But I'll Roll Up My Shirtsleeves, And Make My Best Shot (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia -"Believe It Or Not")

     It isn’t often when “Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Citizen” have an opportunity to perform a patriotic act. No, I am not talking about paying taxes, hanging a flag outside one’s home on Canada Day, or wear all things red, white, and maple leaf during the Olympics. I am talking about an opportunity to protect the land in which we live. No there is no invasion from a foreign adversary. For the past year, we have been fighting a war against a virus. For the past year, we have been asked to make sacrifices including sacrificing time spent with family and friends. We have been asked to alter our behaviour by wearing masks, remaining socially distant, observing various levels of economic closures, and border closures. We have altered the way in which we gather to celebrate, mourn and pray. Now with the vaccination process up and running, the call for Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Citizen to perform his/her patriotic duty has never been clearer and more obvious. The sooner people sign up for their vaccination, and receive their vaccination, the quicker the line moves. The quicker that 80+year-olds sign up and get their vaccine, the quicker 65-79-year-olds can sign up and get theirs. The quicker that cohort signs up and gets vaccinated the quicker, 60-64-year-old cohort get theirs, and so on and so on. Everyone has a role in this process, whether it is shipping the vaccine, administering the vaccine, setting up a website for people to sign up and schedule a time to receive the vaccine, or just showing up at the appointed time and place to receive a shot, the fact is, we all have a role to play so that our society, our community, and our country begins functioning in a far more normal capacity.

    This week we combine the final two Parshiot, Vayakahel-Pekudie, and complete the Book of Exodus. 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. You will recall that when God gave these instructions to Moshe, God started from the middle of the Mishkan – the Aron (The Ark of the Covenant) and worked out to the walls of the Tent of the Meeting.  When B’nai Yisroel begins the building process, it begins with the walls of the Tent, then concludes with the altar, and finally the Ark of the Covenant.  

    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 for 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 their lack of faith. If viewed as a process, B’nai Yisroel began on the outside of its relationship with God, struggling to connect to God by means of idolatrous behavior.  After repentance, and with the completion of each aspect of the Mishkan and the Ohel Moed; B’nai Yisroel began moving towards the Holy of Holies. They started with the walls of the Tent of the Meeting and finished with the ark. They started where they were capable.  As they continued to spiritually and grow and develop; they were able to move to the next level, concluding with the Aron.

    For the vast majority, we approach God in a similar way. As we become inspired, we come to Judaism. As we become motivated, we dedicate a greater portion to God, both in terms of Tzedakah and time. It is very rare when our motivation or dedication comes as a result of a “bolt of lightning” or some existential metaphysical sign or wonder. No, our motivation and dedication are a result of our recognition that there is something missing in our lives. We miss meaning and purposefulness 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 these Parshiot. First, we learn that Judaism requires two parties, God and B’nai Yisroel. Both must exist together in a balanced relationship. When God and Torah become so far out of reach, B’nai Yisroel will become alienated and turn towards idolatry, such as the Golden Calf, crass materialism, money, or some other “God”. When B’nai Yisroel fails to elevate itself in Kedushah, in holiness, then we fail in our dual mission: making our lives more meaningful and spiritual and being  "a light among the nations”. However, when we enter into a highly participatory and shared communal experience, such as building the Mishkan, or any project or program, when we all sacrifice some of our personal needs for the well-being of the community, then our individual lives take on greater meaning and purpose. Second, 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 construction requires hard work. B’nai Yisroel, like any community, shared in the difficulty of the task. Greater participation makes the experience that much more meaningful and more rewarding. What is the reward? The reward is a community that shares Simchas (joy) and tsuris (sorrow), 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

Crown Yourself The King Of Clowns Or Stand Way Back Apart (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Foolish Heart")

           We are all struggling with this “new normal”. We hear terms such as “essential travel”, “social distancing”, “shelter in place”, and “the curve”.  Religious institutions have closed, as well as the notion of “community” is beginning to take on a new reality. Our family, like other families, has essentially remained at home. In order to lighten the mood, our kids have surfed the web to find funny and inspired moments. Our daughter found John Legend, a famous pop star, gave an online free concert because there are no more concerts. We found an incredibly clever Public Service Announcement made by Max Brooks and his famous legendary comedic 93-year-old father Mel Brooks. With Mel standing inside his home behind sliding glass doors, Max introduced himself and explained that he loves his 93-year-old father. Max explained that he does not know if he is a carrier of the Covid 19 virus and if he did not practice social distancing, if he did not stay away from his father there would be a chance of him passing the virus to his legendary father and his father could pass it to his long time comedy partner, Carl Reiner, and he could pass it along to their friend and former actor on one of their legendary shows, Dick Van Dyke.  Max explained that in one fell swoop he would be responsible for wiping the last of a generation of legendary comedic writers and performers. Max reminds us, the viewers that this behavior will save lives, and it is something that we can all do.

