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Dvar Torah—Terumah
(Delivered by Daniel Rotto on the Occasion of his 2nd bar mitzvah at age 83, on March 4, 2006)
This week’s sedra which we have just read, is called Terumah – we are introduced to a philosophical discussion of Terumah and tszdeka – and then the balance of the parsha deals with the building of the Tabernacle, the symbolic sign of God’s dwelling among the Israelites in which the ark becomes the home for the Ten commandments. The word Terumah comes from the opening sentences of the sedra, namely, "Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts" or as it has also been further translated-- “Tell the Israelite people to take me a terumah" – an offering.
The expression, “Take me a terumah
– an offering” has raised the question among various commentaries, as to
shouldn’t it say “give me a terumah?” After all, isn’t gift
giving about sharing something we have -- that either someone else needs or
we desire to bestow upon someone? Rabbi
Howard Cohen of congregation Beth El in Bennington, Vermont, points out that our
sages say that the use of the word “take” instead of “give” teaches us
that when we give of our possessions we are actually taking something of much greater value in return.
What we “take” is the knowledge that we are engaged in sacred work,
thereby bringing holiness into our lives.
Another commentary on this part of
the parsha is that it is interesting that the people are not commanded to bring gifts for the building of the sanctuary, but
again rather
The various commentaries go on to
point out the difference between terumah -
a charitable gift given
spontaneously, because of an immediate need or cause, and tzedakah - a commanded
giving. The rabbis say tzedakah
is a responsibility, an act of righteousness, a way of doing what is just, while
terumah was a freewill offering. One must give tzedakah, but terumah is a
gift of the heart.
Moses is then given very detailed instructions on the construction of the
Tabernacle. One commentary tells us that the entire structure was to be
portable, with a wooden framework and walls of richly colored fabric that was to
accompany the Israelites on their journey from Mount Sinai to the Promised Land.
An ark was also to be built which would house the tablets with the Ten
Commandments, and was to be kept in the innermost chamber of the Tabernacle,
called the Holy of Holies.
A question that has been raised is as to why there is a need for a Mishkan or Tabernacle for God to dwell in.
A Midrash - which in general terms is an interpretation of Scripture by ancient rabbis— is referred to In the Legends of the Jews by Ginsburg, wherein he recalls one in which it is explained that after God had forgiven the Israelites for their sin in worshipping the Golden Calf, Moses asked God for a visible sign which would indicate this forgiveness. God is then to have said to Moses: “As truly as thou livest, I will let my Schechinah or Presence dwell among the Israelites, so that all may know that I have forgiven the people. My sanctuary in their midst will be a testimony of My forgiveness for their sins.” It has also been pointed out that in Exodus line 8 it indicates the objective of the construction: “Make Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them.”
This verse also describes the result of the building; The
Shechinah or Presence
will dwell among the
Israelites
“I will dwell among them” rather than the more obvious result of God residing in the Sanctuary. It has been said that clearly, the objective of the Mishkan was not to provide God with shelter, but to provide an avenue for man to let God into his life. The instructions to Moses about constructing the Tabernacle were very detailed not only about the structure itself, but even the furnishings from the curtains that were to adorn the ark - to the altar itself and the candlesticks and the so-called table of bread. It has been said that these details were part of the vision that Moses had on the mountain.
Rabbi Aron Tendler of
Shaarey Zedek congregation in North Holly wood, California raises an
interesting point about the Mishkan, namely— the current whereabouts of the
Mishkan. It is a matter of great
historical controversy-some he claims state that it was destroyed and others
claim that it was hidden within the Temple Mount in a great cavern directly
beneath the Bait Hamikdash that King Solomon built. He goes on to state that a
major archeological dig is underway to uncover the Mishkan-what an interesting
find that would be
The Haftorah which we will read shortly, links to today’s sedra
to the building of the Temple by King Solomon- representing a move from a mobile
sanctuary to a permanent one, from wood
to stone.
