Timeless Torah

Here’s some good news. If you happen to find that reading about the construction of the Tabernacle, an event that is more than 3300 years old just a trifle boring and irrelevant, you are perfectly normal. And if listing each and every single item in three dimensional detail along with the instructions on how to construct them makes you doze a little now and then, don’t rush off to see the Rabbi about scheduling those Bible Appreciation classes just yet. And if the exact repetition of all of the above is making you wonder not about your sanity, but the Divine Author’s…you’re still a good Jew…one that could use some more in-depth Jewish education, but a good Jew nonetheless.

In a parenting session where I shared some Kabalistic as well as some pragmatic pointers, I offered the following advice. If your children are acting up during meal time, rather than attending immediately to the trouble maker, turn your attention to the ones behaving and declare, “Look how nice Sarah is sitting!” “See how Chaim is eating so carefully!” Rather than rewarding the rebels, ignore them. Encourage good quiet behavior. Pay proper attention and focus on those who are acting civilly instead of the others.

When the Almighty created the world, the Torah tells us He created the heavens first, and then the earth. Which is larger? The vast universe with all of its galaxies which we generically refer to as “heaven” is incomparably greater than the single planet we occupy. Irrespective of that, the Torah turns its gaze to our very own, minute earth.

Once the earth was fashioned, the planet was divided into two distinct regions, land and water. Of these two, which is larger? We are all aware that 2/3 of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Which realm receives G-d’s scrutiny? Land!

Of all creatures created, which was created singularly? Man. Subsequently, it is we, lonely and vulnerable who command G-d’s absorption and deliberation. And amongst all of the nations to explode upon the stage of history, which one was numerically the least of them all? The Jew!

A pitiful and starving seventy souls descended to Egypt, but it is they who are the object of the heavenly eye. According to the census recorded in the Torah the least of the tribes was Levi. Within that tribe, the family of the Kohanim (priests), was even smaller. Yet it was this small group and their portable Sanctuary that became the focus of an entire Book of the Torah (Leviticus).

This progression is somewhat reminiscent of the remark once made by the saintly Chofetz Chaim. On a map of the world you’ll find the names of big cities like New York, Paris, Tokyo, etc. shown in large print on the map. In heaven however there is another map, with G-d acting as the cartographer. On this map the cities that stand out as noticeable are Jerusalem, Vilna, Radin, etc. (Today we might, with a sense of thankfulness, add Coral Springs). These are the places where the real action is taking place. In these somewhat quiet shtetlech, the synagogues and schools are packed with young and old learning, praying, and carrying out His will ever so discretely.

Thus when you want to know what’s new, or what’s happening, you can receive your answer from two kinds of sources. One source depicts moral decay, corruption, and violence which contribute to a negative and pessimistic outlook. In this medium only the sensational succeeds in making the headlines and more deviance is encouraged as the bar of folly is ever increased.

Is that the real news? Who says?! There’s another perspective that tells us what is truly important in G-d’s eyes, and therefore it should be significant in ours as well. It’s not big; not loud, not abrasive. The Torah systematically informs us in clear language what is important; earth, land, Jew, those who serve G-d and His holy places.

So who does He ignore? Heaven, water, etc. Who does He take notice of?  Those who work in harmony, setting aside egos and political agendas while using their talents and resources to create a House for G-d in this world according to divine specifications. When that job is being done, that’s what makes news in heaven and headlines in His Book of (what’s truly real in) Life.

The Torah could have told us about the presidential scandals, wars, latest fashions, and social upheaval of that time. But that’s not new, and it’s not news. Neither is the disruptive child shouting at the dining room table.

What would be new and news worthy is the wisdom of a parent who fixes his or her gaze of love on the one who is cooperative and quietly contributing to the beauty of the family dynamic. There is a great temptation to join in the sensationalism of the day. But if one can make himself small enough to build something for G-d rather than himself, there is a real story in the making, worth detailing and even repeating.