Terumah: Adopting an Angelic Posture

I talk to my Wednesday morning Bible class a lot about being "sensitive readers," by which I mean attentive to (seemingly) minor details, nuance, tone, discrepancies, and other subtle techniques employed by the author(s).

In particular, I like to point out instances where the narrative swiftly whisks through information; implying, perhaps, urgency and "impatience" - a desire to get to something ELSE on the other end. And, on the flip side, occasions where the Torah slows down to a snail's pace, or appears to focus on minutia and repetition; which I understand as the text saying: "Look at this!! This is crucial!" This week, as we learn about the construction of a portable sanctuary in the desert - known as the "Mishkan" or "Tabernacle" - I see one of those devices being deployed to emphasize some truly angelic decorations.

Our parashah, Terumah, describes a ton of implements and ritual objects that the Israelites are expected to fashion. Table covers, poles, menorah, altar, jugs, ladles, cloths, and various other items. One particularly mystical and fascinating component is the Ark of the Covenant.

It's already awe-inspiring by virtue of containing the Ten Commandments, but in addition, God instructs Moses and the Israelites to add some impressive flourishes onto the Ark cover. The text informs our DIY ancestors: "Make two cherubim of gold - make them of hammered work - at the two ends of the cover" (Ex. 25:18). A few years ago, I wrote about how odd it is that the Torah casually says "cherubim" (cherubic angels), as if we all *clearly* know what those are, AND what they look like. You can read that blog post here. But I wanted to return to this section, because the Biblical description, offered in surprisingly precise detail, intrigues me for other reasons as well. The Torah goes on to say: "The cherubim shall have their wings spread out above, shielding the cover with their wings. They shall confront each other, the faces of the cherubim being turned toward the cover" (v. 20). Perhaps you've seen this image before.

I don't want to get too deep into the angelology of these mythical creatures; envisioned by the Torah as bouncers or security guards, protecting the most precious object in the Mishkan. Instead, what I wanted to focus on briefly is their posture. This is a vital detail, not just as a flourish for the Ark Cover, but as a symbol and metaphor for how we encounter the Divine.

Two verses later, God informs Moses that right there - between the two cherubim - is where God will "meet" with Moses. I think, therefore, that it's fair to say the Torah is painstakingly precise about the stance of these angels, because *we too* are encouraged to engage God in this way. So, let's take a few important pointers from the design of these guardians. The Torah says their faces should be turned "one to the other," meaning that even when we're communing with God, we should also engage with those around us. Our concern for the well-being of other people, animals, and indeed the planet needs to ALSO be part of our relationship with God. Second, their wings are spread out in front of them, exposing their torsos. We need to be vulnerable with each other. Relationship, dialogue, and connection all require openness and accessibility. Don't shut yourself off or block others out. Our vulnerability is paramount.

Most importantly, perhaps, is that when we DO these things - when we can connect with all God's creation AND be open and accessible - then God wants to have a one-on-one relationship with each of us.

We do not need intermediaries, distillers, or cryptologists to help us experience God; each one of us can step up between those cherubim and access the Divine. No red velvet rope, VIP-exclusive situation here! In fact, I have often argued that the main message of the *entire* Torah is God seeking relationship and connection with us humans. Much of it is God's struggle to form and maintain bonds. We just don't see it all the time. Which is where it helps to be a sensitive reader of the text. Not only are there lots of hidden meanings and intriguing details buried within this scroll, but the very Book itself is trying to speak to YOU, and invite you to dialogue and be in fellowship with it. If we can be open to this message, and place ourselves in a posture of receptivity and earnest communication, the conversation can begin. Your move.


CC images in this blog post, courtesy of:
1. TexasEagle on Flickr
2. anaterate on Pixabay (Almost certainly *not* what our Biblical ancestors imagined cherubim to look like, btw...)
3. Ivan Radic on Flickr
4. Ted McGrath on Flickr

L'Chaim (newsletter) article, February, 2020: Glancing Back and Gazing Ahead…

Yes, I’m still writing about Ohev’s Centennial. It was a central part of my article last month, and – spoiler alert – it’ll likely come up again before the end of the year. So, what is the actual POINT of a Centennial celebration? And what is the lesson we can draw from it? Well, for one thing, it’s an opportunity to take stock. Where have we been, where are we now, and where are we heading as we forge ahead into the future? With 100 years of experience comes (hopefully…) some perspective on what is yet to be. But in order to appreciate this moment, we need to really stop and reflect on it. We need to acknowledge, bless, and really be mindful of its significance. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone could come and help us do all this lovely introspection and consideration??

