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Introduction
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This is a double Parsha week which concludes the Sefer of Sh'mot (Exodus). The Sefer that starts with the children of Yisrael crying in anguish at their situation in Mitzrayim, the Narrow Place now move through Har Sinai and the golden calf and ends wonderfully with journeying to become a nation with Sh'khina in their midst and visible. What a way to end a Sefer! Khazak! (Be strong!)
And oddly enough, this seems to fit with some photos I was asked to translate last Shabbat. A gentleman had traveled to Europe last fall (September) to the Nazi camp of Terezin (Terezienstadt in German), which some might recognize as the 'showcase' camp that the Red Cross was allowed to visit once during the war so that Hitler could 'prove' how wonderfully the Jews were being treated. These photos were of a little concrete bunker that had just been discovered a week or two earlier near the bunker where Danish Jews were housed. These pictures showed some beautiful red lettering that had been put on the walls of the 'shul'. The one picture had the words "Da' lifney mi atah omeyd" (Know before whom you stand). The words were easy to read and had only suffered a little time damage in the almost sixty years since they were painted on those walls. This photo was very powerful in that context.
The second photo he showed me was also powerful. In an arch above a Torah quote were words that said, "With all this, we will remember your name" and then below it was the quote out of Exodus from last week's Parsha, (34:6,7) "The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, to the third and to the fourth generation." I stared at the words I had been listening to and reading in a chumash just a short time before.
The man went on to explain that there were other writings on these walls along with decorations (Magen David, etc) that he did not get time to photograph. He said that the tour guide explained that it was believed that this shul had been assembled by the Danish Jews in the nearby barracks. The guide also explained that these Jews had been taken from the camp one day by an "international vehicle" and supposedly repatriated to Denmark. I have no idea if that happened or was true -- but I do have to wonder why, if there were any survivors who knew about this shul, that it took until last year to find it. I have done a web search on this subject and cannot find much dated after May/Jun of 2000, before this shul was reportedly discovered.
Candy Lobb
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1. Parsha details: Ex 35:1-40:38, Ex 12:1-20 (tri 39:22-40:38 + extra) [Haftorah Ezekiel 45:16-46:18 (Opt: I Sam 20:18 & 42end on 36)]
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2. Questions and a few observations
Summary: A word or two about Shabbat and then the building of the Mishkan and the manufacturing of all the furniture and accessories, and the setting up and sanctification/consecration of everything. And the ending. Khazak!
Extra: The designation of Nisan as the first month of the year and the observance of Pesakh.
Last week we went through the receiving of the gift of the ten commandments, our shattering, the rebuilding/return and a new covenant/tablets. Now we are just about ready to move through the wilderness and learn what it will take to become a nation. But first, we need the Mishkan, the dwelling place for Sh'khina. And so, that's what we do this week.
So why does the Parsha start out with Shabbat? Because as important as the Mishkan will be to Yisrael, the Shabbat is even more important. And the words leading into it say, "la'asot otam", to DO them. Shabbat is not about doing nothing, it is about doing holy things, nefesh(soul) things and it takes work. What it takes not doing is the daily, business-type work (mala'cha), because we do need a break from that -- it is too hard for us to do the deep inner work of Shabbat if we are worrying about a special project at work.
Another reason for the words about Shabbat at the start of this Parsha is that we need to be reminded. It is so easy to, as they say, "go on auto pilot" and just go through motions. That is NOT how to DO Shabbat -- remember, Shabbat is about Soul work. And so we nudge ourselves and remind ourselves to DO Shabbat.
I was talking with a teacher of mine about parts of the Erev Shabbat liturgy and we were talking about the inclusion of V'shamru....Shabbat, la'asot et haShabbat... which comes right before the Amidah. For Jews who davven every evening, if they go on "auto pilot" as they start the Amidah, they will say the weekday Amidah which is significantly different from the Shabbat Amidah -- so the Sages thought to remind us what to do.
And even in Moshe's day, it was imperative to remind us that Shabbat must be remembered and planned for, especially during the building of the Mishkan (It would not have been good to build the holy dwelling place by violating a mitzvah). Remembering and protecting Shabbat is what we need to during the week to make sure we are ABLE to DO Shabbat on Shabbat.
And then there is Betzaleyl -- what wonderful praise Torah has for him and Ahali'av -- not only were they skilled and wise and clever and devoted, but they could also teach these things to others. WOW. It would have been easy for people that clever to become very egotistical and yet, they did not, because when one becomes haughty, it is much harder to teach others these traits. And I cannot think of much higher praise that Torah could give someone than this description of these two people.
We are taught that in order for someone to receive a gift of this much talent and understanding, that individual must give a great deal and work very hard -- for with out the human effort, man would shatter at such a gift. Indeed, this is one of the hardest things for us to learn -- we must work to receive a gift, we must approach and make ready the space, our own unique space. Then and only then are we able to receive the gifts of the Divine.
In secular terms we might call this "creating our luck", because overnight successes require long years of hard work to be ready to receive the gift of the overnight success when it is presented.
And so, there is again a lot of detail presented in this Parsha -- and that is about enjoying the process, the hard work. A Mishkan is not built over night -- it is erected over time. And the workers need to take time along the way to appreciate the details of the work that they do. Whether it is the 'sockets' or the 'loops' or the measuring of the cubits one by one. Each piece is part of the whole. If one piece of the Mishkan is not beautifully made, the whole thing will suffer (ever notice how our eyes are drawn to that one little flaw?). And so, every cubit, every cloth, every worker and that worker's efforts are important.
