Bring What Moves You

 

Parshat Vayakhel (Exodus 35:1 - 38:20) 

Moses assembles the Israelites and reminds them of the commandment to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest. He further instructs them to kindle no light on Shabbat.

Then Moses reviews God's instructions concerning the building of the Tabernacle and calls upon the people to bring gifts to be used in its construction. He appoints Bezalel and Oholiab to be the chief artisans in the work of constructing the Tabernacle and to supervise the other skilled crafts people who will contribute to the building.

The Israelites respond to Moses' call for gifts, bringing so many riches that Moses has to proclaim that enough materials has been donated.

The skilled artisans make the cloth covering and the goat's hair tent over the Tabernacle, and they make the curtain, as well as the screen for the entrance to the Tabernacle.

Bezalel makes the gold covered Ark of acacia wood and the cherubim on the Ark cover. He makes the table for the bread of display and the seven branched menorah. Bezalel also makes the altars and the copper washbowl and stand.

Synopsis is courtesy of Teaching Torah, by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden

For your Shabbat table:

• In Parshat Vayakhel, we read a description of the two talented artisans charged with constructing the Tabernacle, Bezalel and Oholiab. In order to be chosen for this very esteemed task, they must have been quite skilled in their craft. In what areas are you talented?
• The description of the decoration of the tabernacle is very detailed.  Do you think it is important for a special place like the tabernacle to look a certain way?  How might you decorate a place that is important or special?

This week's Torah toon is musical, spotlighting a beautiful song by Alicia Jo Rabins.

The Gold Standard?

Parshat Ki Tissa
Exodus 30:11 - 34:35

Moses is commanded to take a census of the Israelites with each person paying half a shekel as an offering to God. The money is to be used for the service of the Tent of Meeting.

God also tells Moses to make a copper washbowl and stand for the priests to use when they enter the Tent of Meeting, and to make a special oil for anointing the Tent, the Ark, Aaron, and his sons.

Bezalel and Ohaliab are made the chief artisans of the Tabernacle, the Ark, and the priestly vestments. Then Moses is told to remind the Israelites to keep the Sabbath forever as a sign of the covenant between God and the people. All this God says to Moses on Mount Sinai.

When God has finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, God gives Moses the two tablets on which are inscribed the laws.

But the people waiting below have been impatient because Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain. They ask Aaron to make them a god to lead them. Aaron takes the gold jewelry of the people and casts a Golden Calf. The next day, he declares a festival and the people offer sacrifices to the calf as they dance before it.

On the mountain, God tells Moses that the Israelites have turned away from the laws and that God will destroy them and make the descendants of Moses a great nation. Moses pleads with God to remember the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to spare the people. God agrees.

Then Moses descends from the mountain, and, in his anger at seeing the gold idol, smashes the tablets of the law.

After the people have been punished and have repented, Moses must again plead with God not to forsake the covenant. god tells Moses to carve two new tablets of stone for God to inscribe again with the words of the law.

Moses ascends Mount Sinai with the tablets and God appears to him in a cloud and renews the covenant with the Israelites. Moses remains on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.

When Moses descends from Mount Sinai the second time, his face is radiant because he has spoken with god. The Israelites are frightened by the radiance. Because of this, Moses wears a veil over his face except when he is speaking to God or speaking God's words to the Israelites.

Synopsis courtesy of Teaching Torah by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden

For your Shabbat table:

• The people knew that they were not supposed to worship idols, and yet, when Moses went up the mountain and was gone for a very long time, they built the Golden Calf. Why did they do something they knew was wrong?
• Bezalel and Oholiab are made the chief artisans of the people in this parsha. Not surprisingly, one of the most famous and prestigious art schools in all of Israel is the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. Where else do you see examples of Biblical names being used today? Why do you think we sometimes use biblical names even today in such a modern age?
• While many Jewish holy spaces (like synagogue sanctuaries) do not contain images of human beings, many do include a wide variety of artistic pieces - either through the architecture of the space, tapestries, pieces of arts, and even the ways in which we dress and adorn our Torah scrolls. Take a tour (or think about) your sacred space - in what ways does it include works of art? How do they enhance your prayer experience? (or does it enhance it - maybe it detracts from it)

Your weekly Torah parsha cartoon:

Looking Your Very Best

Parshat Tetzaveh
Exodus 27:20 - 30:10

In this portion, Moses is further told to instruct the Israelites to bring olive oil for lighting the lamps of the Tabernacle. The lamps, which are to be the responsibility of Aaron and his sons, are to burn from evening to morning for all time. Moses is told to ordain Aaron and his sons as priests.

