Parshat Terumah: Exodus 25:1 -27:19 By: Rabbi Denise L. Eger

This week’s portion Terumah is one of my very favorite portions. I never tire of reading the many gifts that the Israelites bring to build the tabernacle that will be the very dwelling place of God in the midst of Israel. The Israelites bring voluntary offerings from their most precious possessions to build a house and sanctuary for God. Just as one lavishes gifts on a lover or spouse or a child or family member as an expression of devotion, the Children of Israel brought their voluntary offerings lovingly.

This is not just any tent in the desert but a tent where the Divine holy one will live among the people. God will not be far off stuck at the top of Mt. Sinai. Or dwell only in the heavens above. But God will “dwell among them” (Ex. 25:8). This is quite an amazing and powerful statement of presence and theology. This holy Essence, the Holy One of Blessing will not remain aloof and distant. God has already addressed the people directly at Sinai. But now once this holy space, this holy sanctuary is built and erected, God will be among the people. God will go where they go. And although this will be a temporary home, a Tent of Meeting that will be able to be set up and taken down wherever the Israelites dwell, this will become the blueprint for Solomon’s temple and later for the temple rebuilt after exile in Babylonia.

Our sages debated whether God could or would be limited to a particular place. Abarbanel rejected the idea of the physicality of God and wrote that God could not be limited in place. And I think he is correct. God is not limited to Mt. Sinai, or heaven, or the Holy Sanctuary to be built. God is in all of those places. Just as the holy essence of God is in each human being. But to fully connect and reunite our godly Essence with that of the Holy Divine One we need to encounter each other.

The tabernacle and the various utensils of worship and service that are described in this portion points to something very important. The ark, and menorah, the breastplate and ephod for Aaron the priest and the altar, even the curtains that will be built and will hang in and around the tabernacle are all for the worship of the Holy One. And they help the encounter along. So this tabernacle is not only a place for God’s glory to dwell among the people but truly a place of meeting for the Israelites and God. God will not only be in the tabernacle, in this sanctified place but God’s presence will also be there among the people.

This is truly the Tent of Meeting. A place for Moses to meet face to face with God even as the Israelites move closer to the Promised Land. This is a place for Aaron and his sons to offer the sacrifices to God brought by the people. This is a place of encountering the Holy One for the people even as they journey to Eretz Yisrael. This is a place that God too can encounter Israel. And in that sacred moment of encounter, in that coming together-our inner holy Essence connects with the Divine Holiness and transforms not only our own souls, but the soul of the Jewish people and the world.

Today our synagogues and homes are the place of the Divine encounter. But too often we Jews run from the encounter. We shirk our duties and rituals that are designed to help us reconnect and let our souls that are the Holy Essence of God commune with the Divine One. If we would only seek to re-engage our spirits, our lives and our souls at the synagogue or a Shabbat dinner or holiday celebration like a meal in the Sukkah or a Passover Seder our souls could seek that connection with the Holy One of Blessing.

That is our challenge. Not just once a year but to sustain that encounter each day.

And it is in this moment of encountering one another that helps to create the union and reinforce the union of the Jewish people and God that was enacted at Sinai.

Parshat Mishpatim: Exodus 21:1 - 24:18 By: Rabbi Denise L. Eger

This week's portion Mishpatim continues to record laws of civil society. They are additions to the Ten Commandments given last week to the people of Israel. In this week’s writings there are details about the working of civil and criminal law. If this group of Hebrew slaves is really to become a people and a nation then they need some operating procedures for the disputes and situations that arise naturally between human beings. This week's portion outlines many of those situations and legal rules and regulations. There are also additional rules of religious observance but in the ancient Israelite mind there is not the separation between religious law and civil law. All come from God. All of the laws covered in this week’s portion are part of the revelation at Mt. Sinai. We are to see this week’s portion as continuous with the giving of the first Ten Commandments to the people. This is according to our great sage, Rashi who says, “Just as the Ten Commandments were given from Sinai, so were these.”

The opening words of this portion say, “These are the rules that you shall set before them (Ex.21:1). Who is the “them”? Is it the Children of Israel or as both Rashi and Nachmanides points out that “them” in this case are the judges. This is the system of law that the Judges and the seventy elders of Israel who will adjudicate the cases that come before them must be familiar with. They must know the laws of the new society that they are creating. Remember that this is a group of slaves who just came out of bondage in Egypt. They had no voices, no advocates. They had to obey the rules of their taskmasters. The 70 elders that Moses appointed to help settle disputes also were just freed from slavery. So they too had to become familiar with the case law and the way in which God wanted the Israelites to live their lives.

