Shabbat Shalom GRJC

Weekly Emails to the Congregation

Parshat Vayakhel 2008

Shabbat Shalom to the GRJC family,

We light Shabbat candles this week at 5:28 pm.  Friday evening services will begin at 8 pm.  Saturday morning services will begin at 9 am.  Cheryl David will become a Bat Mitzvah this Shabbat.  We wish an early Mazel Tov to Cheryl and her family.

We read this week from parshat Vayakhel, as we approach the last chapters in Sefer Shemot, the Book of Exodus.  We read previously about God's instructions to Moses and the Israelites about the building of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary that they would carry with them through the wilderness.  This week, we read about the actual construction and fashioning of all its pieces.

We notice the detailed instructions and detailed work involved in creating the Mishkan.  The careful work that Bezalel and Oholiav do to make the Mishkan appears more intricate even than the description of how God created the world.  The smallest loops and clasps are as present in this week's parasha as the fabric that serves as the roof.  We will see that in next week's parasha we read a recap of the building phase, and so, in total, there are three large sections that revisit the same material.  There is an underlying need to be precise here in a way that God was not as precise in the first chapter of Genesis.  There is also the sense here that if the Israelites do not build the Mishkan correctly; God's presence will not reside there.

Related to the detailed instructions we see here, I found myself thinking about the many pieces of furniture, toys, and equipment I have put together over the years.  What I have often found is that the directions are most logical and coherent to the manufacturers rather than the customers.  On one recent project, my wife and I came up with an alternative set of instructions since the original ones did not work.

Sometimes we enjoy living in a structured environment, and sometimes we prefer an unstructured environment.  Sometimes we enjoy having all the steps, all the instructions, laid out before us, and sometimes we prefer to figure things out on our own.  God, according to the Torah, seems to feel the same way.  Here in our parasha we see that God wants a highly structured environment.  Perhaps one reason is that God is teaching the Israelites how to create their own special holy place.  They had no opportunity to create their own holy places in Egypt.  The fine new Mishkan will be a source of pride for all the Israelites and nothing should go unnoticed.

Can you think of times when you did not have good instructions and wished that you did?  Can you think of times when you preferred to live without careful plans and schedules?  Do you believe the phrase "God is in the details"?



MAZEL TOV:
To Lea and Larry Schwarzwalder on the recent birth of their granddaughter Eva Gabriel to their daughter Renee and her husband Brian Friedman.

HAMAKOM YINACHEM/MAY GOD SEND COMFORT:
To Judith Gladstein on the recent loss of her mother Ann Krampf. There will be a shivah minyan tonight, Thursday, at 8pm.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. TO ALL THOSE WITH A FEBRUARY 29TH BIRTHDAY - Join us tomorrow, February 29th, at services for a special birthday blessing.

2. ADULT EDUCATION- Jewish Business Ethics - Rabbi's adult ed series continues Sunday morning at 9:30 am.

3. SHTETL FAIR - Sunday morning, 9am-11am.  Join the Daled class as they recreate the life of the eastern European Shtetl.

4. HEBREW CONVERSATION CLASS - Wednesday, March 5th, 8 pm - Continuing from the previous sessions.

May Shabbat bring you peace of mind,

Rabbi Tow

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