Terumah 5773
Our rabbis are perplexed by a particular verse in this week’s parsha, Terumah. We read,
שמות כ"ו:ט"ו וְעָשִׂיתָ אֶת־הַקְּרָשִׁים לַמִּשְׁכָּן עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים עֹמְדִים
You shall make the planks for the Tabernacle of acacia wood, upright.A verse that, on its surface, is simple, stating that the Israelites built the Mishkan out of acacia wood. But the rabbis wonder, where did all of this acacia wood come from? After all, there was no Home Depot in the desert! Where did they find all of this wood?
The rabbis craft a creative narrative to solve this problem (Tanhuma Terumah 9). They flashback to the end of Genesis, when Yaakov our ancestor left Israel to join his children in Egypt. Our rabbis tell us that Yaakov planted the trees as he walked on his journey. They imagine Jacob announcing to his family, “My children! You are destined to be redeemed from Egypt, and when you are redeemed, the Holy One will command you to build a Tabernacle. Help me plant these trees now, so that when our descendants are to make a tabernacle, the trees will be on hand.”
What are the seeds that we are planting right now for ourselves, for our friends, for our families, like Yaakov did before us? What are we setting in motion now that will build our community?
We spend our time at Anshe Emet planting seeds. We have extensive adult education, Shabbat activities, time to gather socially and more. The entire point of all this is to help us all, as individuals and as a community, to blossom and grow. What are you looking for, for yourself and your family? And how can we make that happen? Please be in touch with me, and anyone on the synagogue staff team and clergy, so that we can plant seeds and grow together, as our ancestor Yaakov and his children did so many years ago.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David Russo
