week’s Torah portion, we read about the construction of the Aron, Holy Ark. There we read:

 17 And you shall make an ark-cover of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of beaten work shall you make them, at the two ends of the ark-cover. 19 And make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end; of one piece with the ark-cover you shall make the cherubim of the two ends thereof. 20 And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high, screening the ark-cover with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the ark-cover shall the faces of the cherubim be. ( Exodus 25:17-20)

This is at once our most holy image and one which is just too hard to understand. On this the Talmud says:

Rabbi Kattina said: Whenever Israel came up to the Festival, the curtain would be removed for them and the Cherubim were shown to them, whose bodies were inter-twisted with one another, and they would be thus addressed: Look! You are beloved before God as the love between man and woman. (Yoma 54.)

I love this image. Not because of its hetero-normative assumption around coupling, but rather because of the public modelling of affection. There we were the whole nation coming together in Jerusalem to see this powerful image. Where as all year these angelic figures are locked in a the moment before an embrace, in the company of the people joining together they do the same.

This gendered image took on a whole new valence when I had the pleasure of watching Dr. Ruth Calderone’s recent speech as a new member of the Knesset. I encourage you to watch it.

Simply put, Dr. Calderone a secular Talmud scholar gave a great shiur, class, to a room full of Kippot. There she quotes the Talmudic story.

Rabbi Rechumei was constantly before Rava in Mechoza. He would habitually come home every Yom Kippur eve. One day the topic drew him in. His wife anticipated him: “Here he comes. Here he comes.” He didn’t come. She became upset. She shed a tear from her eye. He was sitting on a roof. The roof collapsed under him, and he died. ( Ketuvot 62:)

At the end of her talk she artfully applied her interpretation of this story to the current state of affairs in Israel. She said:

I learn that often, in a dispute, both sides are right, and until I understand that both my disputant and I, both the woman and Rabbi Rechumei, feel that they are doing the right thing and are responsible for the home. Sometimes we feel like the woman, waiting, serving in the army, doing all the work while others sit on the roof and study Torah; sometimes those others feel that they bear the entire weight of tradition, Torah, and our culture while we go to the beach and have a blast. Both I and my disputant feel solely responsible for the home. Until I understand this, I will not perceive the problem properly and will not be able to find a solution. I invite all of us to years of action rooted in thought and dispute rooted in mutual respect and understanding. I aspire to bring about a situation in which Torah study is the heritage of all Israel, in which the Torah is accessible to all who wish to study it, in which all young citizens of Israel take part in Torah study as well as military and civil service. Together we will build this home and avoid disappointment. (Translated by Elli Fischer)

The Rabbi Rechumei and woman in Israeli society seem to represent the male and female faces of the Cherubim. For so long the male and female seemed to pitted against each other. After her talk I cannot say that they are locked in an embrace. There was clearly a lot of tension in the room. But there was this amazing moment when the Chairman of the Knesset Yitzhak Vaknin of the religious Shas party interrupted her and joined in the discussion of the Talmud she was teaching. Some where offended that he interrupted her. Dr. Calderone responded, “ I am happy about this participation in words of Torah.” It seemed like a very holy moment. At this moment the Cherubim were  looking at each other. It would seem that we need to make the rest happen. We the people need to reconnect and come together. We need to fall in love again and get lost in the eyes of the other. When we all grow toward appreciating the diversity of our Jewish culture the fractured elements of our society will become  inter-twisted with one another. That would be a festive day.

Divine Organizational Tension

Published February 24, 2012 2.07 Terumah Leave a Comment
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This last week we hosted graduate students from the Hornstein Program at the Foundation for Jewish Camp. They were in New York learning lessons on how Jewish Non-profits work. In my preparation for their coming I gave some thought to what makes organization achieve optimum productivity. I realize that one of these lessons that I have learned at the FJC comes from Terumah, this week’s Torah portion.

In this week’s Torah portion and the next week’s as well we learn many details of the construction of Tabernacle and all of the accoutrement. Where there is a clear plan for what  will be built and made, that is not where they start off this large scale project. Rather, they start off with themselves. As we read:

‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they take for Me an offering; of every man whose heart makes him willing you shall take My offering.( Exodus 25:2)

While their gifts are going to fit into a very clear and focused plan, their gifts were from the heart. At the center of our national narrative is a collaborative non-profit project that celebrates the diverse offerings of every individual while working toward a common goal. It is based on unity without forcing uniformity.

And about this project God says:

And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. (Exodus 25:8)

The text does not say “make this building so that I can dwell in it“- the Tabernacle, but rather in “them”. If it were just a random gifts from their hearts that did not fit into a master-plan, it would not amount to anything. It is clear that the purpose of this project is not the material or the construction, but rather the act of their coming together itself.

