Jewish Community Center

and

Jewish Experiences For Families

p resents

CHALLAMANIA
Fmily Fun

Stir it ... Roll it ...

Take the challah hone
anc bake it

...

Suiday, February 5, 1---3 pm

Jewish Community Center
Jimmy Prentis Morris Building
15110 W. 10 Mile, Oak Park
Jaffee Hall

• Design challah trivets
• Make challah
• Meet Bible heroes

• Challah storytelling
• Challah covers
• And lots more ...

ALL FAMILIES OF EVERY SHAPE AND SIZE WELCOME
Admission: Kosher non-perishable Shabbat foods
to be donated to Yad Ezra

jcc

For more information call the JCC
JPM 967-4030 or M/17 661-7646

SAVE MONEY...DON'T FLY TO VEGAS
DRIVE TO SOUTHFIELD AND ATTEND

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041111

SATURDAY'
FEBRUARY 11, 1995
8:00 P.M.•12:00 MIDNIGHT

• Black Jack • Over and Under • Craps
• Roulette • Cash Prizes • Refreshments
Door Prizes: VCR and Color TV

(need not be present to win)

$5.00 Donation... $500 per person limit on winnings... License M25351

21100 W. 12 Mile Road, Southfield, MI
Proceeds for General Fund • Call (810) 352-8670 for further information.

34

The True Gift
Comes From The Heart

DR. RICHARD C. HERTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

ith the conclusion of the
revelations at Sinai,
this sedrah deals with
the building of a taber-
nacle to house the two tablets of
the law.
Two words, "willing heart," are
the key here. Scripture says,
"Tell the Israelite people to bring
Me gifts ... from every person who
has a willing heart." The rabbis
point out you cannot command a
man to give. Giving, true giving,
must come from the heart. That
is why the Torah says that the of-
fering should come from every
man, not just large givers or men
of wealth or station, but everyone
so that the tabernacle can be a
house of prayer for all people, a
people's sanctuary.
The requisite is not how much
you give, but simply how you
give. A willing heart is the only
qualification for membership in
the household of Israel.
The story of the building of the
sanctuary in our sedrah has stim-
ulated the imagination of the rab-
bis through the ages. They even
dared to ask why a sanctuary at
all. If God is God of the whole
universe, why should the children
of Israel have been ordered to
build a little portable tabernacle?
The Midrash tells how God
replied to such a question, saying
that the kings of the earth are
mere men of flesh and blood. They
need all the appurtenances of in-
signia for them to be recognized
as kings. But God does not need
such things. He neither needs
food nor drink nor even light. 'Do
not worry yourselves that you do
not have a place for Me," God said.
But the children of Israel were not
satisfied and insisted upon some
appropriate place to keep the two
tablets of the law given to Moses
at Sinai. God said to the people,
"If you insist upon carrying out
your wishes, do so but do it in a
way I command you. Notice, it is
customary in the world that he
who has a little son cares for him.
He washes him and feeds him and
rears him and educates him.
When the son comes of age and
makes a place for himself in the
world, he provides for his father
and often builds a dwelling place
for him. In like manner, as long
as you were a young people, I pro-
vided for you. I fed you with man-
na. I gave you water to drink in
the wilderness. But now you have
come of age. You are freed from
Egyptian bondage and you wish
to provide a dwelling place for Me.

Dr. Richard C. Hertz, is rabbi
emeritus of Temple Beth el.

Remember, I do not need a taber-
nacle because I lack a dwelling.
Even before the world was creat-
ed I had My Temple in the heav-
ens of the universe. Only as a
token of my affection for you my
people will I dwell among you in
the sanctuary that you want to
build."
And so the people were so
pleased with God's answer that
they went ahead and built a sanc-
tuary.
Scripture dwells in loving de-
tail the minutiae of each and
every specification of the length
and breath of the sanctuary.
Every detail regarding the con-
struction of the sanctuary is pro-
vided for, in order that the
sanctuary might become a visi-
ble emblem to the people that
God dwells among them. It was
to be a portable structure to ac-
company the Israelites in their
wanderings. It was to be an ob-
long structure, rectangular in
shape, a holding place for the holy
of holies.

Shabbat Terumah:
Exodus 25:1-27:19
I Kings 5:26-6:13.

The sanctuary was to show the
indwelling of the divine presence
in the camp of Israel. The ark
and its contents were the symbol
of the covenant between God and
Israel, made of pure gold such as
they learned from Egyptian arti-
sans. The ark had to be trans-
ported from station to station in
the wilderness by means of gold-
plated wooden poles inserted
through gold rings attached to
the sides. The poles remained in
place even when the ark was sta-
tionary. The sole function of the
ark was to house the two tables
of stone that Moses received at
Sinai when God made a covenant
with the Israelites after their de-
parture from the land of Egypt.
The second sacred item of fur-
niture that stood in the outer
sanctum was the seven branch
menorah. Instructions about the
menorah were very detailed. No
menorah that incorporates all of
the features of the tabernacle
menorah has ever been uncov-
ered in the Near East. The most
famous menorah relief on the
Arch of Titus in Rome was the
idea of some Roman artist and
may have been a facsimile of
Herod's Menorah dating from at
least 1,000 years after the one in
the tabernacle.

