Parashat Terumah, Exodus 25:1-27:19

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To Build Our Lives as if it were a Work of Art.

Study with Baruch Sienna

The narrative of the Israelites at Sinai and even the legal material of last week's portion Mishpatim is now interrupted with the lengthy (over the next three weeks) and detailed instructions for the Mishkan. Notwithstanding all this detail, attempts to reconstruct this portable sanctuary are futile for a number of reasons. The Hebrew is not always clear, (what is a tachash), and it would be impossible to collect the necessary materials (I calculated that we would need ). It is also difficult to visualize without architectural drawings. We don't know what the kruvim looked like, etc. And anyways, we don't know exactly how big a cubit is.

I can understand that people have different reactions to this week's portion of Terumah. Some (artists and architects) are thrilled with the focus on the visual, artistic component of sacred space. Others are left cold by the measurements and lists of building materials. I can imagine many readers wondering, 'What does this have to do with me, anyways?' Good question.

I think there are three important lessons. God tells Moses to build the sanctuary, 'Exactly as I show you...' . The Rabbis suggest that God showed Moses drawings (too bad they aren't included in the Torah!). God tells Moses that it must be built precisely. The saying, 'God is in the details' is often attributed to architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. If you are building something important, whether it is an art project or your life, pay attention. Measure twice, cut once. A. J. Heschel wrote, 'Build your life as if it were a work of art.'

The second lesson is about doing things in order. The Torah gives very specific instructions, and the actual construction (in 3 weeks) reverses the order. So Simchah Bunem of Przysucha correctly points out that the sequence of what is to be done is critical. He teaches one of the lessons now found in Seven Habits for Highly Effective People by Steven Covey: First Things First.

From this we can conclude that since the Torah bothers to mention the sequence of what is to be done and says, "So you shall do," it must mean for future generations also.
Even those children in generations still to come, when your turn comes to do holy work, follow the example of the building of the wilderness tabernacle. Go from one level to the next, each at its proper time. Don't put what is supposed to go at the beginning at the end, nor put what is supposed to go at the end at the beginning.

This is certainly a valuable lesson. Part of performing sacred ritual acts is in executing them in the correct order (we say kiddush over the wine before blessing the challah). And this is true for all our actions in every aspect of our lives. We have to learn to walk before we can run.

But the first part of Bunem's comment that the lesson of doing things in their proper order applies to us too, is based on Rashi's interpretation on the verse: "According to everything that I show you, the plan for the Tabernacle and the plan for all its utensils, and so shall you do" (Ex. 25:9). To this final phrase, Rashi adds: for generations. Rashi explains that if we lose one of the utensils, we must make it according to the instructions. So, according to Rashi, (the extraneous 'and' in) the phrase ,'and so shall you do' is the prooftext that this is not referring only to the construction of the Mishkan utensils but to any utensils made in future generations. Rashi gives King Solomon as an example. Solomon had to also follow these instructions when he built the first Temple. (Of course, many scholars see it in reverse: that the Mishkan is retroactively described as a prototype of the Temple).

Normally, I could stop here with three timely and inspirational, if not particularly original lessons: pay attention to details, first things first, and implicit in Rashi's commentary, that we continue the work of building a dwelling place for God's presence even today.

But I am interested in one more idea found in the Talmud. Rashi's comment, that the instructions of Exodus are not limited to the Mishkan, but that future generations too are also required to follow these instructions, is based on a Talmudic discussion (Sanhedrin 16b). The context of the Rabbis' discussion is about the boundaries of cities, where they learn that just like Moses established the boundaries of the Tabernacle, the Sanhedrin decided on the boundaries of the city. But regarding the related example of the utensils of the Mishkan, the Rabbis argue whether utensils made in subsequent generations are made holy by service or whether they also require anointing like those made by Moses. The Rabbis ask:


Let us suppose [that] 'and so shall you make' applies to future generations [that their utensils be anointed]! - There it is different, for Scripture states, "And he had anointed them and sanctified 'otam' [them]"; [hence, the somewhat extraneous 'otam' teaches that] only they [were sanctified] by anointing, but not those of later generations.

The rabbis interpret the extraneous word 'otam' in the above verse (Num. 7:1) to mean that only the utensils that Moses made, required anointing. In other words, a distinction is made between the utensils that Moses made and those that future generations will make. While on the one hand, the Rabbis interpret our verse to mean that later generations have the obligation to follow the instructions for making the utensils, they also see that there is a difference between the artifacts that we might create and those of Moses' generation. This raises a very interesting question, and a final point. The rabbis are concerned with how to apply the Torah's principles to their world. They correctly understood that while some rules were still meant for today (making utensils), some things were meant only for the time of Moses (anointing the utensils).

I understand their discussion to really be about a bigger question: what in the Torah applies to future generations, and what is unique to the world of the Torah and does not apply to later generations. What in our religious tradition are we to continue and what is 'time-bound' and no longer in force? The early Reform Jews for example, saw much of the ritual laws (such as food restrictions) to be limited to the time of the Bible. Only the ethical principles were seen as universally binding and eternal. Today, many in the Reform movement have a new found respect for traditional practice and mitzvot, but the question remains relevant.

With all due respect to a few individuals in Jerusalem who are trying to reconstruct the Temple's utensils, we don't have to build the sanctuary with crimson and purple. But the task of building a sacred life is still with us.

 

Shabbat Shalom.

BDS