Pekudei: Making Our Own Breastplate

"America is a melting pot." We hear that phrase a lot. Many of us even subscribe to its claim; the idea that people come to the U.S. from all over the world, and, once settled, wholeheartedly adopt American ideals. Whoever they were before, 

whatever they left behind, they are now red-blooded Americans, with common values, goals, and aspirations. And yet, inevitably, many of us struggle with this image. Certainly in the current political climate - but really in every age and stage of our nation's history - our differences are significant. So instead we try to think of other metaphors: Perhaps we're more of a salad bowl than a melting pot? Well, I'd like to offer yet another symbol that can, I think, encapsulate who we are, and which relates to a central artifact in this week's Torah reading.

As many of you know, we are right now working on a major congregational art project here at Ohev Shalom. On the walls of our Main Sanctuary, we now have twelve incredible mosaic panels, each representing one of the Ancient Tribes of Israel. The central image of each panel was created by a gifted artist, Heather Bryson. 

In addition, members of the congregation were able to assemble Heather's artwork together, and even embed personal memorabilia (pendants, pottery shards, judaica, etc.) into the final product. Just this past Sunday, I had the privilege of joining a group of congregants in assembling a thirteenth panel, depicting the breastplate of the Ancient Levitical Highpriest. How appropriate, then, that this week's Torah portion should feature God's instruction to create... you guessed it... the breastplate! We read in that section: "They set in it [the breastplate] four rows of stones... The stones corresponded to the names of the sons of Israel; twelve, corresponding to their names; engraved like seals, each with its name, for the twelve tribes" (Exodus, 39:10, 14). Now let me share with you a metaphor within a metaphor within yet ANOTHER metaphor!

So the breastplate from this week's parashah represents all the tribes. The Highpriest wore it to remind him of his responsibilities to ALL the people, not just his own family or tribe. 

And the breastplate purposely contained twelve stones - each of a different distinct material, shape, and color - to remind the priest, and everyone, that each of us brings something special and unique to the table. And the breastplate of Levi is only one of our synagogue mosaics, which all together will form the fourteen panels of the Children of Israel Collection. The art collection - like the breastplate itself - is a metaphor for community. Just as the breastplate contained disparate objects to represent the various groups that made up B'nai Yisrael, so too our mosaic panels are filled with trinkets and memory-shards that signify the people who placed them in the artwork. 

And the outer-most ring of metaphor is the notion that our entire country is actually a mosaic. It isn't meant to be filled with identical artifacts, each one precisely like the next. We're not trying to 

mass-produce Americans who think, feel, and act the same. Right??? Our goal is not a melting pot, where each added element loses its individuality, but rather a tapestry... or a mosaic panel, that highlights each of our contributions, without needing them to blend together. But when we come together, we can form something beautiful, unique, and awe-inspiring. And it would never have looked as good if any one piece had been removed. The real question is, how can we celebrate our common aspirations AND our essential differences? The breastplate, the newest mosaic panel, and our art collection as a whole, all serve as reminders for us all. We don't have to merge into a single organism, and we certainly shouldn't live in separate silos, with no connections or points of contact between us. Can we, instead, live in the mosaic? Our history reminds us we were able to do it once. I pray that we can someday (soon...) learn to do it again.

Photos in this blog post:

1. CC image courtesy of Magnus Manske on Wikimedia Commons

2. Assembling our newest mosaic panel, Levi, with Ohev congregants and their family members. Photo courtesy of Steve Levinstein.

3. CC image courtesy of Pikiwikisrael on Wikimedia Commons

4. The first six panels (and first six tribes) in our Children of Israel Collection. Photo courtesy of my iPhone.