Dear TBZ community:
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
Be acceptable to you Yah,
My Rock and My Redeemer.
Oh Lord prepare me
to be a Sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
And in thanksgiving, I'll be a living Sanctuary for You.
וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
וַאֲנַ֤חְנוּ ׀ נְבָ֘רֵ֤ךְ יָ֗הּ מֵעַתָּ֥ה וְעַד־עוֹלָ֗ם הַֽלְלוּ־יָֽהּ׃
Ve-asu li mikdash
Ve-shachanti be-tocham
Ve-a-nach-nu ne-var-ech Yah,
May-atah ve-ad o-lam.
The beginning of the Parsha invites each Israelite to bring a gift, so we can build a
Mishkan
, a Tabernacle, for the presence of the Divine to dwell.
Shemot 25:1-8
reads:
וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כָּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃
Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him.
וְזֹאת֙ הַתְּרוּמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּקְח֖וּ מֵאִתָּ֑ם זָהָ֥ב וָכֶ֖סֶף וּנְחֹֽשֶׁת׃
And these are the gifts that you shall accept from them: gold, silver, and copper;
וּתְכֵ֧לֶת וְאַרְגָּמָ֛ן וְתוֹלַ֥עַת שָׁנִ֖י וְשֵׁ֥שׁ וְעִזִּֽים׃
blue, purple, and crimson yarns, fine linen, goats’ hair;
וְעֹרֹ֨ת אֵילִ֧ם מְאָדָּמִ֛ים וְעֹרֹ֥ת תְּחָשִׁ֖ים וַעֲצֵ֥י שִׁטִּֽים׃
tanned ram skins, dolphin skins, and acacia wood;
שֶׁ֖מֶן לַמָּאֹ֑ר בְּשָׂמִים֙ לְשֶׁ֣מֶן הַמִּשְׁחָ֔ה וְלִקְטֹ֖רֶת הַסַּמִּֽים׃
oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the aromatic incense;
אַבְנֵי־שֹׁ֕הַם וְאַבְנֵ֖י מִלֻּאִ֑ים לָאֵפֹ֖ד וְלַחֹֽשֶׁן׃
lapis lazuli and other stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.
וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.
In this request for gifts, the expectation is to bring a contribution “each person according to how their heart moves them.” By bringing these gifts the building of the Tabernacle would be possible.
The
Kedushat Levi,
Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev understands these
puskim
as the link between intention and action. Our heart moves us to give a contribution but the
mitzvah
is to give this tangible gift and not just relay in the intention or the feelings of the heart.
In the words of the Kedushat Levi:
“Every person serving the Lord, must do so also by something tangible in addition to the lofty thoughts that he entertains while doing so. Allegorically speaking, the performance of a tangible Miztvah מצוה, commandment, is considered as if one helps the Presence of the Lord to arise from the dust on earth.
When keeping this in mind we can answer the enigma posed by the words כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו, “each person according to how his heart moves him.”
These words form the link between the generous thought and the generous deed.
By making a voluntary contribution, i.e. the size of the contribution is completely voluntary, it is not a tax as the half shekel in
Exodus 30,13
, the Presence of G’d on earth will become so much more manifest.
The words: וזאת התרומה, (These are the gifts) may be understood as if the Torah had written: וזאת ההתרוממות, “and this will constitute the “exaltation, elevation.”
The examples of the materials that were to be denoted are symbolic
of how lofty and generous thoughts are to be translated into “lofty” and generous deeds.
(Text in Hebrew below).
One way to understand this teaching is that intentions without actions can not build the
Mishkan
. To build a sanctuary, and a world, where the presence of the Divine can reside, we need tangible, real actions or as Kedushat Levi says
generous deeds
.
Generous thoughts or intentions are important as a starting place toward a commitment to action. The Kedushat Levi says that when our intentions and our actions come together we are brought to a higher place. That is the meaning of
Terumah
and
Hitromemut
. The capacity to go higher and higher.
In our song, we begin with “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart.” Are our prayers and meditations, our songs and praises part of this building of a Sanctuary and a world filled with God’s Presence? Can prayer stand alone? Is prayer an intention for the sake of itself?
Rabbi Abrham Joshua Heschel speaks to this when explaining the meaning of prayer.
Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism and falsehood. The liturgical movement must become a revolutionary movement, seeking to overthrow the forces that continue to destroy the promise, the hope, the vision.
(
Abraham Joshua Heschel, “On Prayer” in Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Essays, ed. Susannah Heschel, page 263).
When we come together in community to pray and to sing, we hope to be moved and transformed from within so that our hearts can guide us to share our gifts, to bring our best selves to the world, and to bring actionable commitment to heal this broken world.
Our
avodah
, our work, is to continuously transform our generous thoughts into generous gifts. In many ways, this is the essence of what we are trying to do at TBZ.
May this Shabbat bring blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we continue together building a Sanctuary, so the Presence of the Divine can reside in our world.
May we have a joyful Shabbat!
Shabbat Shalom,
