FEBRUARY 25 • 2021 | 27

I 

read a story about a 
Jewish immigrant from 
Europe who moved to the 
lower east side of New York 
in the early years of 20th 
century.
To get a job, he changed 
his traditional clothes and 
worked on Shabbat and 
holidays. He needed to feed 
his family and felt he had no 
other choice.
He often slept at work 
because of late hours at night 
and early hours in morning. 
He often seemed distant, 
depressed and lost.
At night, his children 
would go to work where 
he was asleep at a desk 

and put down a different 
ritual item: Kiddush cup, 
Shabbat candles, tallit, 
Chanukah candles.
The man came 
back to life. The items 
reconnected him 
to his past and his 
family. They reminded 
him who he was: a 
human entitled to 
dignity, not just a 
drone. 
This is the main 
point in our Torah 
portion. When we 
remember who we 
are, we can face 
the challenges of life more 
optimistically and joyfully.

The portion describes the 
fancy, elaborate clothing of 
the priesthood when making 
sacrifices. It also describes 
the Ark of the Covenant that 
was to be covered in gold.
It seems strange that while 
the Israelites are trying 
to get to the promised 
land they stop and make 
such elaborate costumes 
and objects.
Doing so was not 
ritual for ritual’s sake 
and not for God, 
because God does 
not need anything. 
It was to remind a 
group of recently freed 
slaves that they were 
capable of beauty and 
splendor, that they could 
remember who they 
really were, and not Pharaoh’s 
vision of who they were.

The Kiddush cup, 
candlesticks and challah on 
Shabbat remind us that we 
are entitled to rest and a life 
at home that is joyous and 
happy.
The mezuzah reminds 
us to remember our values 
when we leave for work and 
when we come back home. 
The tallit reminds us that 
we are robed in splendor, no 
matter how modest our lives. 
The purpose of ritual, of 
doing Jewish, is to remember 
that we are all capable of 
goodness and that we can 
create a world of beauty and 
splendor even when we feel 
like we are in the wilderness. 

Aaron Bergman is a rabbi at Adat 

Shalom Synagogue in Farmington 

Hills.

SPIRIT

Remembering 
Who We Are

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi Aaron 
Bergman

Parshat 

Tetzaveh: 

Exodus 27:28-

30:10; Ezekiel 

43_10-27. 

(Shushan 

Purim)

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