Rabbi Tendler
goes on to tell us that in the year 2,928, four hundred and eighty years
after leaving Egypt the construction of the first Bait Hamikdash, or The 1st
Temple as it is referred to, was undertaken by King Solomon-and as contrasted to
the rather simple building of the Mishkan under Moses’s guidance, as discussed
in today’s Sedra. The Temple
built by King Solomon was a monumental task – Rabbi David Siegel, Rosh Kollel
of Kollel Torah Chaim of Kiryat
Sefer, Israel. tells us that King Solomon engaged some 200,000 workers in hewing
and transporting scarce heavy stones for the Bais Hamikdash’s foundation.
The Bait Hamikdash built by King
Solomon replaced the Mishkan as the one place upon earth where God’s presence
was said to be OVERTLY manifest. It was during the 1st Temple when
actual “miracles” are said to have occurred in the normal functioning of the
Bais Hamikdash-and as I noted earlier it was under the Temple that some believe
the original Mishkan was hidden.
Rabbi Siegel believes that
if the construction of our
Mishkans or Synagogues of today were
performed by devout, pious individuals, who were devoted towards housing God’s
Divine presence, the sanctity within its walls would be so intense that it would
be virtually impossible to engage therein in idle chatter and it would be a
house of true sanctity. And our humble synagogues could facilitate this goal
when shown its proper respect.- that if we pause before entering this sacred
edifice and contemplate who rests within its walls we would merit to sense, in
some way His Divine presence.
An interesting
thought…………….but my thoughts turn to Reconstructionist Judaism where
God is not a supernatural being but as Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan so aptly saw God as
a Force or Power within us that not only encourages human beings to
strive for righteous behavior but also guarantees that it can be realized not
in the after-life, but here on earth.
At the age of 13, I became a bar
mitzvah in an Orthodox synagogue, namely the Young Israel of Flatbush in
Brooklyn. For the next 45 years however, I was on a quest for an uplifting,
satisfying spiritual home. Over those years I was an active member in
Orthodox, Conservative and Reform congregations, but none really satisfied my
yearning for my non-orthodox feelings.
It was in 1981 while living in El
Paso Texas, that I had a major heart attack and a long recovery period. It was
during that time, that I somehow had the good fortune to hear about Rabbi
Mordechai Kaplan and Reconstructionist Judaism and started to read his seminal
work, “ Judaism as a Civilization” written in 1934, wherein he talks about a
Judaism for the modern-day American – a non-elitist, democratic, pragmatic,
down-to-earth way of being Jewish- that Kaplan felt would best fit the ideas and
social reality of the new world of an educated American society.
Reconstructionist Judaism, was a School
of Thought and Kaplan never wanted it to become a 4th movement, however over time and upon the establishment of the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia in 1968 the movement
emerged as a distinct separate entity and became
a recognized 4th
branch of Judaism
In reading Kaplan’s voluminous 554 page book, "Judaism as a Civilization," I knew he was talking to me, an American Jew, who after tasting the various branches of Judaism, namely the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements, had finally found a home. As it is said “I was a Reconstructionist Jew and Didn’t Know It”.
And then in 1982 soon after we moved to San Diego Rabbi Ron (Herstik( ran an ad in the Jewish Heritage saying that “Reconstructionist Judaism Is Coming to San Diego.” What more could I ask for.. My wife Helene and I and Andrea and Elliot and several other families became the founding members of Congregation Dor Hadash.
But to return to Reconstructionist
Judaism.
Rabbi David
Teutsch, director of the Program in Jewish Ethics and the Center for Jewish
Ethics at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and the former President of
the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, has written that, and
quote “It has been said that Jews
can be divided into two groups – those who believe that the world is unlikely
to change very much (non-messianists) and those who believe that the world can
move toward perfection (messianists).” Unquote.
And he counts himself among the messianists even though he
certainly does not believe in a personal
messiah. A key part to his
abiding faith is that we human beings are capable of improving ourselves and our
world. Jewish tradition’s demand,
that we improve ourselves and our
world speaks powerfully to him, as do the opportunities Jewish living
provides to celebrate our highest values and the full meaning of life.
