Rabbi's Message

This Shabbat we read Parashat Vayakhel, which gives detailed instructions for the building of the mishkan (tabernacle).  But before turning to those instructions this Shabbat, let’s first consider the parasha’ first word: Vayakhel.  The root of the word Vayakhel is kahal, which means community.  Vayakhel begins with Moses gathering the whole community together.  Numerous commentators point to the importance of Moses gathering the entire community together in this moment, highlighting it as a direct response in the immediate aftermath of the episode of the sin of the golden calf (which we read about last week in Ki Tissa).  After such a traumatic event, the people needed to be together.  So what did Moses bring them together to do, to build community, to lift up one another, and ultimately, to build the mishkan, a house for God that would connect heaven and Earth. After the golden calf, Moses rallies the people back together, recreating the feeling of community that had been temporarily lost. By bringing the community together, Moses teaches b’nai Yisrael, and in turn, he teaches us the power of kehillah (community) and the importance of being there for one another through good times and through challenging times.

This past Sunday-Tuesday, I had a powerful experience of kehillah as I traveled to Florida and joined 125 of my rabbinic colleagues (from across the denominational spectrum) at Zionism: A New Conversation, a conference sponsored by the Lisa and Michael Leffell Foundation.  It was a great few days of conversation and learning from experts on Israel, anti-Semitism, and the current war in Gaza.  I have many takeaways from the conference, but perhaps most of all, I left feeling a strong sense of community and connection—to fellow Zionists, to Israel, and the larger Jewish community.

Now is a time for community, and to stand together, with our brothers and sisters in Israel and Jews around the world.  Now, more than ever, we must lean into our love of Israel, our commitment to Jewish values and practice, and embrace the support and sustenance that being part of a kahal, specifically the Jewish community, provides.  

Am Yisrael Hai and Shabbat Shalom