Monday, February 24, 2014

Parshat Pekudei
Shmot 38:21 – 40:38
29 Adar 1 5774 / Feb. 28 - March 1, 2014

A Blessing from Moshe to Moishe House
by Zvi Bellin, Moishe House Headquarters



 וַיַּרְא מֹשֶׁה אֶת-כָּל-הַמְּלָאכָה, וְהִנֵּה עָשׂוּ אֹתָהּ--כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה, כֵּן עָשׂוּ; וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם, מֹשֶׁה.

And Moses saw all the work, and, behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it. And Moses blessed them.
The tabernacle and all of its parts are constructed, yet not united. The clothing of the Priests are stitched in fine detail. The Children of Israel bring all the products of their handiwork before Moshe for approval. He inspects the holy tools carefully; he measures each post and eyes the thread pattern of each cloak and garment. Moshe sees that everything was indeed made in accordance with what God commanded. The people prove their personal connection to know what God wants from them. According to Rashi, Moshe blesses the entire congregation with these words.

“May it be willed that the Shechina [divine presence] will rest on the doing of your hands, and may the favor of the Lord our God rest on us. Establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.”

This blessing offers an important reminder for our work through Moishe House. Like the Children of Israel (and as Children of Israel) we set the stage for some major Jewish experiences for our peers. We take care in preparing the food, and keeping the house ready for events. We are mindful about our relationships with our housemates who are in part co-workers and part friends. We do a lot to create the space and get all the details ready.

After that, we have to let go. Will people show up? Will new people come? Will our peers appreciate the scene we have created? Will our programs necessarily translate into a richer Jewish life for all involved? We don’t know, and neither did Moshe when the Israelites brought him all the ritual items. Will these physical items actually draw God closer to us?

Moshe’s blessing fills the gap between planning with our best effort and the actual outcome of our work. We can choose to be overcome by worry about an event, or we can bring an intention and hope that things will work out as needed. So I want to bless all of us:

May it be willed that the Divine Presence will rest on the doing of our hands, and may Divine favor rest upon us. Establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands!

Many blessings!
Zvi

Monday, February 17, 2014

The Small Task at Hand

Parshat Vayakhel
Shmot 35:1 - 38:20
22 Adar 1 5774 / February 21 - 22, 2014


The Small Task at Hand
by Zvi Bellin, MHHQ

In this week’s Torah portion Moshe gathers the people and asks them to provide free-will offerings of precious materials in order for the artisans and craftsmen to build the sanctuary in the desert. All the people of Israel responded with overwhelming generosity. Our parsha states in Chapter 36:

“But when these continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning, 4 all the artisans who were engaged in the tasks of the sanctuary came, each from the task upon which he was engaged, 5 and said to Moshe, ‘The people are bringing more than is needed for the tasks entailed in the work that the Lord has commanded to be done.’6 Moshe thereupon had this proclamation made throughout the camp: ‘Let no man or woman make further effort toward gifts for the sanctuary!’ So the people stopped bringing: 7 their efforts had been more than enough for all the tasks to be done.”

I love hearing about a project that actually gets done. So often, I find myself working on projects that seem to have no end, for example, engaging Young Jews to explore their religious, spiritual, and cultural heritage. I can get into the mindset, that there really is no end to such a task, and it is easy to get lost in the progress that can be difficult to perceive. I think social justice causes have a similar resonance; will we ever really reach a just society? Will all people on earth (or in this country or city) be safe from bodily harm, starvation, or degradation?   Possibly not anytime soon. And so at times when feeling the hints of despair it is important to remember the Jewish adage, “It is not upon us to finish the work, but neither can we desist from working towards the goal.”

Our Torah portion offers another useful strategy than just plowing through feelings of despair – notice the projects that do have an end. All huge goals can be broken up into smaller parts, and those goals into smaller parts…and in the end there is but one task, “give a free will offering” to the moment. That is really all we can do. Snap out of our locked in ways of being and give ourselves freely for one moment to acting in a way that brings us towards our goal. This is true for repairing a car or ridding the world of micro-aggressions. Make this small moment a free will offering towards your goals.

When we focus on the small moments of change, and then pick our heads up to see where we have come (Shabbat, for example is a great day to stop and see how far you have come), there might be a sense of, “Hey! The car is fixed!” or, “Hey, I really have stopped unconsciously talking down to people that are different from me!” We can celebrate the end of a task and feel a sense of progress towards a larger goal.


