Building the Tabernacle

This class is dedicated in memory of my father in law, Rabbi Dr. Azriel Rosenfeld z”l, who, besides so many other accomplishments, was instrumental in helping the work of Project Genesis through his classes and answers to students. Please remember HaRav Azriel Yitzchak ben HaRav Avraham Zvi z”l in your learning

Our Torah portion, Terumah, talks about building the Mishkan, the Tabernacle in the desert — the precursor of the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. At first glance, you might wonder what the connection is between this portion and the last one.

As we discussed, last week’s reading discussed Mishpatim, judgments, laws necessary to create a moral and just society. Those are “baseline requirements,” things that apply to everyone, and the Torah certainly isn’t done speaking about those types of laws. Building the Tabernacle was totally different. No one was required to participate, not even a “suggested donation.” “You will take my donations from anyone whose heart moves him to do so” [Ex. 25:2].

My work at Project Genesis follows a similar model: everyone is able to come and benefit from all of the writings at Torah.org. We simply put out the word now and again that continuing our work, our efforts to reach out and build a Jewish future through Jewish learning, cannot happen without donations. In our case, we even offer great prizes — like the chance to win a $1000 gold necklace if you give prior to Feb. 15, and a grand prize of $100,000 cash — to encourage hearts to move. And everyone able to give, does so! Am I right?

Back to topic.

scales-money-globeWhy does the Torah intertwine these laws? Last week we mentioned that the Torah speaks briefly of building the Mizbeyach, the Altar, immediately between the Ten Commandments and the Mishpatim, the judgments, to show us that the place of judgment, the location of the High Court, should be next to that Altar. The lesson we learned is they are intimately connected, that following judgments is as important to G-d as our prayers.

Placing the donations for the Tabernacle after the judgments takes matters a step further. Rabbi Shamshon Rephael Hirsch explains that building a Jewish society with justice and humaneness is a prerequisite, before we can build something as holy as the Tabernacle. It is the foundation, without which the gifts to the Tabernacle are no Mitzvah at all.

This is true in the most literal sense. If a person steals a Lulav, the palm frond taken on Sukkos, then it’s no Mitzvah to use it. It is pasul, unfit — just as a frond whose tip is cut off or whose top leaf is split open.

And as we see, the Torah takes exactly the same precise and demanding approach to both types of laws. For example, even though one cannot take and use a stolen Shofar, the ram’s horn blown at the New Year, in that case one who does so has, in the end, performed the Commandment. Why is this different? Because in the case of the Shofar, the Mitzvah is to hear its sound. Since theft does not apply to listening to a sound, one cannot say that the person didn’t do the Mitzvah. But with a Lulav, the Mitzvah is taking and waving it, which one cannot do with stolen property!

Needless to say, taking stolen funds and giving them to charity is, similarly, no Mitzvah at all. What Rabbi Hirsch is telling us is that this is true in a much larger sense, as well — if we want to build a Holy Tabernacle, even within ourselves, even within our own homes, the first obligation is to strive for honesty, upright conduct and justice, in every area of life.

Rav Asher Zelig Rubenstein zt”l

I want to add a special note, as we approach 30 days since the passing of Rav Asher Zelig Rubenstein zt”l of Jerusalem, who left this world on the Sabbath, Parshas Va’eira. It’s a name that, if you’ve read through my Divrei Torah at Torah.org, the Torah.org Lifeline, and here, you’ve seen well over a dozen times.

I never attended any school in which Rav Rubenstein taught. But shortly after my arrival in Jerusalem to study at “Lakewood East,” someone pointed out that there was a Rav who spoke each Thursday night at 11 PM, and his apartment was just one floor up from the one rented for several of us by the yeshiva (rabbinical school). So I went, and I was captivated.