Enter Chancellor Arnold Eisen. Later this month, on Sunday, February 23^rd, the head of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York (my Alma Mater) will be coming to Ohev Shalom. The Conservative Movement doesn’t have a Chief Rabbi or a CEO, but if we did, the Chancellor of JTS would be a top candidate. Chancellor Eisen began his tenure at JTS in 2007, when I was in Rabbinical School. He succeeded Ismar Schorsch, who had held the position for 20 years, and who I thought was a fantastically intriguing individual, even as he represented a really Old World form of Judaism and Jewish scholarship. But I digress.

 It is exciting that Chancellor Eisen is coming to Ohev, in part because he is a prominent leader in the Conservative Movement. He is also retiring from his position this year, so we may get a unique perspective on his experience and his plans for the future. But most importantly, Arnold Eisen is considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on American Judaism. He has studied it, he has written about it, he has examined Jewish life in America perhaps more than anyone else alive today. As I said to Rabbi Miller: “He is a Zeitgeist guy!”

Many more people can speak about Jewish life in Chester, PA. I myself have come to learn quite a bit about Delaware County Judaism in my ten-plus years here. Our Centennial, however, is a milestone of a much greater magnitude. And much of what has taken place in Chester – and now Wallingford – is emblematic of larger trends across this country… and I might even argue that it mirrors the ebb and flow of Jewish life around the world, and for the past millennium or two! There is much we can learn from examining our history, and from juxtaposing our own story with narratives from near and far, current and medieval.

But don’t take my word for it; let’s see what the expert has to say! This moment in time is tremendously special; filled with sanctity and opportunity. All of that is true, however, only if we recognize the value of it and bless this historic occasion. So please join me on the morning of February 23^rd, to learn about where we’ve been, what is going on in the American Jewish World today, and what may await us in the future. Don’t let this opportunity slip away; who knows if there will be another?

Sincerely,

Rabbi Gerber

Yitro: Tonight’s Top Ten... (Insert Answer Here) (repost from 2011)

Long before it was popularized by former Late Show host, David Letterman, the Bible came up with its own Top 10; the Ten Commandments! And just like Letterman's old daily list, this one takes a major current issue and highlights the most important or eye-catching ten points that you need to know... though with a little less sarcasm and canned laughter. But when you don't have a team of behind-the-scenes writers, how do you decide? Whose Top 10 is this?

The obvious answer is: God's. But the Commandments are given to us, and we are meant to internalize them and observe them, so we still have to make sense of them. And in this week's Torah portion we are given ONE version of the Ten Commandments; another version with slight (but not insignificant) deviations is recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy. Furthermore, if I were to give you pen and paper, or (more likely) opened up a new Word Doc on your laptop or iPad, and asked you to write your own Ten Commandments, would you come up with these? Some of them perhaps, but aren't you likely to throw in one or two of your own? And I imagine that each one of us would come up with a different list of the ten essential issues in our own lives. So what do we do with the Biblical Ten Commandments?

To me, it's a symbol. It's about having a creed or set of values. In Judaism, these are our

communal Top 10, and we SHOULD learn about them, teach them to our kids, and carve them impressively somewhere on every new synagogue building. But we also need to figure out for ourselves, what are MY Ten Commandments. The Bible contains a whopping 613 different mitzvot, so if we try to take on all of them, we're more likely to get overwhelmed and frustrated and abandon the whole project. Life is the same way. We have many competing priorities and values, and we can't do everything. So we have to focus our attention on a single set of principles, and that will make everything else a little bit easier. It's not that these are the ONLY 10 Commandments; they just help ground us, and make everyday life a little more purposeful and decisive.

Right now, we're also celebrating the holiday of Tu Bishvat, Jewish Arbor Day. The rabbis tell us it's the New Year for the Trees, and in the last few years it has become a day to focus on environmentalism and preservation of the earth. It's a day, not only to appreciate trees and the benefits we receive FROM them, but to acknowledge what we are doing TO them in return, and indeed to our entire planet. But for a lot of people, environmentalism and reducing our carbon footprint seems daunting and complicated, or perhaps just tedious and insignificant. There are so many different things we could be doing greener, and so many ways to feel guilty about what we're currently doing. Yet in the end, most of us do very little. So instead of seeing it as an all-or-nothing issue, let's focus in on a smaller set of changes, a Top 10 of environmental 0improvements that we can each take on. Click here for one such list that might inspire you to make a change, compiled by GreenAmerica.org. But that's just one version.

