Parshat Tetzaveh/Purim Exodus 27:20 -30:10

Parshat Tetzaveh/Purim
Exodus 27:20 -30:10
Rabbi Denise L. Eger

This week’s portion Tetzaveh opens with instructions for the Israelites to bring clear olive oil from beaten olives for lighting the menorah. Beaten olives are a special preparation that was meant to release the oil. Harvesting was done by first beating the trees with a stick so that the olives would fall to the ground and break releasing some of the oil. Large cloths were placed underneath the tree to catch the beaten olives. They were wrapped up and then crushed again by millstones. This is the first pressing of the oil and the oil used in the ancient temple.
This oil helps the menorah shine through the tabernacle and bring a light of God’s presence to the Israelites. The menorah is the ancient symbol of the Jewish people. Many branches unified on a single stem, combining their light to illumine the most holy place, the ancient Tabernacle.
We also celebrate Purim on Saturday night and Sunday. The light of God’s presence hovers in this story although not made explicit in the Book of Esther. God’s name is never mentioned in the Megillah of Esther.

But clearly our ancestors understood that it was through the power and glory and light of God that Esther was able to speak the truth to her husband, King Ahashuerus about the plot to kill Jews. Through the Divine light of God that flowed through Esther, she brought illumination to a situation that had potential to destroy the Jewish people. Esther’s courage to confront the evil Haman and his murderous plan is a triumph of light over darkness.
Esther’s courage is inspirational. In our own time we too need to shine the Divine light into dark corners of our world. That is our responsibility and our call. Whether we shine the light on issues of poverty and injustice here at home or we shine the light on places like the murderous intentions of some in Uganda to codify the killing of gay people, we have a task to repair our world and bring that Divine light to shine.
Many branches of the menorah united on a single stem to illumine the world. That is our call. May we hear it and be that light.

Parshat Terumah Exodus Chapter 25:1 -27:19

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

This week’s portion, Terumah gives the instructions for building the tabernacle of the desert called the Mishkan. This is the forerunner of the Temple. With great details, God tells Moses that the Children of Israel will bring all kinds of gifts that become the raw materials that the craftsmen will use to build it. A grand design is laid out for the enclosures, for the Ark of the Covenant and for the altar and the great golden Menorah. This will be the place of worship for the new nation of Israel.
The Ark of the Covenant will be the container that holds the “Pact”. Traditionally it is understood that the Ten Commandments were placed in the Ark. This sacred container then became so special that God actually speaks from “above the cover between the two cherubim”. There are two angelic images that grace the cover of the ark. Ezekiel the prophet describes cherubim also in his mystical vision of the heavenly chariot. Maimonides writes that "the major goal of the Mishkan is to provide a location for the repose of God's presence, which is the Ark”.
Thus the Ark is our way and God’s way of being present in the world. Since everything about the Mishkan was portable, the instructions given here in Terumah also tell the Children of Israel to make long poles that will carry the ark. Four gold rings are to be cast and attached to the walls of the Ark and the “poles shall remain in the rings of the ark: they shall not be removed from it.” (Ex. 25:15). These poles for carrying the ark from place to place allow us to bring God’s presence into the world wherever we go. The Children of Israel had just heard God’s voice booming in thunder from Mt. Sinai; a permanent place. And now the Children of Israel were to start their journey to the Promised Land. Would they leave God behind?

This building project allowed for their God, our God to move with them. God would still speak with them wherever they went.
For all the other utensils of the Mishkan-the poles that carried accoutrements and the outside curtains were temporary and practical. The poles were inserted and then removed when the Mishkan was set up. But the poles for the Ark of the Covenant remained in the rings even when it rested.
Why did the poles remain on the ark? Perhaps it shows a unique partnership between the Jewish people and God. God’s Presence in the world depends in part upon us. We who must carry the Pact with us, in our lives and in our flesh, in our being, lift God up on our shoulders. Perhaps we have a special purpose to bring God into the world through the way we live out the pact of the covenant and carry it through the world.
The Ark of the Covenant was lost when the Temple was destroyed. Some have been searching ever since for it. But we can still carry God into the world with us by the way we live. That is our challenge each and every day.

Parshat Mishpatim Exodus 21:1 -24:18

Parshat Mishpatim
Exodus 21:1 -24:18

This week’s portion, Mishpatim, contains a further revelation of the legal code that the Israelites are yet to adhere to. A collection of laws and statutes that affect everyday interactions with their fellow Israelite and other tribes are laid out in this week’s portion. Everything is on the table from what happens in the case of kidnapping to killing. The Torah takes a look at the permitted ways to deal with slavery and the protections of slaves. There are laws about property, and laws about how to treat the widow and the orphan.

This collection continues the revelation at Sinai and is considered classically as the extension of the Decalogue. God is giving to Moses the tools to organize Israelite society. God is giving Moses the resources to put into place the rules of law and justice and it will provide a strong foundation for the system of chieftains and leaders who serve as judges to keep peace among the people.

