On Community

^{1 Adar 5775 | February 20, 2015}

Parshat Terumah

Rabba Sara Hurwitz

President and Co-Founder

Parshat Teruma describes the construction of the mishkan (tabernacle), which will become the central gathering place for Bn’ei Yisrael. The mishkan, along with its vessels, can be seen as a symbol for the ideal community to stand in service before God. And the aron, the ark which resides inside the kadosh kodashim (holies of holies) is the heart of the community. The Torah’s instruction for the building of the aron, which houses the tablets of the Ten Commandments can be seen as a metaphor for striving for the ideal community. A community that is built on the ethic of harmony and moderation.

The aron as an allegory for the ideal community can be seen within the verses in four ways.

First, the measurements used to describe the aron are all in fractions:

The decimals are purposeful. The lack of whole numbers imply that just as the measurements are lacking, so too, we are each a little deficient. An ideal community is one where no one person is entirely perfect, entirely whole, thereby creating room for people to complete one another.

Second, the instructions to build the ark are in the plural:

As opposed to the singular tense with other instructions:

The ark is meant to be built by the entire community, giving everyone an equal opportunity to contribute. The Midrash Tanhuma (Va-Yak'hel, 8) explains: The Holy One, blessed be He, commanded all of Israel to make the ark so that no one would have an excuse for boasting over another person, saying, "I contributed more to the ark..."

An ideal community is one where we acknowledge that no one person’s contribution is better than another’s.

The third metaphor of an ideal community is the way the aron is carried. The badim (poles) that carried the other keylim (vessels), like the shulchan (table) and menorah were not permanently attached—they could be easily removed. However, the staves of the aron were permanently attached, never to be removed. Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994) explains:

In an ideal community, the Torah is not meant to be seen as stagnant. It moves with the people.

Finally, if one were to weigh the ark—with its double overlay of gold, inside and out, the tablets of stone, both the broken and intact, the kruvim (decorative angels above the ark), and the parochet (curtains) it must have been extremely heavy. And yet, it was carried, seamlessly, by four ark bearers. This could not have been done by natural means, and this is apparently the reason behind the Talmudic saying:

Adherence to Torah, at times, can be burdensome. It is difficult to carry alone. However, when carried with the community, the Torah will ultimately carry you.

And so, the four ingredients for creating a moderate and inclusive community are:

• Step 1: Acknowledging that no one is perfect. We all have deficiency, and must rely on each other to make us complete.

• Step 2: No one person is better than anyone else; we all equally merit receiving and participating in Torah.

• Step 3: The Torah is not meant to be stagnant, it is meant to move with people. The very root of the word halakha is halakh, to walk.

• Step 4: When the above is embraced by community, then the burden of the Torah will be lifted, and the laws and values held within will help us soar.

It is this community, whose values align with the essence of the aron, that I want to be part of. A diverse community that strives to welcome all Jews, rather than bear the ark alone. A community that can recognize that we are at times deficient, thereby creating space to nourish our intellectual and spiritual curiosity. One where we know that one of us is no better than the other. One that is committed to a halakha that walks with us, while still holding steadfastly to its principles and values.