Rav Rubenstein was a straight “American boy” who went over to Israel to study — and never stopped. His Thursday night talks were always about the Torah portion, and often inspired by (and peppered with anecdotes about) his own teacher, Rav Chatzkel Levenstein zt”l. Both were masters of Jewish ethics. Rav Rubenstein could entertain you, make you laugh, and a moment later make you realize your own shortcomings, and inspire you to do better.

I once asked him how he prepared for these one-hour lectures, how he found material. His response was both simple and profound: just look in Rashi, the work of Rav Shlomo Yitzchaki, the provider of the basic, succinct commentary known to even beginning students of Torah and Talmud. I think it’s obvious, if you’ve been reading my material for even a few weeks, the extent to which his brief answer guided me in this area.

He was an American, and understood American students and our concerns. His advice was straightforward, practical, and incisive, and always came with a warm helping of genuine concern. You knew he cared about you and was looking out for your best interests, making it very easy to trust his wise counsel. He even knew what he could say to us in Jerusalem, that would be perceived as too harsh a criticism if said back in America!

If you would like to read and hear more about this incredible person, please visit the site of Rabbi Yosef Tropper, who has written his own recollections and collected those of others, both written and recorded. Over ten years of Rav Rubenstein’s classes are available for purchase or membership download from our Torahmedia.com library; the funds will now, of course, be paid to his family.

Judgement Place

Immediately following the Ten Commandments in last week’s reading, G-d instructs Moshe to tell the people to build a Mizbeyach, an Altar. And then, He goes on to say, at the beginning of this week’s portion: “And these are the judgments which you shall place before them” [Ex. 21:1].

judgment1The word Mishpatim, judgements, represents a particular category of the Commandments. These are the ones governing the conduct of civil society, which, had they not been given in the Torah, would have to be enacted in order for civilization to function. Governments around the world prohibit murder, assault, and kidnapping — major crimes. But they also have rules about minor crimes, and even regulations about construction and obstacles, things which might harm another person. And in the situation that one party causes damages to another, whether physical or financial, whether deliberately or inadvertently, there are laws and court precedent explaining how the matter can be settled.

Rashi focuses our attention on the opening word v’Eyleh, “and these.” He explains that this word is consistently used to add on to what came before. In this case, v’Eyleh teaches us that just as the Ten Commandments were said at Sinai, these rules were also said at Sinai. And furthermore, Rashi says, the intervening verses about the construction of the Altar teach us a lesson as well: that the Sanhedrin, the High Court, should sit in judgment near that Altar.

What is the Torah telling us? Why is it important that these rules were also given at Sinai? And why should the High Court hear cases right next door to the Holy Altar?

A person might think that in order to get into G-d’s “good book,” as it were, the important things are what goes on between us and G-d. And although the Ten Commandments include interpersonal ones as well, they are all very serious. So a person could still think that little bit of dishonesty might be forgiven. How we act in the synagogue is the key, not how we do business.

The Torah is telling anyone thinking like that: these laws also come from Sinai. And if you get in an argument with your neighbor, do you know where the ultimate authorities sit in judgment? Right next to the Altar!

We all need to know that the interpersonal laws were also given as Commandments. It’s not enough to go to shul, it’s not enough to study. Our interpersonal lives have to be governed by a sense of religious obligation, as well.

Mission Statement

The Medrash says that when all the Jews were told to assemble at Mount Sinai, the souls of all their descendants, and those of all future converts, were brought to join them. Everyone had to be there, personally, at the moment when G-d Himself spoke to the Jewish People. This was when He was going to give them their “marching orders,” to be a Nation of Priests, spreading knowledge of G-d.

MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERAThe Medrash also records that when G-d spoke to the People directly, their souls left their bodies. They all died! The people couldn’t handle it. They had to have Moshe transmit the message. That is why the 10 Commandments begin with “I am HaShem your G-d,” but by third speaks of G-d in the third person: “you shall not take the Name of HaShem your G-d in vain” [Ex. 20:2, 7].