The Torah presents the record of the earliest efforts of the Jewish
people to discover the divine in human history, and shape our shared life in
light of the divine. Thus the Torah
reflects both its historical context and profound insights into moral and
spiritual truth. The shared communal life that has developed out of Jewish
interpretations of Torah embodies the moral and spiritual tasks that long have
been central to the Jewish people’s commitments.
Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan stated that
Jewish life has to be built primarily on
the foundation of strong historical and cultural ties among Jews and only secondarily
on ideology. Cultural unity is
possible among Jews today despite ideological diversity-- that continuity is
possible despite new growth and development.
Kaplan was a pragmatic American to
whom learning was a tool to be used for the enhancement
of life. Ancestors did not make up a corporate totem to be worshipped, they
were a “usable past, ” to be rethought and adjusted to make our lives
richer and more
viable and thus we have the famous quote: "THE PAST HAS A VOTE; NOT A
VETO.”
Reconstructionists from the very beginning took a strong interest in Israel and as quoted in "Jewish History in 100 Nutshells," by Naomi Pasachoff & Robert Littman, they sum up Kaplan’s view on the state of Israel as follows: “Since for Kaplan Judaism represented an entire civilization, the land of Israel played a significant role in his blueprint for reconstruction. But unlike the Zionists of his day, who denied the value of Jewish life anywhere besides the ancient homeland, Kaplan promoted ‘Diaspora Zionism’ in which Zion is a spiritual center for Jews around the world. Zionism, however, should not be allowed to supplant the Jewish religion: Diaspora Jews and Jews in Israel alike must practice Judaism. Without the support of Jewish ethical teachings which helps to bring about a just social order, a Jewish government would run the risk of being nothing more than another country.
Kaplan as we know, rejected all forms of supernaturalism in Jewish thought and liturgy. This included such ideas as divine revelation, Jewish chosenness, and what is called “theurgi”, namely, the technique of trying to compel or persuade a god or supernatural power to do or refrain from doing something. Kaplan could not accept none of these.
· rejected the concept of chosenness There was no place in Judaism for the supernatural concept of “the chosen people,” not only because such a concept implies that God makes choices like a person, but also because it smacked of ETHNOCENTRISM.-that is the attitude that one’s own group was superior to others-and this was Unrealistic and Chauvinistic
· denied the belief in miracles
· the personal messiah, and
·
resurrection
·
In rejecting the supernatural concept of divine revelation.,
Kaplan believed that A
BELIEF in God rather than a specific
CONCEPTION of God was necessary-- and thus conceiving of God as less a
person, who controls the world from above and more as a FORCE
or POWER within the universe that
makes for salvation, or human fulfillment NOW,
not in the AFTER-LIFE. God as a
Power within us that not only encourages human beings to strive for righteous
behavior but also guarantees that it can
be realized on earth.
God is the natural forces that
enable us to achieve our ideals, or the sum of everything that makes life
worthwhile. The FORCE in the universe
making for goodness, justice,
mercy and truth not a God, being
an all knowing demanding God
who sets out what He wants of us, but rather a Power
within us -- process in the universe that makes for “health, goodness, order,
reason, beauty and meaning in the world”
Salvation does not imply a reward in another world but rather salvation
means those things for which people search; to find holiness, meaning and peace
in life; to bring about the betterment of the world; striving for self-fulfillment in this world not
in the afterlife.
He
believed that the divine works through nature and human beings.
He neither identified God with things in the world –natural- nor did he
consider God to be beyond or detached from the world as being supernatural-.
Therefore, Kaplan’s theology came to be called ‘Transnatural”
Kaplan put forward the idea that
the traditional three pillars on which the world stands,
Torah, Service to God &
Deeds of Loving Kindness needed rethinking.
Not God but the Jewish People needed to be at the center of Reconstructed Judaism
and Rabbi Ira Eisenstein, Kaplan’s son-in-law and founder of the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, did not wish to supplant the three
aforementioned pillars upon which the world stands, but he felt more comfortable
with the expression that in Reconstructionism we have first Belonging,
followed by Behaving and then Believing..
