Two Minutes of Torah: Parashat Vayakahel (Exodus 35:20-35) - Those who really can ... teach

Recently I was registering for an internet website, and as is often the way with these sites, there were a number of security questions. For this particular portal I was asked the name of my favourite actor or actress, my favourite film, and my favourite teacher. For the first two answers I had to take a bit of time to think about my answer, but with the final question there was not a moment of hesitation, I carefully wrote down the name “Mr. Judd” (I won’t tell you the other two answers just in case you are ever trying to hack into my system).

Mr. Judd was the debating and public speaking teacher at my secondary school. I wanted to get involved with debating from my first year at the school; I enjoyed the challenge, but while I was enthusiastic, I had a lot to learn. Together with Mrs Gleeson they moulded me into a competent public speaker and debater – in the process they also helped me to grow and develop into a much more confident young man. I have a lot to thank them both for. While at school I often wondered what had compelled Mr. Judd to become a teacher, in my eyes he could have done anything he had wanted, and I was always curious about what had made him want to be a teacher.

Our society can often be quite cruel to those who decide to pursue a career in teaching, the regular (and grossly unfair) refrain is: ‘those who can do, those who can’t teach’. I am not sure who we have to ‘thank’ for this line, but I feel that absolutely no gratitude is due. I am also conscious of the fact that the title Rabbi is about being a teacher.

In this week’s Torah portion we begin the task of building the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and we are introduced to Bezalel, the man who will lead the building project. ‘And Moses said to the people of Israel, See, Adonai has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah’ (Exodus 35:30). This is the second time when we read about Bezalel as the man who will actually be in charge of building the Tabernacle.

Both in Exodus 31 and Exodus 35 the choice of Bezalel appears to be as a result of the divine gifts which God has given him: ‘And God has filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in every kind of workmanship’ (Exodus 35:31, with almost the exact same text in Exodus 31:3). Bezalel has a gift from craftsmanship, and as a result he is an appropriate choice for the construction of God’s dwelling place on earth.

However, in this week’s Torah portion, when Bezalel is about to actually begin the work of building the Tabernacle, we learn a new fact about him: ‘And God has put in his heart that he may teach’ (Exodus 35:34). Bezalel was not just chosen because of his craftsmanship ability, but also because he would be able to teach others. Bezalel was selected because he would be able to engage the entire Israelite community in the project by sharing his skills and knowledge as a teacher.

Bezalel shows that those who can do, but those who really can teach. He demonstrates for us an ability not just to be skilled but to rise up to the next level of sharing his gift with others, and imparting knowledge to the community. I think Mr. Judd was a lot like Bezalel; he shared his skills for debate and public speaking so that others could follow his good example, and learn from his experience.

We need to pursue a new turn of phrase: ‘Those who can do, and those who really can teach.’

Two Minutes of Torah: Ki Tissah (Exodus 32:7-20) - The Reluctance to Lead

A couple of weeks ago I was at the cinema watching the Oscar nominated, BAFTA award winning film, The King’s Speech. It was a truly wonderful cinematic experience, and I really recommend that everyone takes an opportunity to go and see it. I just want to focus on one element of the film, which struck me. Now it will come as no surprise to anyone that the film includes the story of the abdication of King Edward VIII and the accession to the throne of King George VI. Through this part of the story it was striking to see the reluctance of George to become the King; he wanted to help his brother to remain King.

I am sure that many of us have wondered what it might be like to be the Monarch, in our fantasies I am sure that it involves living in the lap of luxury and being waited on hand and foot by an impressive staff. The idea of being the Monarch, or maybe at least a minor Royal, sounds exciting, but in the film we see that King George VI was happy to remain a Prince, and avoid ascending to the top job.

This week in our Torah portion Moses has the opportunity to become the undisputed main man of the Israelites. As he sat atop Mount Sinai with God; the Israelites down below had constructed a golden calf, which they had proceeded to worship in place of Adonai. It is unsurprising that this excited the wrath of God, who had recently redeemed the people from Egypt and given them the Ten Commandments, which explicitly stated: ‘You shall not make for you any engraved image … you shall not bow down yourself to them’ (Exodus 20:4-5).

On Mount Sinai God said to Moses: ‘now therefore let me alone, that my anger may burn hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation’ (Exodus 32:10). Moses stood on the brink of receiving the patriarchal promise, to become a great nation, and as such to establish his own people as the chosen people. It would have meant the end of the Children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the beginning of the Children of Moses.

However, Moses refused to accept God’s offer, and instead countered by asking how this action would be viewed by the Egyptians, who had witnessed God’s power. And then asking God to ‘remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever’ (Exodus 32:13).

At this moment we see in Moses’ reluctance to supplant the Patriarchs, a part of the reason why he was so well suited to be the leader of the Israelites. He did not for a moment consider the opportunity to become the outright leader of his own people, his own great nation. Instead he immediately sought to protect the people he was leading and to remind God of the promises which had been made with the Patriarchs.

Moses had assumed the position of Israelite leader reluctantly, and here, despite the opportunity of receiving one of God’s ultimate promises, to become a great nation, Moses declines, putting the interests of the people above his own. King George VI was reluctant to become the Monarch, preferring to serve his country from the King’s side, but he was ultimately forced to succeed his brother. Moses has been forced to become the Israelite leader, but here he stood firm and ensured that ‘Adonai repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people’ (Exodus 32:14).

At this point Moses once again demonstrated why he was the perfect choice to lead the Israelites and stand alongside Avraham Avinu (Abraham our father) as Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher).