If that was the case, why was it so important that everyone hear Him directly? After all, when Moshe asked to see G-d, He responded that it was impossible for Moshe to see him and live [Ex. 33:20]. So tell the People the same thing, even if they wanted to hear Him directly!

But everyone understands the idea that what you hear directly from the source is very different from what you hear from a third party. You can always doubt that the third party understood and repeated precisely what he heard. With everyone gathered there, everyone heard HaShem’s Voice directly. At that point they asked Moshe to listen and repeat the message, knowing that he was repeating precisely what he heard, and that they weren’t hearing it directly only for their own well-being.

Much is made of the idea that the Jews are a “Chosen People.” But it’s like soldiers selected for a mission — it’s only a true honor if they are successful! We are supposed to develop ourselves as G-dly, ethical people, aiming for a very high standard of conduct in order to elevate the world around us. And it is obvious to everyone that our success is limited. But as Rebbe Tarfon says in Chapters of the Fathers 2:21, “It is not upon you to complete the work, but neither are you free to separate from it.” It is too big a task for any one person or any one lifetime, but it is still the responsibility of every Jew to do his or her part — to learn Torah, to do the Commandments, and to develop our spiritual selves.

We have to get out there, and aim to complete the mission!

Obama and the Orthodox, Revisited

In a recent article in HaAretz, reprinted on Cross-Currents, Rabbi Avi Shafran offered several explanations why there seems to be an Orthodox “animus” against President Obama. He discounts theories like racism and Obama’s social liberalism before arriving at the one he prefers: a lack of hakaras hatov — gratitude.

I have always greatly respected Rabbi Shafran and his writing, and consider him a personal mentor. And I think it is unquestionably true that some people have made “over the top,” irrational criticisms — not that I feel that these reactions are unique to the Orthodox Jewish community, or unique to our current president. But on balance, I think Rabbi Shafran must revisit not only that social liberalism, but the very areas in which he feels our thanks are due, in order to understand why there is so much negativity about the Obama presidency from Orthodox Jews.

Here’s what I wrote about Obama’s election, in November 2008:

I believe that getting America to the point of electing a black President was one of America’s finest hours.Rabbi Yitzchak Adlerstein, November 12.

He beat me to it, as I was going to make a similar comment. As a strong McCain supporter, I did not expect to have such positive feelings about the statement made by Americans about America today, through this election. Less than 50 years after whites had to be forced to share classrooms and bathrooms with black Americans, they elected one to be President of the United States. If I read the electoral college numbers correctly, then although it is true that over 90% of African-Americans voted for him, Obama would have won without the black vote.

Despite his selection of the very partisan Rahm Emanuel to be his chief of staff, Obama has begun with a number of overtures across the aisle. If he governs the way he campaigned — namely, in the center — then the next four years may be a pleasant surprise, and we should give him the chance to prove himself.

I said it, I believed it, I think we gave him that chance, and I think he disappointed us overwhelmingly.

Rabbi Shafran focuses upon foreign policy, and Israel in particular, as the area in which we owe the current administration “special good will.” He points to Obama’s Cairo speech, in which he mentioned the “unbreakable bond” between the US and Israel.

What he does not mention is that Obama visited Cairo immediately, and didn’t visit Jerusalem until his second term. Nor does Rabbi Shafran mention Obama’s declaration, among other troubling statements, that “the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements,” which includes new neighborhoods in Beit Shemesh, not just new outposts between Palestinian towns.

History shows that Ronald Reagan called new settlement activity legal if “ill-advised.” George H.W. Bush, a Republican widely regarded as unfriendly to Israel, said “we do not believe there should be new settlements in the West Bank or East Jerusalem,” permitting normal growth of existing towns. A Clinton-Era Assistant Secretary of State explicitly allowed for that natural growth. And George W. Bush said to Prime Minister Sharon that “it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome… will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949.”

And Rabbi Shafran would have us believe that Obama’s position is consistent with “the declared American position over several administrations?” If he meant the Carter administration, he’d be right. But I don’t think anyone regards Jimmy Carter as a friend of Israel.