As a non-profit we at the Foundation for Jewish Camp are not running after making money. We are not even limited to getting more Jewish children to overnight camps  with Jewish missions. We see camp as a tool for  creating community. Camp is a place that people are moved to share from their hearts. We aspire to model that in our organization itself. While everyone has a role and we have a clear strategic plan, we try to tap into everyone’s individual passions.  In speaking with the students from Hornstein I realized that more organizations need to tap into the wellspring of this divine tension. It is here where our personal passions meet a common plan that organizations will achieve greatness.

Kodachrome

Published February 2, 2011 2.07 Terumah Leave a Comment
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Memory is a powerful thing; it is central to our identity. However, it is interesting that our memory often has only a limited connection with the actual history of an event. This is brought to light through the words of Kodachrome, by Simon and Garfunkel. The lyrics read,

If you took all the girls I knew when I was single
Brought ‘em all together for one night
I know they’d never match my sweet imagination
Everything looks better in black and white

The way in which we frame a memory colors it. In this song, memory removed all the pigment of blemishes.

It is interesting to reflect on the nature of color and memory in light of Terumah, this week’s Torah portion. Here we read about the Tabernacle in its entire splendor. It was gold, turquoise, purple, scarlet, and more. Every year we read about the building of the tabernacle. We are forced to recall its beauty while none of us has ever seen it. In the Mishnah when discussing the construction of the Temple, there are a number of disagreements. This is striking in as much as there was an actual Temple. The Temple was not just in color and 3D, it was real.  Why would there be a disagreement about a physical reality? Like everything else Jewish, the question is better than the answer. One answer must be in the importance of memory over history.

The question for us is how do we balance a reverence for the past and present, relevance of facts and feelings, and sense of mission for the future? In this new world in which history is being “documented” like never before (as evident by the proliferation of blogs like this one), we need to approach memory with an open heart and open eyes. How we will be remembered will not be aided by any rose-colored glasses.

Contribution Beyond Continuity

Published February 17, 2010 2.07 Terumah Leave a Comment
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It is astounding to me how much money we spend as a community on Holocaust education. Yes, I know we can never forget, but do we need to pay for other people’s children to remember? Let them pay for their feelings of guilt. As for our own children, I appreciate that the Holocaust is a part of our memory and history, but so too is the breadth and depth of Jewish literature, art, and culture. It saddens me to think how much we educate our children about how we died, over and above teaching them how we live. You can disagree with me, but I doubt that this victim’s mentality is compelling to a generation who grew up in affluence and safety. No matter what we teach our children they will have to decide for themselves how they want to live. So what will drive our children?

In this week’s Torah portion, Terumah, we read that God tells Moses to tell the Israelites, “Let them take for Me a portion, from every man whose heart motivated him you shall take My portion“(Exodus 25:1). The Israelites communicate their devotion to the Jewish project by contributing to the building of the tabernacle. Out of their own free will they all gave to build a “home” for God on earth. But, what can we hope to do now that the taberbacle and subsequent temples have been destroyed?

We need to find more places for God to come into our lives. I think that we need to educate our children to see simultaneously the tremendous beauty and harsh reality of God in the world . While there is poverty, violence, and destruction, there are also everyday miracles. If we want to find a place for ourselves and God in this world, we are going to have to get our hands dirty in rebuilding it. What have we given of ourselves and of our communities to make the world a better place? Once we master the art of contribution, we will have no problem with continuity.

Finding that Perfect Gift

Published February 14, 2010 2.07 Terumah Leave a Comment

Have you ever had to go shopping for a gift for someone you love? For that special someone you have to actually go to the store and walk around thinking what does this person really need? And what if that person is blessed to have everything they need? Then you are left just trying to get them something that they might want. In that case it seems that you are left trying to get them something that appropriately expresses your feelings for that person.  So, even if they do not like the gift they appreciate the sentiment.

You do not need to worry that this was a ploy to get a belated birthday gift. Rather, I believe that this is a good explanation for the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Terumah.  We read that God tells Moses to tell the Israelites, “Let them take for Me a portion, from every man whose heart motivated him you shall take My portion“(Exodus 25:1). What do you give to a being that created everything and gave it to you? For God, isn’t everything by definition a re-gift?

The Israelites were so close with God that they knew in their “hearts” exactly what to get God. It is hard for me to imagine being that close to God and knowing how much to spend. I love my wife and live with her and I still totally freeze up even thinking of what to get her for her birthday. But the Torah portion goes on to list many details about the construction of the Sanctuary that the Israelites build for God. God  either tells them what to give God or God is gracious enough to accept what ever they give.

To better our relationships with the people in our lives we should try harder to tell them what we need and what we want. This is the beginning of better communication. We also should strive to understand the intension of the gift even if we have limited use of the gift itself. In so doing, surely we will make space for them in our lives.

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