Shabbat Shekalim: Vayakhel - Conservative

Exodus 35:1–38:20

By Rabbi Bradley Artson, provided by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, for MyJewishLearning.com

Clothes Are The Message

The clothing of our religious leaders communicates our perceptions of our relationships to God and each other.

This week’s Torah reading describes at length the elaborate outfit of the Kohanim (Priests) in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Not only were these elaborate and striking vestments used during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, but they also became the paradigm for the priestly robes in Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem in a later period. They must have added a powerful sense of majesty and pageantry to the earliest worship of the one true God.

It is only natural that, as the culmination of the rites of the Mishkan, the Torah would focus on the human beings who are to serve in that place. But why the emphasis on clothing? After all, isn’t it true that what matters about people is what is in their hearts? Shouldn’t we find elaborate descriptions of Aaron’s personality, rather than lengthy and tedious elaborations of his robes? Why all this focus on externals?

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Ki Tissa - Conservative

Exodus 30:11-34:35

By Rabbi Bradley Artson, provided by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, for MyJewishLearning.com

Tzedakah And Jewish Education

Our communal responsibility to ensure the immortality of the Jewish people depends on our commitment to supporting Jewish education.

Jewish education forms the backbone of our communities. We assure the community of vitality and endurance through the Hebrew studies of our children, the outreach programs for those considering conversion, and the continuing education programs for other seeking adults. And those programs need our support.

Consider today’s Torah portion. God instructs Moses to take a census of the Jewish People in order for each Jew to pay a half-shekel tax to maintain the central communal institution of Jewish learning–the Mishkan (Tabernacle).  The Mishkan, a Jewish school!?! Absolutely, since it was there that the entire Jewish community gathered to learn the word of God. And that first school was supported by all. The Torah records:

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Tetzaveh-Conservative

Exodus 27:20-30:10

By Rabbi Joshua Heller, JTS, for MyJewishLearning.com

The Routine vs. The Novel

The rituals of the tabernacle and Temple called for strictly defined roles -- but also allowed for new expressions.

The latter part of the book of Exodus describes the construction of the mishkan, the portable tabernacle that served as the focus of God’s presence during the Israelites’ wanderings in the desert and beyond. These sections are characterized by a love of regularity and order. The same carefully selected few carry out the same intricately prescribed rituals the same way each day, using sacred objects, which have been standardized down to the last detail.

Each aspect is described twice, first as God commands Moses, and then in its actual implementation, which matches the plans almost to the letter. In contrast, extemporaneous religious expressions, like the Golden Calf, are hazardous at best. There is no room for the novel amid the routine.

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Terumah

Exodus 25:1-27:19

By Rabbi Ismar Schorsch Reprinted with permission of the Jewish Theological Seminary for MyJewishLearning.com.

This week’s parashah and haftarah [reading from the Prophets] are an exercise in counterpoint. Superficially, the construction of sacred space joins them in a common theme. While the Torah portion takes up the erection of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the narrative from the book of Kings recounts the building by Solomon of the First Temple in Jerusalem some 480 years later.

The move is from a mobile sanctuary to a permanent one, from wood to stone. Still, the basic design remains the same, an oblong structure with the Holy of Holies (devir) at the rear, farthest away from the entrance. Likewise, the content of the Holy of Holies is unaltered: an ark covered by two large cherubim with outstretched wings. The ark itself contained only the two tablets which attested to the covenant between God and Israel sealed at Mount Sinai.

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Mishpatim

Exodus 21:1−24:18

By Rabbi Bradley Artson, provided by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, for MyJewishLearning.com

Here Comes The Judge

Parashat Mishpatim teaches us that our society cannot function without laws, judges, and courts of justice.

At its deepest core, America prides itself on the rule of law–the insistence that no individual, however wealthy, influential, popular or powerful, is superior to the rules which govern human conduct. Above any individual–even the President of the United States–is a body of laws that translate general principles into legal guidelines for harmonious living.

The Case in America

That priority was not always the case in America. The West, with its frontier ethic, the South with its racial hatred, and the Northeast with its violence against labor unions often acted against this general commitment to the rule of law. As great a president as Andrew Jackson was, when told of a decision of the Supreme Court that he opposed, responded, "They’ve made their decision, now let them get their own troops to enforce it!"

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