Communit
Torah Portion
The Tabernacle Was Designed
To Draw Us Closer To God
Shabbat Terumah:
Exodus 25:1-27:19;
Deuteronomy 25:17-19;
I Samuel 15:2-34.
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A Wider Perspective
And yet, the biblical text's focus on
the technicalities of building the sanc-
tuary itself may lead us to miss the
point.
Commentators note that the verse
reads "make Me a sanctuary that I
may dwell among them" — among
the Israelites — rather than "that I
may dwell within it" — within the
par-
he focus of this week's
sanctuary.
shah (Torah portion) is the
According to the Malbim, each per-
building of the Tabernacle
son is to build God a tabernacle in his
in the wilderness — with
or her own heart for God to dwell
much detail provided as to its struc-
within. In the words of bib-
ture and accoutrements.
tlical scholar Nehama
God commands the
Leibowitz, "The Holy One,
Israelites to bring gifts of
who
is the Heart of Israel,
gold, silver, copper and other
summons the people once
valuables "as their hearts
more to draw near unto
move them" so that they
Him, knocking at the door,
might "make Me a sanctuary
as it were, and expressing a
that I may dwell among
wish to dwell amidst them."
them."
If this perspective is true,
The free-will offerings
then
building the Tabernacle
brought by our ancestors to
RABBI
MARLA
is
not
the ultimate goal, but
-build God's sanctuary set a
rather a tool to bring us
J. FEL DMAN
precedent for future genera-
closer to God: It was for
Specia to the
tions. From the Tabernacle in
their own sake that our
Jewish News
the wilderness, to the Temple
ancestors devoted themselves
in Jerusalem, to our syna-
to building the Tabernacle,
gogues today, our people have
just
as
it
is
for ourselves that we build
built houses of worship designed to
inspire us and edify our worship expen- our impressive houses of worship.
It is not the building, itself, that
ence. To this day, we continue to strive
God requires. Rather, it is the free-will
to build structures worthy of God's
offerings, the gifts of the heart, that
holiness_ and. reflective of God's glory.
God seeks — and it is in these offer-
The notion of hiddur mitzvah, the
ings that God dwells. As one com-
glorification of a commandment,
mentator put it, "all gold and silver
encourages Jews to bring additional
belong to God, but the willingness of
beauty to their observance of mitzvot
the heart is ours to give."
and traditions. This concept has led to
We should continue to invest our
the proliferation of synagogue art and
resources in building sanctuaries that
Jewish craftsmanship.
will enrich our worship. And we
The mitzvah of reading the Torah is
should strive to observe the mitzvot in
enhanced when done in pleasant sur-
roundings, with a decorative yad (Torah ways that glorify God.
Yet, let us also remember that the
pointer) and handsomely crafted man-
real
gift we bring to God is what is in
tles, shields and crowns. When we use
our hearts. ❑
treasured heirlooms or artistic objects in
our various home rituals, we have added
dignity and glory to those mitzvot.
This idea may explain the excruci-
ating attention to detail demanded of
the Israelites in building the
Tabernacle, and the exacting instruc-
What are ways we can fulfill the
tions provided in the parshah as to the
mitzvot that go beyond the basic
specific parameters for every aspect of
requirements, in order to glorify
the sanctuary. Creating an edifice wor-
the commandments (hiddur
thy of God's glory would be no simple
mitzvah)? Can we ever go too far
task.
in embellishing the mitzvot so as
to lose their underlying values?
Marla J. Feldman is the assistant direc-
What free-will gifts of the heart
tor of the Jewish Community Council of
would you bring to build a sanc-
Metropolitan Detroit and executive
tuary worthy of God?
director of the Michigan Board of
Rabbis.
.
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