In our day and time we have a very sophisticated understanding of the separation of religious and civil law. In fact this separation in American civil law has helped the Jewish people thrive. Because our Constitution and founders understood that there should be no establishment of religion by the government many religious systems have been able to thrive and grow. This is certainly true in Jewish life. But there is a dangerous cancer that is growing. There is a fundamentalism that is not only infecting Christianity and Islam but in Judaism as well.

Orthodox rabbis have been advocating for tearing down of the wall between religion and civil law including the Orthodox Union. In their recent advocacy for the passage of Proposition 8, the Orthodox Union and its rabbis succumbed to fundamentalist Christian rhetoric confusing religious ideals of their respective traditions with American civil law. They justified their support of Proposition 8 here in California and their opposition to marriage for gay and lesbian couples in other locations based upon their narrow interpretation of the Bible. They advocated that their Bibilcal world view be adopted as the California world view even though 78 percent of the Jewish community opposed Proposition 8 in California.

This is dangerous thinking. This is because the separation of church and state (and in the Jewish community’s eyes –synagogue and state) allows the Jewish community to thrive. You can be sure if the firewall between church and state is broken down the Jewish community will not come out on top. We are such a minority in this country and in our state that we will lose our voice and our ability to celebrate and observe our own traditions.

The beauty of the separation of religious realms and civil realms of law in America is that true religious diversity of our state can be uplifted.

Even the Supreme Court of California in its historic ruling last May finding the civil right for gay men and lesbians to marry in California under the equal protection clause recognized that the separation of church and state is also a fundamental principal. Thus no one could force a religious institution to officiate at any marriage that is not a part of their religious ideals. But as long as there is a civil license that must be taken out for a wedding then it must be open to all people.

Should the state get out of the marriage business and just leave it to churches, mosques, temples and synagogues? What about all those people who have no faith, no religion at all? Should they be denied the opportunity for a civil and secular wedding?
The fundamentalist whether Jewish or Christian would claim that marriage is just the realm of religion. But this is not true. It is not true in our state and not true in our country.

If someone wants to have a religious or spiritual ceremony they certainly can. But let us not exclude those who want no religion as part of their ceremony. There were many lies told before Election Day in California. Let’s pray the State Supreme Court has the courage to undo the lies and deceit with a just ruling.

Parshat Yitro: Exodus 18:1 -20:23 By: Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Our rich Torah portion, Yitro contains so many important messages for us. Of course the centerpiece of this week’s Torah reading is the Ten Commandments. The children of Israel have arrived in 50 days from their exodus from Egypt at the foot of Mt. Sinai and there Moses ascends and receives the tablets of law from God. This is the contract, the covenantal guidelines of the relationship between God and Israel and also the beginning of the social contract between the Israelites.

The first five of the commandments focus specifically on the relationship between God and Israel. But more importantly as many of the Torah commentators point out the first commandment, “I am Adonai your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage” (Ex.20:2) was written in the singular. The word you here is not a plural form speaking to the whole household of Israel. But the commentators point out that each person at Sinai heard these words uttered by God directly to them. Each in his or her own way. God spoke directly to the individual. This wasn’t a revelation given only to Moses on at the top of Mt. Sinai. But these Ten Commandments were given to each person individually.

No intermediary was necessary to experience the Divine Revelation. This is such a powerful concept especially for a group of former slaves. How elevating to think that the Divine who did wonders and miracles like provide the manna that they ate, water from the rock to drink, split the Red Sea and delivered them from the house of bondage would even desire to speak directly to this ragged group of former slaves who were at the bottom of the Egyptian social strata.

This is an incredible notion of freedom. This is an incredible moment of throwing off the chains of slavery. Perhaps it is this moment at Sinai that is truly the Exodus. They might have left Egypt physically but to have God speak directly to them and to prepare them for this moment shows God’s faith in them as much as their faith in God.

Today for many of us our experience of God is not so direct. We don’t take the time to listen closely for the voice of God that can speak to us daily urging us to a better life, a more ethical and ‘menstchlich’ life. But God is still speaking directly to us as God did at Sinai. The Ten Commandments was the foundation of that ethical living. The Ten Commandments was the beginning of bringing order out of the chaos of slavery. That is why it too like the creation story in Genesis is a creation story.