Two minutes of Torah: Tetzaveh (Exodus 28:28-29:9) - Kissing the Israelite Badge

When Fernando Torres recently signed for Chelsea Football Club, a number of Liverpool supporters went out onto the streets and burned shirts with Torres’ name emblazoned on the back. For them these shirts had become valueless the moment that he put pen to paper on a contract with a rival football team. Whatever a person might think about the rights and wrongs of the Torres transfer, I was struck by a comment he made in his first Chelsea press conference; he said he did not kiss the Liverpool badge and he would not kiss the Chelsea badge. ‘Some people like to kiss the badge. They can do it. I only want to score goals and do my job and achieve all the targets the team has.’

I remember my first Liverpool football shirt and the pride which I took in the shirt, in its colour and especially the club badge upon it. The badge is the club’s logo, but it is more than this. The badge represents the football club and its community; it is about the history and the players who have worn the shirts with pride. And it is about the supporters who pay their hard earned money to wear the shirt and support the club. This is the same across all sports in each and every country.

Following on from the design of the Tabernacle in last week’s Torah portion, this week we read about the uniform which the High Priest will wear when serving God as the peoples’ sacred emissary. ‘And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and an embroidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle, and they shall make holy garments’ (Ex. 28:4). The elaborate and ornate clothing ensured that there would be something awesome about the sight of the High Priest; his outfit would reflect the stature of his position. We can imagine that when he put on the decorative items, he was made aware of the fact that he served God.

But of all the various items described, the most striking for me is the breastplate, as it states: ‘And Aaron shall bear the names of the people of Israel in the breastplate of judgement upon his heart, when he goes to the holy place, for a memorial before Adonai continually’ (Ex 28:29). The High Priest’s clothing ensured that he was not just aware of the fact that he served God, but also of the fact that he represented the people. The entire Israelite community was not just on his clothing and therefore in his mind, but it was directly upon his heart.

Of all the different elements of the High Priest’s outfit I think that the breastplate is his equivalent of the club badge. The breastplate is the item which embodies the people and through that the religion, the history and even God.

I am not sure whether the High Priest ever kissed the breastplate as part of the ritual in either the Tabernacle or the Temple, but I am struck by the symbolism of the breastplate. In our Jewish community, which is all too often characterised by fractures and divisions, the breastplate offers us a glimpse of a situation where the entire Israelite community could be united together.

I do not seek a return to the sacrificial system of the Temple and the position of the High Priest, but I do want to return to the breastplate. I want us to find a way in which we can recreate what the breastplate symbolised, and then together as one Jewish family, maybe then we can kiss the badge.

Two Minutes of Torah: Terumah (Exodus 25:23-40) - Home v Synagogue

In the lead up to Rosh Hashannah and Pesach a gentle negotiation always takes place in my parents’ home. The fact that they will be hosting an erev Rosh Hashannah dinner and a Pesach seder is not up for discussion, that is a non-negotiable. The debate is always about how many people can be hosted comfortably around the table. My mother seems to believe that our dining room possesses a ‘ Tardis’-like quality and will expand to fit everyone who is invited. On the other side my father wants to make sure that every guest has enough space both to their right and their left. A compromise is always found and the festivals are always celebrated around the dining room table in their home.

When I began working at WLS, our family erev Rosh Hashannah practice was challenged, as I was expected to be present in the synagogue for the service. Growing up, I must confess, I had never been to a service at the synagogue on erev Rosh Hashannah because that was an element of the festival we celebrated at home. We were always in synagogue for the morning service, but the evening was marked around the dining room table. Thankfully, since working at WLS, dinner was delayed and a way was found for me to be both at the synagogue and at home. However, it did demonstrate the potential rivalry between our two Jewish centres: the home and the synagogue.

This week we read the description of how the Tabernacle will be built and what items and utensils will be required within it. Amongst the items to be constructed we are told: ‘you shall also make a table of shittim wood; two cubits shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height’ (Ex. 25:23). This is the dining room table of the Tabernacle, and eventually the Temple. The accompanying vessels leave us in no doubt about its purpose: ‘And you shall make its dishes, and its spoons, and its covers, and its bowls, to cover it with; of pure gold shall you make them’ (Ex. 25:29). This is certainly an ornate (and expensive) set of crockery and cutlery, but at its core, this is what it is.

We all know the power of sharing a meal with someone as a way of getting to know them and finding out more about them. Inside the Tabernacle there was a table across which God could be encountered, and upon it there was always to be bread; ‘and you shall set the bread of display upon the table before me always’ (Ex. 25:30). This essentially gave the image of a laid table ready for the people and God to share a meal at any time both day and night.

The synagogue rituals of our festivals are important, but the celebrations in the home, especially those which take place around the table, also present us with an opportunity to gain a glimpse of the Divine. One of the wonders of Judaism is the way in which our religion has survived despite the absence of a Temple, which at one time was viewed as a necessity for Jewish observance. The survival of Judaism was because the synagogue was not the only successor to the Temple, we also made the home into a sacred space.

Rabbi Lionel Blue wrote that in the absence of a Temple: ‘The father became a priest, and mother a priestess, and the dining-room table an altar … In the world of rabbinic Judaism, the synagogue emphasised doing and knowing, but the home was concerned with being, with memory, and experience (To Heaven with Scribes and Pharisees, p.38).

As we read about the items and utensils from the Tabernacle we can see the way in which they are shared between the home and the synagogue. Today, Judaism exists in the home and the synagogue, both spaces are necessary for a full and complete Jewish life. When my mother and father debate erev Rosh Hashannah and the Seder they are involved in a dispute lashem shamayim – in the name of Heaven, finding a way to make the home and the dining room table into sacred space.