Monday, February 10, 2014

Angry Moshe Blows His Top

Parshat Ki Tisa
Shmot 30:11 – 34:35
15 Adar 1 5774 / Feb. 14 –15, 2014


Angry Moshe Blows His Top
by Zvi Bellin, MHHQ

If there is a portion of the Torah where Moshe seems to be out of his mind, this is it! Moshe is on the mountain and everything is going fine. He is learning Torah with God and crafting a timeless text together. When they are done, God tells Moshe that the people have gone bananas. They are worshiping a false god and God will kill the whole nation and start fresh with Moshe’s kin. Moshe “leaps” into action and begs for the people’s forgiveness. He convinces God that it would be very un-God like for the people to be destroyed now. After all, they've come so far. And would we really want a rumor spreading around the world that the Almighty God freed the Jews only to kill them in the desert. No one wants that! God sees the reason in Moshe’s words and relents. The Jewish people will be spared.

This all seems great. Gold star for Moshe.

Now Moshe goes down the mountain hefting the first set of stone tablets. And he hears … debauchery! A raucous celebration that can only mean one thing – God was not kidding and the poop has really hit the fan! He approaches the camp and sees the Israelites dancing around this golden statue of a calf. They are singing around it and pointing to it proclaiming, “This is our new god!”

Moshe has already saved the people from destruction. He could have returned to the community, smashed the baby cow and set the people straight with a strong reprimand. Instead he seems to go ballistic. He breaks the tablets and grinds the calf to dust making it into an atonement cocktail for the people to drink. Then he rallies the people who are still “with God” and orders these zealots to slay their brothers who refused to come with Moshe. They killed about 3,000 people! In the text, he gave this order in the name of God, though it is not evident from the text that God actually told the people to kill their own flesh and blood.

While Moshe learned to sway God towards forgiveness, he did not seem to model God’s ability to forgive.
As I read Moshe’s story, I get a sense of a man who carries a burden that is too great. He is a leader that is broken by his responsibility. From this story it is very clear to me why Moshe could not continue on with the people to Israel. I hate to come down on Moshe. I would not want to walk even one step in his shoes. For me the story brings a lesson as a leader. Losing one’s head in anger is not a time for action. It is a time for reflecting on why there is so much angry.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Praying For The Whole

Parshat Tetzaveh
Shmot 27:20 - 30:10
8 Adar 1 5774 / Feb. 7-8, 2014


Praying For The Whole
by Zvi Bellin, MHHQ

In this week’s Torah portion Moshe and the Israelites are commanded regarding the clothing of the High Priest (Aaron), and his sons. In the caste system of this newly-liberated people there was one family (Aaron’s) from within the Levite family that would bear the burden and receive the honor of serving in God’s tabernacle. The Priests performed the holiday rituals and the daily sacrifices. They made sure to keep the lamp burning day and night, and were the only ones allowed to enter into the inner chambers of the temple.  Reflecting on this, I think about a monogamous relationship where the most intimate revelations about two people are shared between the couple only.

As we know very well, Judaism does not say that the Priestly connection was the only connection between humans and God. We believe that each person can reach out to God and also find forgiveness through God. If you think about it, atonement and reconciliation is a major function of clergy in many faiths. Similar to last week’s question, why have this central role if we are all privy to the power of Divine communication? And what of today, where a strong Jewish central figure seems to be missing?

When speaking of an individual’s relationship with God, I believe the priests’ role was less crucial. You did something wrong, and you brought an offering to the temple for atonement. The priests’ function was to help you with the roasting and blood spilling, and keeping order, very much like the clerks at a Department of Motor Vehicles. Essential for order, but not adding much more.

Now when we talk about communal processes, then the kohanim serve a much more important function. They act as the representative for the entire nation, with all of our intricate connections and bonds. This is very beautiful and wise. Having a central person atoning for the collective, shows that we understand that no one person is solely responsible for his or her actions. A murder acts within a social context and framework. A thief does not grow up with this propensity in a total vacuum. Just as we affect each other to express our positive identity, we also play a role in each other’s failings. Having the priest as a central figure is a cosmic play of the, “many combined into the One.”

Now how about today? We do not have the same system of centralized sacrificial atonement. We pray with words, words, and more words. Each person is individually responsible for the words of his or her lips and the meditations of his or her own heart. I believe, that the unification of prayer can be found in the repetition of the silent prayer by the Shaliach Tzibur (literally, The One Sent by the Collective), Service Leader. Also, we have a need for 10 people in order to say specific prayers – an enhancement of the individual prayer by the formation of a quorum.

In my own practice, over the past few months, I have been finding myself less  drawn to going to synagogue for prayer, but also in more of a need for an uplifting community experience during Shabbat. I think synagogue can provide that if I have the patience to show up and be open to the process that unfolds as we go through ancient rites of prayer. I will continue to explore this avenue. I also know that in my personal meditation practice, I sometimes feel bored, or I just do not want to sit and do my practice. What motivates me is to remember that world wide, people of all different faiths are engaged in communal practice right now, and that this is not something that I am doing all by myself. I feel myself plugging into a vast network of people trying to hone their compassion and higher-self qualities. It makes coming to the cushion (or  prayerbook) a lot easier.