One strong measure of Israelite society was the protection of its weakest members. Widows and orphans hold a special place in Israelite society. This week’s portion states: “You shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan. If you do mistreat them I will heed their outcry as soon as they cry out to Me.” (Ex. 22:21-22). God wants it made clear that those without protection in this society will be especially protected by the Divine Source of All. And several times in our portion –God makes it clear-that the powerless, whether a stranger in their midst, or a slave or someone who is poor must not be mistreated.

Ironically, these former slaves who were at the bottom of the social pyramid in Egyptian society need reminding. Was it only three months ago that they were the weakest and needed protection? They needed rescuing by God! Wouldn’t they automatically remember where they came from and their former station in life and then act accordingly?

Often in the world some of the cruelest tyrants have been those who were once oppressed themselves. To guard against this happening-Jewish tradition and the Torah and the Halachah, Jewish law emphasizes time and again that we have a social obligation and responsibility to protect those who are powerless in society and to provide for their needs. The subsequent Jewish teachings remind us to provide food, and shelter and to take on the communal responsibility for them through Tzedakah, charity and Gemilut Chassidim, acts of loving-kindness. You can’t legislate love but you can legislate actions that are required in a particular situation.

Our governmental leaders would do well to look and these admonitions. A measure of a society is how they treat the poorest, weakest and most oppressed among them. In our day and in the United States-poverty grows daily. The number of homeless and hungry on our streets rise. And certain politicians would destroy any social welfare net. And they have. But we must also be guided by these values expressed –since we knew what it was to be a stranger in a strange land, since we knew what it meant to be enslaved and powerless, since we knew what it was like to be the weakest—then we Jews have a special responsibility to champion those who don’t have.

It is no different today. Whether on the streets of Los Angeles or Port Au Prince, Haiti, we are called by our God to respond to those cries. Yes, God said: I will heed their cry- and we are God’s eyes and ears and hands to respond.

May we learn to respond quickly to the pain of others and lift up the weakest in our society so that they can learn and grow and emancipate themselves.

Parshat Yitro Exodus 18:1 – 20:23

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

The story of the liberation of the Israelites continues this week in Parshat Yitro. Named for Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, the saga of freedom opens with a tutorial for the great leader Moses by Jethro. Jethro is a Midianite high priest. He heard of the great exodus led by Moses. And he goes out into the wilderness to meet Moses and to bring Moses’ wife Zipporah and his two sons to him.
In Moses’ retelling of the story to Jethro, it becomes clear that Jethro recognizes the power of God. He offers a beautiful blessing and praise of Adonai. “Blessed by YHVH who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians,” (Ex. 18:10). Jethro seemingly has a moment of conversion. He recognizes the power of YHVH as the Supreme Entity. Surprisingly he offers a sacrifice to God. Jethro isn’t afraid of crossing over. The elders of Israel along with Aaron and Moses partake in this sacred meal of thanksgiving, communing with the Divine.

Jethro models for Aaron (who will be the High Priest) and Moses and the leadership a way to organize their thanks. Moses wrote a victory poem. Miriam sang and danced their joy at the crossing of the Red Sea and their deliverance. But Jethro prays and offers God sacrifices. This will become the Israelite way of worship and service to YHVH.

Jethro sets about teaching them the way to also organize their justice system. He recognizes that his son in law Moses’ can’t be the only one to settle disputes and squabbles. This is what Moses’ has been doing and it is draining him. Jethro realizes that Moses can’t do this alone. It is Jethro that suggests a system of delegation so that Moses wouldn’t be overwhelmed as he herded the people through their journey. Jethro taught Moses to empower others to share in the leadership of this people.

Jethro has prepared the Israelite leadership for what may lie ahead. And what lies ahead is the Revelation at Sinai. It takes preparation to receive the Ten Commandments. It takes internal preparation, spiritual preparation, and external preparation of both individuals and the people and its leadership. Jethro has begun to prepare the leadership and has helped Moses with the external organization of the people. He has helped prepare the leadership spiritually.

The next chapter, Exodus 19, God will give parameters for the people of Israel for spiritual preparation and the people’s own internal preparations by having them engage in acts of purification at Mt. Sinai. For three days they may not go near the Mountain, they must wash their clothes, refrain from sexual intimacy and not eat meat. These disciplines are meant to open them up as individuals and as a group so that they can more clearly hear the words of the revelation and decide if they want to accept or reject the offer by God. The Torah makes it clear
that the people had to opt in. “Moses came and summoned the elders of the people and put before them all the words that God commanded him” (Ex. 19:7). They had to prepare themselves to hear the words of the covenant. And when they do they are ready to accept them.

This teaches us a great lesson. We too need spiritual and physical preparation to hear life changing words. We often don’t take time to pray, to purify ourselves to receive God’s blessings and hear God’s call to us. Sometimes we need a mentor like Jethro, who even though an outsider, can help us see the beauty and strength of our God.

So even as we receive the Ten Commandments again this week. Take some time to pray. Take some time to listen to God’s voice within you. Take some time to spiritually prepare yourselves, so that you like your ancestors will answer: “All that Adonai has spoken, we will do!” (Ex. 19:8).