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spirituality >> Torah portion

Keeping
A Balance

Parshat Tetzaveh,
Shabbat Zachor
(the Shabbat
preceding Purim):
Exodus 27:20-30:10,
Deuteronomy
25:17-19; Samuel
15:2-15:34.

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erhaps my memory deceives
Israelite camp was to be pure, only the
me, but I remember seeing
sanctuary was holy. While Israelite
more dress code signs when
clothing was distinctive because of the
I was growing up. "No jeans, please:'
tzitzit, or fringes on their clothes, only
"No shirt, no shoes, no service:" On
the priests wore special garments.
rare occasions, even "Jacket required:'
The Torah does not ask each of us
In recent decades, it seems to me,
to live in a Holy of Holies or to dress
these signs have become less prevalent. up every day. It does, however, seek to
Where suits were once the norm, kha-
elevate our lives with discrete doses of
kis reign; instead of skirts or pants, we
holiness — and that holiness was often
wear leggings or jeans. Ours is a more
associated with formality.
informal society.
So how formal should we
And many of us remem-
be in our religious lives —
ber houses — ours, our
and how can we ensure that
parents' or our grandpar-
formality leads to holiness
ents' — with a living room
and not to mere discomfort?
or parlor that sat unused
The Torah offers an easy
most of the year, entered
answer: Shabbat. Right in
only on rare occasions
the middle of the detailed
and only by adults. Those
specifications for the
rooms often featured sofas
sanctuary and the priestly
with plastic slipcovers that
clothes, the Torah talks
never came off. I don't long
about Shabbat. It is clearly
Jona than
for those days; what use is a
the holiest day of the week
Ber ger
room, however beautiful, if
— but does that mean we
it makes us uncomfortable in our own
should make every day a Sabbath?
homes?
No, the Torah clarifies: "Six days
shall you work, and perform all your
But I do wonder, in light of this
week's parshah, about what we've lost
creative labor, and the seventh day is
as our society has become less formal
a Shabbat of the Lord your God." The
— and how we can reclaim it.
six regular days complement Shabbat;
Last week, the Torah described the
taken together, they provide balance.
sanctuary created by the Israelites in
On a practical level, then, what can
the desert; this week, we read about
we do? We can reserve some cloth-
the ornate clothes worn by the Kohen
ing — perhaps just a piece of jewelry
Gadol, or High Priest, and the plainer
or a special watch — for Shabbat. We
uniform worn by the other kohanim.
can set the table a little more nicely
In all, five Torah portions deal with
and cook something different. We can
the construction of a formal space and
make our house into a sanctuary that
the design of formal clothing. Is the
one day a week.
Torah sending us a message that we
Shabbat shalom!
ought to return to the world of suits
Jonathan Berger is the rabbi at Hillel
and parlors?
Day School of Metropolitan Detroit in
The Torah's real lesson is about
Farmington Hills.
the importance of balance. While the

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Conversations

• What purpose does formality serve? What problems might result from
too much (or too little) formality?
• Do you prefer a very informal synagogue service or a more formal
one? Is there a "sweet spot" in the middle?
• What is the relationship between formality and holiness?

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February 26 • 2015

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