            This week we combine the final two Parshiot, Vayakahel-Pekudei, and complete the Book of Exodus. 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 contributing 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 their lack of faith. If viewed as a process, B’nai Yisroel began its relationship with God by struggling to connect. They didn’t quite know how to connect to God, let alone each other. This explains the need for the Aseret Dibrot – The Ten Commandments as well as Parsha Mishpatim with its focus upon Civil Law. However the episode of the Egel Zahav Golden Calf indicated that B’nai Yisroel’s default behavior was idolatry. This makes sense since they had been slaves in an idolatrous society for several centuries. Now that B’nai Yisroel has repented as a nation, they began to re-connect to God in a more acceptable manner. They came together as a community and began the actual construction of the Mishkan.

           The double Parsha begins in a peculiar manner. Before the community begins construction, Moshe gathers them together as a community to remind them of Shabbat. Why does he need to gather the community together to remind them about Shabbat, they already knew about Shabbat? Also, what is the point of gathering together in the first place? Clearly, the construction of the Mishkan is a communal effort. However, the construction of the Mishkan also embodies a nation’s attempt at its version of creation. This nation was creating a means by which it connects to God. Therefore, prior to the nation engaging in creating its new world embodied in the Mishkan, Moshe gathers the nation together to remind them that God created something as well, and established the Shabbat as part of Creation. In a sense, B’nai Yisroel was being presented with something very new. As former slaves, they knew all about building things. They knew all about working together to create cities pyramids etc. However incorporating Shabbat, incorporating the opposite of labor (e.g. rest) was antithetical to what they understood to be the creative process.

          We are living in very troubling times. We are being forced to rethink the “how” we do things. However, we should not rethink the “why” we do things. Grandchildren love their grandparents. However, this virus seems to be fatal in people who have been blessed with grandchildren.  Our eldest daughter is in Boston, which is now quickly becoming another “hot spot” in the U.S. Her grandparents felt bad that she was there by herself so they called her and suggested that she could come to them and stay. She needed to remind her grandparents that although she would love to, she didn’t want to put them at risk. She loved them too much to do something like that. Much like Max Brooks didn't want to put his father Mel and a bunch of legendary comics at risk.  As difficult as this time is, we have all been empowered. We can have all been empowered to save lives. Saving a life these days is as easy as rethinking how to connect to people. Rather than a Mishkan, for a community to gather together, the Jewish community will have to learn to rely on another medium. While we need to figure out the “how” to connect; we should not question the “Why” to connect in the first place. We connect because we hunger for relationships with our family, our friends and with God.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Put Your Gold Money Where Your Love Is Baby; Before You Let My Deal Go Down (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Loser")

            Earlier this week, my wife and I brought our fifteen-year-old daughter to the airport bound for Israel. She joined approximately sixty-five classmates to form “Team Shalva” a participating non- profit sponsor organization for the Jerusalem Marathon. In order to be on the “team” and run in the Jerusalem Marathon, each “team member” committed to raising more than $3000 USD for Shalva, an Israeli non-profit that provides support, education, and training for special needs children and their families.  For the past several months, our daughter asked our family and friends for donations, she babysat, and she ran a winter break camp for little children. She also put in her own birthday gift money that she received from family and friends over the course of the year.  I was curious what her rationale was for contributing her own money. She explained that she did not feel comfortable raising money for a cause if she wasn’t willing to contribute more than just her time. Smiling, she reminded me that I am always telling our children about authenticity and integrity “putting your money where your mouth is” and “being able to walk the walk if you are going to talk the talk”.        