Taking on obligations and responsibilities is always hard. It's easier to stick to the status quo, or

use the excuse that my small, insignificant, unnoticeable contributions won't actually change the world. If we don't start with our own lives, and our own environments, how will anything ever change? What are your Ten Commandments? What is your contribution going to be, and how are you going to make things better? You don't need 613 changes. Just start with a Top 10.

Photos in this blog post:

1. CC image courtesy of sjsharktank on Flickr

2. Image courtesy of Rabbi Gerber's iPad

3. CC image courtesy of PinkMoose on Flickr

4. Image courtesy of Ohev Shalom clipart

5. CC image courtesy of rweait-osm on Flickr

B'Shallach: The Timbrel Players Matter Too

Let's be honest; the Torah is not the most egalitarian of books. Part of it has to do with being an ancient document produced in an era of near-total patriarchy, and part of it is because the notions of equality, fairness, and issues facing women simply didn't exist in their worldview. I try not to judge

the Torah too harshly for this bias, while also challenging the text - and us, as readers - to give voice to the women of our heritage. After all, they were there too, and suffered all the same slavery, oppression, and violence as the men... if not more so! And for a 2,500-plus year old document, there actually ARE many opportunities to highlight the women of the Bible. Their stories are indeed IN the text... we just need to stop, notice them, and raise them up to an equal level with the other, more male-centered sagas. Take Miriam, for instance.

Not only is Miriam, sister of Moses and Aaron, a frequently reoccurring character in the Exodus story, but the Torah goes out of its way to mention her role in one of the most dramatic scenes anywhere in the Bible!

The Israelites have escaped slavery... BUT Pharaoh and his chariots change their mind, and they pursue them into the desert. Miraculously, God splits apart the Sea of Reeds, so the Israelites can sprint across on dry land; and as soon as the Egyptians follow them down this path, God hurls the water-walls back onto the chariots, drowning everyone! In celebration, Moses and the people break out in (seemingly) spontaneous song, praising God for their liberation and freedom! Then the text tells us, "Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her in dance with timbrels. And Miriam chanted for them: Sing to the LORD, for God has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver God hurled into the sea!" (Ex. 15:20-21) This seems a bit odd. If "all" the people already sang the previous, longer song with Moses, why single out Miriam and the women as chiming in with a shorter version of the same refrain??

It is especially interesting, considering we haven't heard anything from Miriam since she watched over Moses' basket when he was an infant, and we won't read about her again until the Book of Numbers. THIS is her moment!

Perhaps the text wants to remind us that this was not a military battle; a clash of two powerful armies. But rather, Pharaoh's entire army attacking a band of slaves, but just male slaves, but women and children as well. They too could have been slaughtered, and they too were redeemed at the Sea. Again, even though the Torah is hardly a champion of women's rights, it does have its moments of acknowledging the role of women in our history and in our tradition. Miriam is recognized as a leader - even named a prophetess - and is shown praising God in her own way, and bringing the women of Israel along with her.

It has become an iconic moment too. The wonderful folk musician, Debbie Friedman (of blessed memory), wrote a piece called "Miriam's Song," which is entirely dedicated to these women at the Song of the Sea. Many progressive

Passover Seders these days include a Miriam's Cup along with their Elijah's Cup, and if you looked to purchase such a thing from a Judaica store, you would likely find one with a painted image of Miriam and another woman or two, and they'd be holding - you guessed it - timbrels. Sometimes we excuse non-inclusive behavior, because it's based on history or text or tradition. But if you remove the bias and just *read* the text (or even ponder history for just a moment...), we know that women were there for all of it, and so were people of different race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and even gender identity. Was it recognized and valued? No. But now that it is, and now that we're striving towards equality and trying to root our values in our heritage, we have every reason to highlight the timbrels and focus on these stories. After all, they were there too.


CC images in this blog post, courtesy of:
1. BenediktGeyer on needpix.com
2. StockSnap on pixabay.com
3. The Sarajevo Haggadah on Wikimedia Commons
4. Israel Giftware Designs on Amazon.com