Indeed, following the Cairo speech, Senior Israeli officials accused the President “of failing to acknowledge… clear understandings with the Bush administration” that allowed Israel to continue limited settlement construction even during the “freeze” during negotiations. Yet in 2011 UN Ambassador Susan Rice reiterated the administration’s new position, “reject[ing] in the strongest terms the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity” of any kind.

Rice was one of three Obama appointees whom Rabbi Shafran jokingly called “a stealth bomb aimed at Israel,” as if, in reality, none of them were of concern. Let’s look at another of the three, Chuck Hagel.

In October 2000, Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska was one of only 4 Senators who refused to sign a letter in support of Israel during Arafat’s renewed intifada. The next year, he was one of only 11 Senators who refused to sign a letter urging President Bush not to meet with Arafat until his forces ceased violence against Israel. And in August 2006, Hagel was one of only 12 Senators who refused to call upon the EU to call Hezbollah what it is: a terrorist organization.

The source of that information, by the way, is the National Jewish Democratic Council. You see, Hagel was a Republican Senator. Predictably, the NJDC reversed course, choosing to “trust” that “former Senator Chuck Hagel will follow the President’s lead of providing unrivaled support for Israel.” And somehow I doubt J-Street would have called Chuck “Jewish lobby” Hagel “pro-Israel” (not that J-Street terming a person “pro-Israel” is ever particularly comforting) when he was a Republican Senator. If some Jews are simply being knee-jerk partisans, it’s not the Orthodox, whose concern about Hagel is entirely consistent with how pro-Israel voters on both sides of the aisle regarded him prior to the appointment.

It remains true, for a variety of reasons, that the medina shel chesed, the kind nation in which we live, shares an “unbreakable bond” with Israel. But that is something that Obama inherited, not something which he has actively encouraged or strengthened.

Did the US refuse to participate in joint exercises with Turkey if Israel wasn’t invited? Yes. Turkey disinvited Israel because Turkey was blaming Israel for its soldiers having the audacity to defend themselves against the knife-wielding, bulletproof-vest-wearing flotilla “peace activists” who jumped them when they boarded to enforce the Israeli embargo on shipping to Gaza.

Without Israel’s participation, it is difficult to imagine the threat against which joint US-Turkey military exercises would help prepare. But Netanyahu’s ridiculous, demeaning apology for troops defending their lives, complete with “reparations” to the families of the terrorists, is widely attributed to pressure from Washington. Obama called Erdogan a “trusted friend,” while his relationship with Netanyahu is commonly described as “icy.”

Like most false gestures — and most of Obama’s foreign policies — the Netanyahu apology proved completely ineffective. Today Israeli-Turkish relations remain at an all-time low, the US (in another slap at Israel) has effectively blocked any credible effort to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities, the US reaction to Assad’s use of chemical weapons left Israeli leaders horrified and appalled, and the “Arab Spring” brought Hamas allies to power in the same Cairo (before the Egyptian military removed them, without American help).

The BBC, which like most of Europe adulated Obama prior to his election, said that US credibility is now “in tatters.” And that’s only foreign policy.

The president who made those “overtures across the aisle” has rarely been in evidence since taking office. The voters of very liberal Massachusetts elected a Republican State Senator, instead of the Democratic Attorney General, to take the remainder of the late, very popular, and very liberal Sen. Ted Kennedy’s term. The AG had led throughout the race, and the reversal was widely regarded as a last ditch attempt to stop ObamaCare. The Obama administration’s reaction was to strong-arm Democratic members of the House to make sure they could ram through this “key legislative achievement” without returning it to the Senate, which would, without a filibuster-proof Democratic majority, have required bipartisan support.

