Spirituality

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Wedding Glass Mezuzah

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Torah Portion

The Mishkan As A Model
For Building A Jewish Life

At the same time, if we're asking
these questions about the Mishkan, the
Tabernacle where we served and wor-
shiped God in the desert, we can ask
these very same questions about Judaism
itself and especially Orthodox Judaism.
There really are so many different
or Chanukah, my wife
rules. Davening. Kashrut. Shabbat. The
bought my son a MegaBlocks
list goes on and on. Moreover, each item
model of a Blue Thunder air-
on the lists comprises so many details,
plane. Boasting
many of them minute and
more than 600 tiny pieces and
seemingly arbitrary. Can't
intended for children ages 7
God be just a little more flexi-
and up, my 5-year-old cannot
ble about the rituals? Do all
yet assemble the model alone.
the details really matter?
So we're painstakingly build-
While the details of the
ing it together, step by step,
Mishkan might seem boring,
piece by piece. We just put on
that's only because we don't
the wheels, and he can't wait
understand them. If we took
to finish.
the time to investigate the
The going is slow. We have
meaning and beauty of each
RABBI
to follow the directions pre-
element of the Mishkan, we'd
REUVEN
cisely, putting the pieces exact-
realize that each piece of fur-
SPOLTER
ly where the pictures tell us to
niture represents an element
Special to the
put them. While it sometimes
of our relationship with God;
Jewish News
feels onerous and arbitrary,
and we'd come to a better
and the directions can often be
understanding of their meas-
confusing, we know that who-
urements as well.
ever designed the plane also wrote the
But the Mishkan conveys to us a far
directions. So, because we want our
more important message about Jewish
plane to look like that cool Blue
life, especially when we come to wor-
Thunder plane on the box, we follow
• ship. Because it defines the ideal wor-
each step carefully.
ship of God (the way God Himself
I admit it; this week's portion does
wants us to worship Him — not what
seem pretty boring. You know those
we think He should want), the
schematic drawings that you get with
Mishkan represents a template for
your washing machine in case you lose a
Jewish religious life.
part? Terumah seems about as interest-
The great architect Ludwig Mies van
ing. An engineer who understands the
der Rohe once said, "God is in the
drawings finds these schematics fascinat-
details." The details are not only impor-
ing. The rest of us take one look and file
tant — they define the godliness of our
them in that filing cabinet we never
lives, and without them we reduce our
look through or clean out.
religious behavior to meaningless plati-
What's in this week's Torah portion?
tudes. The precise details of Shabbat,
The detailed schematics for the Ark of
kashrut and davening are not just impor-
the Covenant (2.5 cubits x 1.5 cubits x
tant — they define our religious lives.
1.5 cubits); the Showbread Table (2 x 1
Just like my son's new plane, while
x 1.5); the Menorah (7 branches, very
the ritual might sometimes feel oner-
intricate); and the actual physical struc-
ous and arbitrary and the directions
ture of the Mishkan — its gates, walls,
can often be confusing, we know that
curtains and altars. Snooze.
the Designer of the world also wrote
Who cares about all the details? Why
the directions. It's up to us to follow
all the exacting specifications? Can't God
them. 0
just tell Moshe to build a nice tabernacle
and see what Moshe comes up with?
He's a pretty talented guy. Why does the
Torah need to meticulously spell out
What was the minimum donation
these details for us to read on Shabbat
that each Jew had to give towards th
morning?
construction of the Mishkan? How
much do you think it should have
Rueven Spolter is rabbi of Young
been?
Israel of Oak Park. E-mall•
rabbispolter@yiop.org

Shabbat Terumah:
Exodus 25:1-27:19;
I Kings 5:26-6.13.

r

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