Our
twelve year old daughter made the school basketball team. This is the first
time she has played an organized team sport. This is the first time that she
has sweated with teammates, bonded with teammates, and shared a common purpose
with teammates. Right now they are 0-2 and they have a lot of work to do in
order to be more competitive. However as parents, we have notice a huge change
compared to before her tryouts. Before she would get sick and the whole world
would have to stop and take notice of her being sick. Now if she is sick she
wants to be healed immediately so as not to let her teammates down. Before, the
world revolved around her. Now she is so much more helpful around the house
because she understands that we, as a family, share common goals and we each
have our jobs to do in order to achieve those goals – just like her basketball
team. Our oldest daughter started in a full time job this week. It is
interesting that she played team sports in middle school and in high school. She
also enjoyed playing intramural sports while attending university. She is now
works for an organization called Mayors Against Illegal Guns –spearheaded by Mayor
Michael Bloomberg of New York. She is part of team. Like her younger sisters,
she realizes the merit of working with people towards a common goal. She
understands that everyone on the team has a job to do and success in the
individual job translates into success for the team. Both have learned that
there is something powerful when individual success is put aside for the success
of the group as a whole. Perhaps this is the transition from childhood to
adulthood, from the centrality of the individual to the centrality of more than
the individual: to the team, to the group or to the family.
This week’s Parsha is Vayakahel/Pekudei. Following the
sin of the Golden Calf and Teshuvah (repentance), B’nai Yisroel begins
executing God’s instructions for the Mishkan, the Ark, and the Tent of the
Meeting. We recall that when God gave these instructions to Moshe, God started
from the middle of the structure (the holiest point of the structure) and
worked out towards the outer walls of the structure. Moshe gave the
instructions to Bnai Yisroel in the same manner, beginning with the most sacred
spot, the Aron and concluding with the least sacred spot, the Ohel Moed 0- The
Tent of the Meeting. However when Betzalel
and Olihav begin organizing the construction of the project, they begin with walls of the Tent, and then
conclude with the altar and finally the Ark.
After
the destructive behavior of worshipping the Golden Calf, B’nai Yisroel comes
together, and shares a common constructive experience bound by a common goal.
Their goal is to complete the construction of the Mishkan. The common
experience is their contributions to of raw materials. V’Yavo’u kol Ish Asher Nasahu
Libo V’chol Asher Nadvah Rucho- Every
man whose heart inspired him came; and everyone whose spirit motivated him
brought the portion of God for the work of the Tent of the Meeting, for all its
labor and for the sacred clothing (Ex.35:21). By participating in this
constructive process, everyone had an opportunity to repent for the sin of the
Golden Calf and for his/her respective lack of faith. If viewed as a process,
B’nai Yisroel began on the idolatrous fringes in its relationship to God, after
repentance, after bringing the materials, after organizing individuals, families
and tribes into cohesive construction units, they began moving towards the Holy
of Holies. First they built the walls of the Tent of the Meeting, the altar,
then the holy of holies.
For
the vast majority, we approach God in a similar way. As we become inspired, we
are drawn towards Judaism. As we become motivated, we dedicate a greater
portion to God, both in terms of tzedakkah and time. It is very rare when our
motivation or dedication comes as a result of a “bolt of lightening” or some
existential metaphysical sign or wonder. No, our motivation and dedication is a
result of our recognition that there is something missing in our lives. We miss
meaning in our lives. We miss contentment in our lives. We miss peace in our
lives. Certainly we can be happy without meaning. Certainly we can be happy
without contentment. Certainly we can be happy without peace. Why? Happiness is
rather fleeting and quite often it is the result of some external factor.
Meaning, contentment and peace are ultimately internally influenced and far
less fleeting. Our movement towards God,
our movement towards greater observance, is a series of steps. We don’t begin
as a Tzaddik observing all mitzvot.
Rather, one mitzvah leads to another, learning leads to more learning
which eventually leads to doing.
We
learn several vital lessons from this Parsha. First, we learn that Judaism works
best as a communal experience. Certainly we all have our own individual lives
to lead and Mitzvot to follow. However, observance is much easier when its
shared. Experience is more meaningful when it is shared. Whether sharing it
with the family on Shabbat and Holidays or sharing it with members of the
community during prayer, Judaism works best when it is done as a team sport. We
learn that when the community shares a commons sense of purpose, something
wonderful happens. We achieve that balance between God and ourselves. The
result, of course, is that God will dwell among us. God’s dwelling among us
makes our community a little warmer, a little kinder, and more significant.
Third, we also learn that the actual process of building requires hard work.
B’nai Yisroel, like any team, shared in the task’s difficulty. Greater
participation made the experience that much more meaningful. When the
experience is more meaningful, then the reward will be greater. What is the reward?
The reward is a community that shares simchas and tsuris, victories as well as
defeats. The reward is that no individual member of the community should ever
feel alienated and alone. The reward is a community that strives for growth and
improvement. This brings more meaning to the life of the individual, the
family, and the community.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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