Kaplan called for reconstructing the concept of Torah. However,
importantly, Kaplan did not believe that a contemporary Jew is absolutely free
to attribute new meanings to traditional concepts and rituals and thus throw out
the baby with the water. Rather, he
argued that it is our task to understand and empathize with the components of
our traditions, so that we can determine how beliefs functioned for our
ancestors in their own terms And
thus his famous phrase once again “The
past shall have a vote but not a veto” became a hallmark of
Reconstructionist Judaism
In rejecting the supernatural
concept of divine revelation, Kaplan’s view of the God concept included many
different aspects, but they all focus on individual self-fulfillment.
Kaplan’s main
goal was to foster Judaism as the vehicle through which Jewish people work to
achieve the goal of salvation. Salvation
once again does not imply a reward in another world, but rather salvation means
those things for which we search ultimately; to find holiness, meaning and peace
in life; to bring about the betterment of the world; striving for
self-fulfillment In this world not in the
afterlife
Kaplan
called for a larger role for the American Jewish Woman.
The first bat mitzvah in the United States was celebrated in 1922, when
Kaplan’s daughter Judith read the blessings of the Torah and chanted the
Haphtarah, just as her male counterparts had been doing for centuries.
The bat mitzvah as we know was subsequently adopted by the American
Conservative and Reform movements.
Women, of course from the outset of the movement have had full participation and rights. And in 1949, Kaplan’s congregation was the first to count women in a minyan and to give them aliyot, that is the honor of being called to the Torah.
As to mitzvoth, Kaplan rejected
the supernatural implication of the term’s root meaning “of commandment,”
and insisted that Jews should not observe mitzvoth out of fear of heavenly
punishment or anticipation of heavenly reward; instead, Kaplan urged Jews to
observe Jewish rituals in order to strengthen
their ties to the Jewish people.. He
also insisted that since Jewish people-not God - devised the laws of Judaism,
Jews of every period of history have not a right but a responsibility to make sure that Jewish law responds
to the needs of the moment
Reconstructionism also stands for a democratic, participatory community. No longer accepting the divinely revealed authority of the halachic system – which is the traditional or Orthodox system of Jewish law – In Reconstructionist Judaism each individual and each community must wrestle with tradition and come to their own unique conclusion. It therefore demands that each one assume responsibility for greater Jewish learning so that we can make choices from knowledge. It holds forth the ideal of a mature Jew who can reject the passive dependence upon rabbinic authority. The rabbi is no longer the authoritarian, but becomes the resource and not just gives sermons, but teaches and leads discussions; and most important is available when person problems arise: illness, bereavement or conflict within the family., Reconstructionism promotes creativity and experimentation in Jewish worship and the arts.,
Reconstructionist
Judaism, as the Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation has put it, “it
is a progressive, contemporary approach to Jewish life which integrates a
deep respect for traditional Judaism with the insights and ideas of contemporary
social, intellectual and spiritual life.”
And in our congregation our mission statement reads: Inspire
Exploration of Jewish Spirituality and Create a Caring Jewish Community.
As Rabbi Hirsch, the unofficial historian of the Reconstructionist movement has put it, the most “differentiating insight” of Reconstructionism is that “Judaism doesn’t come from God, it comes from the Jews—the rest is commentary.” He also calls to our attention that today there are new nuances being floated in Reconstructionist Judaism, namely, “Judaism as an evolving religious civilization and Judaism as a spiritual path.” However, I am a Classical Traditional Kaplanian Reconstructionist and in my view it is this concept that continues to enable many Jews to practice Judaism without feeling intellectually dishonest and on this my 83rd birthday, and 2nd Bar Mitzvah I felt that I could take this opportunity, here before all of you, to reaffirm as to what I personally believe as a traditionalist Kaplanian, and why I AM A TRADITIONAL KAPLANIAN RECONSTRUCTIONIST JEW.
AMEN