This week we combine the final two Parshiot, Vayakahel-Pekudie, and complete the Book of Exodus. 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. You will recall that when God gave these instructions to Moshe, God started from the middle of the Mishkan – the Aron and worked out to the walls of the Tent of the Meeting.  When B’nai Yisroel begins the building process, it begins with walls of the Tent, and then concludes 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 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). The Or HaChaim explains that there were types of givers: those whose “spirit motivated them” to give what they could afford, voluntarily and wholeheartedly. However, there was a second category and perhaps an even nobler category of people whose “heart inspired” them to do more than they could afford since their desire to share in the building of the Mishkan was so incredibly powerful. Their desire to undo the damage of the Golden Calf was so strong they were inspired to an even greater degree. Whether part of the first or second category of donors, everyone who gave was considered to have participated in this constructive process. Everyone had an opportunity to repent for the sin of the Golden Calf and for their lack of faith. If viewed as a process, B’nai Yisroel began on the outside of its relationship with God, struggling to connect to God by means of idolatrous behavior.  After its repentance and with the completion of each aspect of the Mishkan and the Ohel Moed; Bnai Yisroel began moving towards the Holy of Holies. They started with the walls of the Tent of the Meeting and finished with the ark. They started where they were capable of starting. However their goal was to be spiritually worthy enough to approach the Aron, and the Ark of the Covenant.

 When a group, a team, a community bound by a common goal, a common purpose or a common desire to experience that which is authentic; then something very special happens. Our people build a Mishkan. They experience a closeness to God that they were unable to experience either as individuals or at a lower level of spiritual development. Our children raise money for a worthwhile cause, participate in a spiritual and physical deed that tests them. They share the experience together and something special happens. They learn not only something about themselves but what it means to be part of something more than just themselves. They understand the importance of not only their personal relationship to God but the community’s relationship to God. The result, of course, is that God will dwell among the community that built the Mishkan and God will dwell among those teenagers who raise the money and run in a marathon for the sake and welfare of others.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Little Bolt Of Inspiration, The Way You Strike Me Now (John Barlow & Bob Weir- "Supplication")

       With Purim having come and gone, with the weather finally breaking the freezing mark and snow beginning to melt, we actually could smell a bit of spring in the air. Another clear indicator occurred each morning this week as we heard birds chirping as we prepared to leave for work and school. Perhaps the clearest indicator occurred the other day when our son and I watched scenes of spring training for our favorite baseball team. Granted, we hardly recognized half the players, and we know that our team will be lucky to have a winning season. Yet we both enjoyed watching these baseball players go through the process of becoming a team, of working together and striving for a common goal.    

This week we combine the final two Parshiot, Vayakahel-Pekudie, and complete the Book of Exodus. 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. You will recall that when God gave these instructions to Moshe, God started from the middle of the Mishkan – the Aron and worked out to the walls of the Tent of the Meeting.  When B’nai Yisroel begins the building process, it begins with walls of the Tent, and then concludes 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 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). The Or HaChaim explains that there were types of givers: those whose “spirit motivated them” to give what they could afford, voluntarily and wholeheartedly. However there was a second category and perhaps an even nobler category of people whose “heart inspired” them to do more than they could afford since their desire to share in the building of the Mishkan was so incredibly powerful. Their desire to undo the damage of the Golden Calf was so strong they were inspired to an even greater degree. Whether part of the first or second category of givers everyone who donated something participated in this constructive process, everyone had an opportunity to repent for the sin of the Golden Calf and for their lack of faith. If viewed as a process, B’nai Yisroel began on the outside of its relationship with God, struggling to connect to God by means of idolatrous behavior.  After its repentance and with the completion of each aspect of the Mishkan and the Ohel Moed; Bnai Yisroel began moving towards the Holy of Holies. They started with the walls of the Tent of the Meeting, and finished with the ark. They started where they were capable and as they continued to spiritually and grow and develop they were able to move to the next aspect until finally concluding with the Aron.

For the vast majority, we approach God in a similar way. As we become inspired, we come to 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 lightning” 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 and purpose 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 these Parshiot. First, we learn that Judaism requires two parties, God and B’nai Yisroel. Both must exist together in a balanced relationship. When God and Torah become so far out of reach, B’nai Yisroel will become alienated and turn to idolatry, such as the Golden Calf, crass materialism, money or some other type of “God”. When B’nai Yisroel fails to elevate itself in Kedushah, in holiness, then we fail in our dual mission: make our lives more meaningful and spiritual; “be a light among the nations”. However when we enter into a highly participatory and shared communal experience, such as building the Mishkan, or any project or program that we build, we must sacrifice some of our personal needs for the well being of the community. Second, we learn that when the community shares a common 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. Greater participation makes the experience that much more meaningful and more rewarding. 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. Of course, our son still wanted to the prize for the raising the most money.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Everybody Is Playing In The Heart Of Gold Band (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Scarlet Begonias")

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