First in Yitro there were the Aseret Hadibrot, the “Ten Utterances”, the Ten Commandments, expressed as general principles. Now in Mishpatim come the details. Here is how they begin: If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything . . . But if…
…– melakhah, that which is prohibited on the Sabbath – in terms of the thirty-nine activities involved in making the sanctuary. At a more metaphysical level, the Sanctuary mirrors – is the human counterpart to – the Divine creation of the universe (for the precise linguistic parallels between Exodus and Genesis, see Covenant and Conversation, Terumah). Just as Divine Creation…
…God as shachen, a neighbour, intimate, close, within the camp, in the midst of the people. Yet for all this, we wonder why the Torah has to go on at such length in its details of the Mishkan, taking up the whole of Terumah and Tetzaveh, half of Ki Tissa, and then again Vayakhel and Pekudei. After all, the Mishkan…
…things we can do together that none of us can do alone. MISHPATIM: If you seek to change anyone’s behaviour, you have to enter into their mindset, and then say the word or do the deed that speaks to their emotions, not yours. TERUMAH: The effort you put into something does not just change the object: it changes you. The…
…performances by Ishay Ribo. Please click “watch on YouTube”, above, if the video does not load from the player here. Keter Melucha A Royal Crown בֵּין תְּרוּמָה לְתְּצַוֶּה Between Terumah and Tetzaveh יוֹם הֻלֶּדֶת קְצָת מְשֻׁנֶּה A somewhat strange birthday הַכֹּל רָגִיל כָּאן לִכְאוֹרָה Everything seems normal here בָּמָה קָהָל וְאַהֲבָה Stage, crowd, and love בֵּין תְּצַוֶּה לְכִּי…
…construction of the Tabernacle in Vayakhel-Pekudei is similarly built around the number seven. The word “heart” appears seven times in Exodus 35:5-29, as Moses specifies the materials to be used in the construction, and seven times again in Exodus 35:34–36:8, the description of how the craftsmen Bezalel and Oholiav will carry out the work. The word terumah, “contribution” appears seven…
…to a fundamentalism of hate is a counter-fundamentalism of love. We each have a contribution to make. The Hebrew word for contribution, terumah, does not mean merely “to give”. It means “to lift, to raise.” That is the majestic truth of the human situation: Lifting others, we ourselves are lifted. With the example of Bella Wexner of blessed memory before us, and…
…revolutionary: the supreme power intervenes in history in defence of the powerless. Shemot Vaera Bo Beshallach Yitro Mishpatim Terumah Tetzaveh Ki Tissa Vayakhel Pekudei Vayikra (Leviticus) In Vayikra, the book of Leviticus, God sets out the mystery and majesty of holiness, summoning the people with whom He covenanted to a life driven by its energy, lit by its radiance, transformed…
…teach people how to do the work themselves. It is not what God does for us but what we do for God that allows us to reach dignity and responsibility. Terumah: The Home We Build Together The essential lesson of the Torah is that leadership can never be confined to one class or role. It must always be distributed and…
…We Make (Covenant & Conversation, Terumah) The Sabbath: First Day Or Last? (Covenant & Conversation, Ki Tissa) The Duality of Jewish Time (Covenant & Conversation, Emor) Renewable Energy (Covenant & Conversation, Beshallach) Short Quotes from Rabbi Sacks on the Topic Shabbat is the greatest tutorial in liberty ever devised. A Letter in the Scroll, p. 136 “The Sabbath is Judaism’s…