The priests are to be adorned in special clothes. All the priests are to wear four garments - linen breeches, tunics, sashes, and turbans. In addition to these four articles, the High Priest (Aaron) is to wear a special robe of pure blue decorated at the hem with pomegranates and golden bells. Over this robe, the ephod - an apron-like layer woven of gold, blue, purple, and crimson - is to be worn. The breastplate, inlaid with precious stones and the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, is to be worn by the High Priest over the ephod. The eighth special item in the High Priest's dress is a gold plate engraved with the words "Kodesh LaYHVH" (Holy to Adonai) that is to be tied with a blue cord to the front of his turban.

The priests are to be ordained in a special ceremony which first involves washing, dressing, and anointing them with oil, and secondly, the offering of various sacrifices. These ceremonies are to be repeated for seven days.

The priests are to bring offerings twice daily to the altar in the Tabernacle. Further, they are to burn incense on an altar to be constructed especially for that purpose.

(Synopsis courtesy of Teaching Torah by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden)

Questions for your Shabbat table:

• The word tetzaveh means to "instruct" or to "command" - why do you think the Torah is so specific in the descriptions of the Tabernacle (in last week's portion) and the dress code for the priests (in this week's portion)?
• In ancient days, being a Kohein - a priest - was a major Jewish job. What are some of today's Jewish jobs?
• According to the descriptions in the Torah (and this portion), the priests had very elaborate and fancy clothes to wear. What are some of your favorite outfits to wear when you want to dress up? For what special occasions do you wear those clothes?
• Read the descriptions of the priestly clothing. How are they similar to how we adorn our Torah scrolls?

This week's animated version of the parsha:

Mission: Mishkan

Parshat Terumah

Exodus 25:1 - 27:19
In this portion, God instructs Moses to accept gifts from the Israelites. These are to be used in constructing a sanctuary so that God can dwell among the people. Acceptable gifts include precious metals and stones; tanned skins; blue, purple, and crimson yarns and linen; and special oils and spices.

God shows Moses the pattern according to which the mishkan (the Tabernacle) and its contents are to be made. First to be made is an Ark of acacia wood, overlaid both inside and out with gold. The Ark is to be fitted with gold rings and gold covered poles to make it portable. The tablets of the law (which God will give Moses) are to be kept in the Ark. Two gold cherubim are to be placed facing each other over the cover of the Ark.

The Ark is to be house in the innermost chamber of the Tabernacle, called the Holy of Holies.

God describes the construction of the Tabernacle to Moses in great detail. The entire structure is to b eportable, with a wooden framework, and walls of richly covered fabric.

Inside the Tabernacle, next to the Holy of Holies, is to be a second room called the Holy place, which will contain a table overlaid in gold with the bread of display (shrewbread) set on it, and a seven-branched menorah also wrought of gold work.

In the court of the Tabernacle, an altar is to be constructed with horns of copper at each corner, and the courtyard itself is to be 100 cubits long by 50 cubits wide, fenced in with fine twined linen on silver filleted poles with hooks of silver and sockets of brass.

(Synopsis courtesy of Teaching Torah by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden)

Questions for your Shabbat table:

• Terumah, the name of this week's portion, means "gifts" that the Israelites were each supposed to contribute to the building of the Tabernacle. What is the best gift you ever received? What is the most important gift you have ever given? What made each gift so special?
• During the building of the ark, each person was supposed to contribute something to the project. Why do you think this was mandatory? How would the project be different if everyone could choose whether or not they wanted to participate?
• Do you have to be an active participant in the Jewish community in order to be considered a Jew? How do you contribute to your community?
• The mishkan, the Tabernacle, was the special worship place the Israelites built in the wilderness. What is your family's worship place? What makes it special? What is it like to go to synagogue?
• The mishkan is a special place for God to dwell, and it was decorated very beautifully in order to honor God. How would you design a beautiful synagogue today? What would you include? Are there elements found in the description of the mishkan that are reflected in the sanctuary in your synagogue?

This week's Torah cartoon: