Monday, February 11, 2013
Parshat Terumah
Shmot 25:1 – 27:19
6 Adar 5773 / Feb. 15 – 16, 2013
Shmot 25:1 – 27:19
6 Adar 5773 / Feb. 15 – 16, 2013
Dwelling in All
by Zvi Bellin, MHHQ
by Zvi Bellin, MHHQ
In this week’s Torah portion we are commanded by G-d to build a
collapsible and portable structure for worship space in the desert. It seems strange to me that G-d would want a physical
structure, especially one made of the finest materials,
“… gold, silver, and copper; and turquoise,
purple and scarlet wool; linen and goat hair; red-dyed ram skins, tachash skins,
acacia wood; oil for illumination, spices for the anointment oil and the
aromatic incense; shoham stones and stones for the settings,
for the Ephod and the Breastplate. (verses 25:3-7)”
It seems counterintuitive that the Almighty
Being that cannot be contained in language, time, or space, would want to
designate one structure as a place to be “more holy” than another place. There
is one verse that seems to address this theological conundrum.
“They shall make a
Sanctuary for Me – so that I may dwell in them.” (25:8)
Contrary to idolatry, where holiness is bound
up in a specified object, the Mishkan was more of a center
piece that served to uplift the entire community of Israel. The holiness of the Mishkan stemmed
from the meaning that the Israelites gave to it and not something attributed to
any intrinsic nature. When they called the Mishkan holy, they
were able to self-identify as holy because they were doing the naming. Thus the
physical act of donating one’s own materials and using one’s own craft to
create this holy space, served as a cultural reminder – Holiness is
inside of you.
What does it mean for a person to be holy? I want to define it
as a choice that an individual makes to live life in an authentic way that
allows others to do the same. The key though is the choice that
is made to elevate one thing over another. The holiness is in the choosing, not
in the thing itself.
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