And yet listen is what we must strive to do. Listening is what we are urged to do every day, morning and night when we recite the Shema prayer. “Listen, Israel” it urges us. “Adonai is our God, Adonai is One”. It is up to each one of us to listen for God in our lives and the lives of the Jewish people. And when we have trouble hearing or tuning in—it is then that living in and among the Jewish people is the most critical because we can rely and build upon the voice that others may hear in the hopes that we too might really listen and come to know. Not just the voice of God that speaks to us of the possibilities for a life of meaning and hope, but the voice of God that reinforces our faith and the work of our hands.

The time for listening is now.

Parshat Beshallach: Exodus 13:17 -17:16 By: Rabbi Denise L. Eger

In this week’s torah portion, water plays an important role. In the beginning of the portion we have the Children of Israel at the shores of the Yam Suf, the Sea of Reeds. They are frightened as the Egyptian army has been sent after them and the Sea is before them. They are ready to return to Egypt and enslavement rather than die on the sea shore.

But this set of circumstances is no impediment for God. The greatest of miracles happens before their own eyes. A new kind of darkness and cloud covers the Egyptian army. Reminiscent of the recent plague that descend upon all of Egypt, the darkness and cloud obscures their vision and view of the Israelites. God slows the wheels of their chariots in the dust storm. While God instructs Moses to lift his staff over the waters and watch the walls of water split so that the Children of Israel may safely escape the Egyptian army. The waters do part and the Children of Israel, like a child coming through the birth canal, move through the waters to the other side.

The waters of the Yam Suf are life giving waters to the Israelites but to the Egyptian army they were waters of oblivion and death. The splitting of the sea was a miracle to some and a plague to others. No different than the 10 plagues that descended upon Egypt. For the Israelites the 10 plagues inspired them to see the raw power and might of God’s outstretched hand but to the Egyptians they were plagues and brought horror and shame upon the land, its gods and goddesses, the people and defeat to Pharaoh.

Immediately following the Israelites celebration at the shores of the Sea singing of God’s victory on their behalf, they set out on their journey. But they had no water. After three days journey they came to a brackish pool and oasis, called Marah (which in Hebrew means bitter). God instructed Moses on the process of making the water potable and the Israelites were able to drink. As the great commentator Nachmanides says: “As Ibn Ezra points out in his comment…that this “healing of the water is the reverse of the first plague directed against the Egyptians, showing that God can turn bitter water into sweet and sweet into bitter” (The Commentators Bible: JPS 2005, p. 121). Yet another faith building moment for the Children of Israel seeing with their own eyes and tasting with their own mouths the strength of Moses and the power of God.

Water continues to link our portion because next they arrive at Elim which is described as a place of twelve springs. This becomes a place of respite for the Israelites who encamp there. Why 12? Of course one for each of the tribes!

The portion closes with chapter 17. The Children of Israel now encamped at Rephidim complain to Moses because they have no water to drink. This is the first time God tells Moses to take his staff and strike the rock. Out came waters to quench the thirst of the Israelites. This is different than the story in the book of Numbers in that God told Moses in that story to speak to the rock. Some commentators maintain that this difference is part of Moses’ confusion in the book of Numbers. Once he was commanded to strike the rock and once commanded by God to speak to the rock. But the rock in this portion is described as at Mt. Horeb often associated with Mt. Sinai. Abarbanel comments that “Since Torah is likened to water, it was proper that the water come from the same place Torah would come from” (ibid, 132).

The thirst of the Israelites is quenched but not their lack of faith. They had seen so many miracles and signs and wonders before their very eyes already. But their faith was fragile.
The minute they are with out food or water they cry out to Moses and God.

The Children of Israel needs for water, food and sustenance are outlined in this portion and they are given water in every place they go. God provides the manna to eat and quail to satiate their desire for meat.

But in truth the real sustenance is their faith in God. They have yet to recognize this. And this is the message of the portion. That God indeed provides water to drink, and food to eat. God provides safety and protection from their enemies but the Israelites must take their faith seriously and this is their real portion. Their faith in God and by extension Moses and Aaron and yes, Miriam as prophetess must supersede there momentary doubts and transitory fears.

This will be a hard lesson for the people Israel. It is a lesson that we are still trying to learn today. There are signs of wonder and awe all around us. We are often to narrow and way too literal to see them and even acknowledge them. Our cynicism is the cloud that covers us in darkness. Yet faith in difficult times can help us overcome our deepest fears and propel us towards hope.

The water of this portion is nurturing and sustaining and purifying waters for the Children of Israel. This portion points the way even in our time to that ability of our tradition to nurture and sustain us and purify us from the hopelessness that is so prevalent. Like the Children of Israel crossing the Yam Suf we do have to stick our big toes in first! Hopefully we will be inspired by this week’s portion to do so.