Timeless Torah

All around the world, Jewish communities in Europe, South America, Australia and in our very own Sunshine State will be heading to their synagogues this Shabbat…and shake their heads in puzzlement about the situation in Israel. Questions such as, “What can we do?” to “What should we do?” are heard in between the Aliyos to the Torah.

Working together is not only pragmatic in order to accomplish a monumental task, it is a necessary state of mind if we are to achieve the purpose of why G-d placed us on this world. Responsibility is a basic human need, just like food or oxygen.

So what can we do? First and foremost, don’t rationalize the death of another Jew as an unavoidable sacrifice for peace. Don’t just shake your head, sigh and go on with life after the nightly news of heartbreak and rampage. Say some Tehillim (Psalms), give another coin to charity - do something, do anything! Responsibility then, is one of the greatest gifts that G-d gave us. It promotes us from being mere spectators to contributing participants in the dynamic unfolding of the world’s destiny.

What is most amazing about these words is that I did not write them today. In fact, they were penned exactly one year ago, as the same Biblical portion of Pekudei was being read and the same acts of violence were being perpetrated. Has anything changed? How did Jewish life become so cheap in the Holy Land?

Rashi, the father of Biblical commentary, compares the Hebrew word for Sanctuary (Mishkan) with the Hebrew word for collateral (Mashkon). Using the two ideas interchangeably, Rashi interprets the opening verse of the portion in this way; G-d took the Sanctuary-Mishkan in Jerusalem away from us as collateral as a Mashkon, and it will not be returned until we rectify our behavior.

There is a well known Jewish theological point that G-d does not give His people any commandments or laws that He Himself is not obligated to fulfill. If so, we are entitled to ask, inasmuch as the Torah forbids taking an object as a pledge that is vital to a person’s existence, i.e. his working tools, how could G-d have taken as collateral the Sanctuary?

The answer must be painfully obvious. If the Sanctuary had indeed been so vital to the Israelites, it would never have been removed and destroyed. We lost the Temple precisely because it had ceased to be so important to us. Of course, we pray every Amidah service for the rebuilding of the Temple. But do we plead for this with the same intensity if it was our stolen car that we were praying for?

Jewish boys and girls are still precious to us. But I am afraid, they are less than vital. If they were, our Biblical portion assures us, they would never be removed from us so wantonly and senselessly.