The result is a “non-tax” which is only Constitutional because it is, in fact, a tax, in which we can “keep our doctor” and “keep our plan” except that we really can’t. Those who said Bush “lied” for relying upon the unanimous opinion of every Western intelligence agency (with regards to Saddam Hussein’s possession of WMD’s) needed a lesson in what it actually means to be lied to by a U.S. President.

I was advised to renew my insurance policy two months early, exchanging coverage for a new and relatively high deductible, in order to avert the much higher cost increase for policies renewed after the ACA took effect this month. My agent tells me he is unaware of a single person who has managed to navigate the “Maryland Health Connection” ObamaCare web site and come out with insurance. Similarly, the person with whom I spoke at BlueChoice told me that to her knowledge, no one has saved money. The greatest beneficiaries of the ACA thus far are the insurance companies. In fact, it is due to ObamaCare that Maryland’s oldest historically black college, Bowie State University, announced that it would drop health care coverage for students, instead allowing them to attend with no insurance.

As I mentioned, both Rabbi Adlerstein and myself found it extremely heartening that America had proven itself sufficiently race blind to elect a black president. Unfortunately, that president has proven himself not to be at all race blind. He has twice injected himself uninvited into racially-charged situations. Both times he has inflamed tensions, and both times he has been wrong.

And the list goes on. Obama’s “fiscal stimulus” has resulted in an unparalleled increase in federal debt, and one of the most anemic and prolonged economic recoveries in US history.

Yes, I’m a Republican. I certainly favored John McCain with his tremendous pro-Israel track record. But I was among those who shared the feelings of an Israeli political commentator who hoped “the Bush will burn” on the eve of the 1992 election, and in retrospect I believe Clinton proved to be a reasonably effective and pro-Israel president. I expressed hopes for our first black President, perhaps biased by the fact that I went to college with his wife, Michelle Robinson Obama.

So no, I don’t think it’s a lack of gratitude, hakaras hatov. I don’t think it’s racism. I don’t think it’s because he’s a liberal and Orthodox Jews tend to be conservatives. And I certainly don’t think it’s because “we humans don’t like to admit that we were wrong.”

After all, I’ve admitted error on Cross-Currents before. Both times I made one.

I hope you knew that I was kidding. But I do think that although Rabbi Shafran is always insightful and usually demonstrates a clear understanding of Jews both Orthodox and otherwise, this is one of those few times he has erred.

Let’s Get to Work!

When the Egyptians pursued the Israelites that they had just freed, the Jews were very afraid. They turned to Moshe and said, “was it due to a lack of graves in Egypt, that you took us out to die in the desert?” [Ex. 14:11] From which we learn that sarcasm is an ancient Jewish tradition.

constructionMoshe reassured them, and said that G-d would fight for them, they just have to be quiet. And then in the next verse, G-d says to Moshe, “why are you crying out to me? Speak to the children of Israel that they should go forward.” [14:15]

Rashi says that this tells us that Moshe was praying — that after reassuring the Children of Israel, he turned to G-d and prayed for help. And G-d told him, this isn’t the time for long prayers, Israel is in distress! Moshe needed to be reassuring the Children of Israel, and implementing practical solutions to get them out of trouble. While it was certainly true that only Divine Mercy saved them, the needs of others required that Moshe spend his time making efforts on their behalf, rather than praying for G-d’s help.

When I was a yeshiva student, there was a fellow who lived in the neighborhood who was a consistent supporter of the yeshiva (Ohr Somayach Monsey) whose daughter got married. So the yeshiva hosted a celebratory meal (called a “Sheva Berachos,” after the “Seven Blessings” said after each such meal held during the week following the wedding). And as we were eating, one of the rabbis got up to speak. “I have to tell you something about Joel here. Joel isn’t too frum. He’s not too religious.”

Now how could he say such a thing about a fellow out celebrating his daughter’s wedding, in the middle of a religious institution? He explained. “When a poor person comes to his door, Joel doesn’t say ‘G-d should help you’ or ‘G-d will provide.’ He opens his wallet!” Joel knew when it was time to pray, and when it was time to work to help someone in distress.