Both the worker and his teacher and his peers need to take the time to appreciate the pieces-parts of the overall effort. And we need to make a periodic Shabbat to stop this effort and work on ourselves, our essences, our Souls. Only then will all of the pieces fit together just so and complete as wondrous whole for all to use and enjoy.
And when all is done, checked, washed, placed, consecrated and sanctified, then the work is done. And so it was -- and Sh'khina's presence attests to this. And the One's Presence was with Yisrael on all of her journeys. KHAZAK.
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3. Some Observations
With this Parsha we complete the second Sefer of the Torah. Forty percent of the way through the first five books of this ancient text. And we have covered so much. In fact, this would be the perfect place to end a movie -- Yisra'el rides off into the sunset with her cloud and fire and all is well in the world.
But we are really still children at this point. Without constant attention and reminders, we drift quickly and easily after whatever our eyes see and our hearts might fancy for the moment. And yet, we have learned a lot by this time. Certainly the devastation when Moshe saw the excessive behavior around the golden calf caused some serious changes among the people. The killing of the people in this instance can be compared to cutting out a cancer growth -- certainly that element could not be allowed to take over the general population. 600,000 men went up out of Egypt, 3,000 killed at the calf incident (0.5% for the mathematicians in our group).
And of those who are adults now, only Joshua and Caleb will enter Canaan forty years later. These upcoming years will be metal tempering years for Yisra'el. But then, growth years always are.
And there is one theme that emerges over and over again from Sh'mot -- we must make the first step. The Divine will always be there for us -- when we are ready AND have prepared the space for Her. Do we have to be perfect? Hardly. Even Moshe had serious faults -- and we are told that YHVH knew him by name and talked to him face-to-face. Even Moshe forgot to approach sometimes.
But Moshe's intentions were sincere. He was quick thinking and remembered what he was told well. And he was also an excellent judge of character and did not hesitate to make swift decisions when required. And he must have been a master of sarcasm -- whether to Pharaoh in their talks or even with Aharon after the calf events. Moshe is not somebody you about whom you would ever have to wonder if you had offended -- you would know.
And he did have a temper. We have already seen major parts of this -- the killing of the overseer in Egypt, with Yisrael's impatience, with the calf -- and we will get to see it again in the coming books. And so Moshe is real, not an idealized perfection of a concept. Ever wonder what he and Zipporah talked about in quiet moments? Who could Moshe confide in? Did he ever feel lonely? Even Moshe needed people.
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4. Persevering Expansion
This is the first Parsha in the Persevering series. And it is about making expansion last. Expansion can be likened to mercy or love -- the outreaching. And the ending scene of this Parsha certainly can be seen as fitting this theme. And so can the building and erecting of the Mishkan and its parts.
Certainly there was a well deserved pride and sense of ownership to the Mishkan -- with the cloud resting visibly above it, there was a constant reminder that here was a job well done. People had succeeded in working together across tribal lines and everything did manage to fit together. In fact, by this Parsha, they are Kahal, community. And in many ways the building of the Mishkan is, in fact, Expansion.
And so is Shabbat, the first topic of this Parsha. Shabbat is a sign forever of the bond between YHVH and Yisra'el -- and what better expression of mutual love, respect and community could there be than a day where we come together as unique individuals and travel our own unique paths together toward and with the Divine. Shabbat Shalom!
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5. We finish Sh'mot
Khazak, khazak, v'nitkhazeyk. This is the traditional phrase to indicate completing a book, a unit of learning. It means Strength, strength, and let us be strengthened!
It is always a celebration when one completes a volume of learning. We are now challenged with strengthening ourselves through what we have learned in the now completed volume of study.
This celebration is so important that if one were fasting and one completed a volume of study, one would be enjoined to break the fast and celebrate (Which we always do with food). In fact, people sometimes schedule things so that this is the case for some of the minor fasts -- such as the one for first-borns right before Pesakh.
For those who enjoy trivia -- the following is included in many Chumashim:
Sh'mot (Bereyshit in parentheses): Number of verses: 1,209 (1,534)
Number of Parshayot (weekly portions): 11 (12)
Number of Sedarim (triennial weekly portions): 29 (43)
Number of Chapters: 40 (50)
Other trivia: God mentioned as Elohim or HaElohim -- 69 times (188 times)
God mentioned as Elohay (God of...) -- 60 times (31 times)
God mentioned as YHVH -- 398 times (165 times)
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6. Exercises
1. Ru'akh Elohim: Spirit of Elohim -- it filled Betzaleyl, whose name means "in the shadow of God". What does enable you to do when you are filled with Ru'akh Elohim. How is this filling reflected in what we do? Prepare and approach Elohim, so that you can receive Ru'akh. Feel it filling you starting at your toes, rising, rising, until it fills you completely.
2. Oseh Shabbat: Doing Shabbat. Do not do 'malacha', daily business work. Do not burn anything up by creating a new fire in your homes. How does doing these things deaden you? What revives you? What re-Souls you?
3. Anan v'chavod: "Then a cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." What is it like to see the Cloud? What was it like for the Glory to fill the Mishkan? Would you look out at night to see the fire atop to Tent of Meeting? What would it feel like to move from place to place with the Tent and Mishkan?
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There are many traditional interpretations of the parsha that I neither talk about nor mention. That is done from a position of space. I trust that the average reader is either familiar with these or can find many of them easily in other commentaries readily available.
Thanks for reading this. If I have offended you, please forgive me -- that was not my intention. If you found some joy or happiness in reading this, thank you for allowing me to be a part. If you found a reason to think about something more deeply - kol hakavod and thank you!
And to the people giving me feedback thank you so much! I enjoy all of it. (Including the typos) You have made this weekly practice wonderful.
b'v'rakha,
Candy
(c) 2001 Candy Lobb All rights reserved
