Shabat Table Talk
This week’s teaching commentary was prepared by Marie Andre Mitchell SNDdeN. BA, BTh. MA Religious Studies Bat Kol 2001-2002, ’04, ’06, ’08, 09
Week of 7- 13 March
Torah Portion: Ex.35:1- 40:38
Haftarah: Ezekiel 45:16-46:18
Readings for Sunday
This week is one of the Shabbatot (plural of Shabbat) on which two parashot are read. This is because an adjustment is made in the schedule of readings to allow the entire Torah (Five Books of Moses) to be completed by the end of the Jewish year. Vayak’hel (“And he assembled”) and Pekudei (“These are the records”) conclude the Book of Exodus. The chapters appear to repeat was has already been recorded, God’s instructions for constructing the portable sanctuary (Ex. 25-28). It now records Moses conveying those instructions to Israel (Chap. 35) and then, in great detail, Israel’s implementation (Chap. 36-40). Why this repetition?
In terms of pershat (the simple meaning of the text), scholars point out that it was customary for religious texts of the Ancient Near East to repeat instructions and then to describe the implementation in detail. Israel, however, used the typical structure to communicate its spiritual teaching.
Parashat Vayak’hel opens with a reminder of the sacred nature of the seventh day. Work is prohibited. The Sabbath can thus be seen be seen as a bridge connecting the building of the Tabernacle with its deeper purpose. The word the Torah uses for the Sanctuary is ‘Mishkan’ which literally means ’dwelling place’ (from Hebrew, lishkon to dwell).
Parashat Pekudei opens by calling the Sanctuary ‘mishkan ha-edut’ (38:21), the Dwelling place for the edut. In Rabbinic and Modern Hebrew ‘edut’ means ‘testimony’, while in the Bible and especially in this context ‘edut’ means ‘covenant, pact, treaty.’ Accordingly ‘mishkan-edut’ means “The Dwelling place of the Covenant.” As Ramban says, “It is the Dwelling place that was made for the Tablets of the Covenant.”
There is something else that dwells in the dwelling place. Later in Pekudei, the Torah calls the Sanctuary ‘mishkan ohel mo’ed’ (40:2), the Dwelling place of the Tent of Meeting. ‘Meeting’ refers to the place where God ‘meets’ Moses and provided prophetic guidance regarding Israel The Torah mentions God ‘meeting‘ Moses in the Holy of Holies at the very beginning of the description of the Sanctuary: “There I will meet you and I will impart to you – from above the cover, from between the two cherubim that are on top of the Ark – all that I will command you concerning the Israelite people” (25:22).
The Sanctuary that God instructed the Israelites to build is, therefore, a Dwelling place for two things: The Dwelling place of the Covenant and the Dwelling place of the Tent of Meeting. These are not the only things that took place in the Sanctuary, but they are its most important purpose.
Yet what is interesting is that the Torah does not describe God as dwelling in the Sanctuary. The Torah opens its instructions regarding the building of the mikdash by saying: ”And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them” (25:8). God does not dwell in human structures but rather in human hearts and human communities. It is not God, but God’s glory that fills the Sanctuary. The Torah closes its description of the Sanctuary by saying: “The cloud covered the ohel mo’ed and God’s glory filled the Dwelling” (40:34). Exercising great care in its choice of words, the Torah speaks of the cloud that dwelt over the Dwelling place and of God’s glory that filled it. God dwells elsewhere. “And I will dwell among ‘them’” The building is a structure a place to be still and to listen to the word of God. God, on the other hand lives among us.
Haftarah for Shabbat HaChodesh: The haftarah from Ezekiel (45:16-46:18) is read on the last Shabbat of Adar that falls just two weeks before Pesach (15 Nisan/30 March). It presents the regulations that pertain largely to worship in a rebuilt Temple. The space within the Temple is communal; its rites have an official public status. The Temple as the sanctuary of God opens its doors for collective worship. The haftarah details the leader’s obligations for arranging the Passover sacrifice, on his own behalf, as well as, on behalf of the entire people.
Sunday Readings: All of today’s readings relate to the themes of God’s generosity and providence The reading from Joshua tells how God generously provided for the Israelites as they wandered in the desert and brought them safely to the Promised Land. Paul writing to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 5:17-21) stressed that God seeks universal reconciliation and unity. Reconciliation is the key word used in this passage. God’s constant and generous invitation to relationship is also the subject of the parable presented in the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Lent. Jesus replied to his critics by telling them a story of a man who had two sons, The first son abandoned three aspects of his living by giving up his family, his nation and his religion. He left his family to live among foreigners. He worked among pigs, unclean animals, and a fact that showed that the religion for which his ancestors had suffered so much meant nothing to him. The father’s concern for his son was such that he put aside normal ways of behavior for a man of his culture. But his questions to the servants show that they knew more about the family than he did. The father came out to plead with him to join the party celebrating his brother’s return. Be alert to the last sentence, we are not told what the older brother decided to do.
For Reflection and Discussion: 1).The Sabbath and the construction of the Tabernacle are intricately linked. One provides sacred time, the other sacred space. How do I diminish the quality of my life by ignoring sacred time? Do I use the sacred space to listen to the word of God? 2). ”I will dwell among them” Are we conscious of God’s presence as we go about our daily tasks? How do I acknowledge God’s presence in my life?
Bibliography: Etz Hayim, Torah and Commentary (The Jewish Publication Society, 1985) T. Eskenazi, (ed.), The Torah: A Women's Commentary (New York, 2008), Plaut, The Torah: A Modern Commentary (New York, 1981); Rabbi Uziel Weingarten
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