It has become well known that, sadly, Jewish communities did not do everything they could during the Holocaust, even once they learned the true extent of the atrocities committed during that time. Every generation has its fights and trials, and ours is fighting a wave of assimilation that threatens to decimate the Jewish people all over again. The way forward is to share Jewish knowledge. Are we doing everything we can?

Where is “Moving Traditions” Moving People?

If you’ve been following the saga of the “Women of the Wall” and the “Women for the Wall,” you know that WOW is doing everything it can to bolster its numbers and coverage. W4W has made them into a non-story, by expressing with eloquent silence that far more Israeli women oppose them than stand with them (by a margin of hundreds, if not thousands, to one), and simultaneously completely getting rid of the rambunctious young men who previously did such a great job of playing into WOW’s hands and PR efforts.

Most recently, a group called “Moving Traditions” shipped three teenage American girls off to Israel to join WOW. Needless to say, they knew little of the issues — one of them had not even heard of WOW prior to the contest that earned her a ticket. They were also kept from any contact with women representing the other side of the story, which resulted in W4W leader Ronit Peskin writing an open letter to one participant.

Ms. Peskin posted a comment to the Facebook wall of Moving Traditions, indicating that she had written this letter. Moving Traditions basically laughed off the idea that she might be able to speak to one of the girls in the “pre-Messianic era” — at which time Anat Hoffman would also be invited into Haredi Yeshivot — and argued that the girls they sent took an “important stand for religious tolerance and respect.” The following is taken from my reply:

There are two major problems with your approach. (1) You are excusing failure to live up to your principles because someone else is keeping theirs, and (2) you sent teenage girls off to “change” something when they had no clue what it was they aim to change. In fact, “religious tolerance” and “respect” are precisely what was most sorely absent from your, and their, activity.

(1) You brought up “pluralism.” I don’t think anyone else did. The traditional women at the Wall, such as Ms. Peskin and her W4W group, have different values, like “G-d’s will” and “tradition” and “dignity.” They have no reason to invite Anat [Hoffman]. Anat Hoffman has nothing to tell us, she worked to stop Orthodox growth in Jerusalem back when she was on City Council. But Ronit Peskin has quite a bit to help these young women be Jewishly informed. You value “pluralism” — or claim to. The comparison [between Hoffman and Peskin] is apples and oranges — not only because of the speakers but because of the audience. You cannot claim to be pluralistic without welcoming other perspectives.

(2) The plaza at the Kotel is not, regardless of what you may have been told, the Wall. The outer retaining Wall of the Temple is 480 meters long. Due to its extreme significance to traditional Jews, they requested of the government that a plaza be built for traditional prayer. That plaza is less than 40 years old, has a mechitzah and a Rabbi… and is less than 1/6th of the length of the Wall.

The Orthodox are not disturbing anyone. They are objecting to being disturbed. Going there is no different than a Chassidic group wandering into a Reform Temple during services — and just as lacking in respect and religious tolerance.

Naftali Bennett built a special alternative plaza where the women could have done whatever they wanted — including read from a Torah. Therefore it is offensive and intrusive for the girls to go try to “change” Orthodox women without at least finding out why it is that they might not want to change. All that, and American colonialism as well.

Why is it that in order to get teenage support for WOW you must fly them in? W4W brought 15,000 girls to the Kotel a few months ago to express their adherence to tradition.

I will close with one other observation. The Pew Survey identified 110,000 adults who, like myself, adopted Orthodoxy as adults. The majority of them, btw, are women, which kind of bursts the whole “liberate the Orthodox women” narrative of WOW. But more to the point… the Reform movement, according to the Pew Survey, is about 1.85 million.

If current estimates hold, the 110,000 newly-Orthodox adults are going to have more Jewish grandchildren than the 1.85 million Reform Jews. The Reform movement should have much more important things to do with their time and money than try to change Orthodox women in Israel.

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