LUXURIES AND NECESSITIES Why is there so much detail relating to the building of the Mishkan (mobile Temple)? This is the fourth week that we are reading about it! Ramban (d. 1270) explains that actually there were two commandments to build a Mishkan. The original commandment occurred before the Israelites made the golden calf. The Israelites had assembled at Mt Sinai to receive the Torah. The Mishkan, with the Ark in the Holy of Holies, was to be a travelling reminder of the experience of G-d’s closeness at Mt Sinai. When the Israelites sinned, the whole notion of a Mishkan...
ARE YOU STIFF NECKED? Is being stubborn a good quality or a bad quality? In this week’s parasha, G-d says to Moses that he is going to punish the Jewish nation after they had sinned with the golden calf, VeHinei Am Keshei Oref Hu, “behold this is a stiff-necked people.” (Shemot 32:9) Yet, when Moses pleads with G-d to forgive them, one of the arguments he uses is: “this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our sins and errors…” (Shemot 34:9) The same phrase, Am Keshei Oref, a stiff-necked or stubborn people is used both as an indictment and as a...
PURE LIGHTS This week’s parasha begins with the commandment to kindle the Menorah in the Temple and the Mishkan (mobile Temple): “Command the Israelites to bring you pure olive oil, pressed for illumination, to kindle the lamp every night.” (Shemot 27:20) We all kindle Shabbat lights and Chanukah lights. Some of us will use candles and some oil. The Torah specifies that for the Temple Menorah only olive oil could be used. The Torah is very specific about which kind of olive oil could be chosen. Look around the oil section in the supermarket and there are many varieties of...
GOLDEN AGE, SILVER AGE, BRONZE AGE The building of the Sanctuary or Tabernacle forms the subject of our Torah reading for the next five weeks. The intricate details of the structure have given rise to many symbolic interpretations. The most basic and fundamental is expressed in the words themselves: “They shall make a Sanctuary for Me and I will dwell in them” (Shemot 25:8) The Tabernacle represented, ultimately, the home we build for G-d within ourselves. Let us look at some of the elements of that building and see how they can help us shape our own lives. Three kinds...
GOING THROUGH THE DOOR There is a curious law described at the beginning of our parasha. A Hebrew slave who had served his six-year term was entitled to go free. If he chose to stay, he was required to have his ear pierced. After the judges decided that this genuinely was the slave’s wish then “his master … shall take him to the door-post … and pierce his ear with an awl; and after that he shall remain his slave forever [i.e. until the jubilee year.]” (Shemot 21:6) In contrast to other ancient societies where slaves were often branded on...
