Beth El of Lancaster
(717) 581-7891
office@tbelancaster.org
MENUMENU
  • Welcome
    • About Temple Beth El

      • Welcome!
      • Re-Opening Guidelines
      • Membership
      • Mission, Vision & History
      • Our Facility
      • Bulletin
      • Our Holocaust Torah
    • Leadership & Staff

      • Meet Cantor Chesler
        • Cantors Corner
  • Service & Community
    • SERVICE & COMMUNITY

      • Committees
      • Sisterhood
      • Men’s Club
      • Youth Group (USY/Kadima)
      • Chesed Committee
      • Community Events
  • Worship & Torah Explorer
    • Shabbat & Holidays

      • Torah Explorer
      • Worship at Temple Beth El
      • Religious Services
      • Candlelighting Times
      • High Holiday Services
      • Members Only
  • Learning at TBE
    • LIFE LONG LEARNING

      • Temple Beth El Religious School
      • Adult Education
      • Beth Pomerantz Education Series
  • Support Us
    • SUPPORT US

      • Opportunities For Giving
      • Temple Beth El Lancaster Secure Payment & Donation Page
      • Membership
      • Endowment/Fund for the Future
  • Judaica Shop
  • Contact Us
    • CONTACT US

      • Contact Us
      • Locate Us and Directions

Torah Thoughts: Parashat Pekudei 5782

Posted on March 2, 2022

Where Do We Find Holiness?

By Rabbi Rami Pavolotzky

This week we read parashat Pekudei, the last Torah section of the Book of Exodus. The first verse of this parasha says, “These are the records of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Testimony/Pact, which were drawn up at Moses’ bidding—the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest (Exodus 38:21).

It is interesting here that the Tabernacle is called Mishkan Haedut, which literally translates to “the Tabernacle of the testimony,” although it can also be understood as “the Tabernacle of the Pact.” Why is the Tabernacle called this way?

Rashi (1040-1105, Troyes, France) explains that “the Tabernacle was a testimony to Israel that God had shown Himself indulgent to them in respect to the incident of the golden calf, for through the Temple He made His Shechinah dwell amongst them.”

Nachmanides (1194, Girona, Spain-1270, Acre, Israel) thinks that “Scripture uses this expression because the term “Tabernacle” means the curtains of fine-twined linen, which are so called both when the command was given and at the construction of the Tabernacle, while “the Tabernacle of the Testimony” includes the entire building, which is the Tabernacle made to house the Tablets of the Testimony.”

For Nachmanides, as for many other sages, the term “testimony” is related to the Tablets of the Law, also called Luchot Haedut, or “Tablets of the Testimony.” The opinion that the Tabernacle was called the Tabernacle of the Testimony only because the tablets of the law were hosted there, is further expanded in the midrash in different places as the idea that the holiness of the Tabernacle was not inherent, but depended on its content (the tablets).

This last idea, in turn, translates into a very general concept in the Jewish tradition: we don’t have sacred objects, and we don’t worship any object. This is a central tenet of the Jewish tradition.

A good example of this principle is the way we call the piece of furniture that hosts the most “important” object of the Jewish tradition, the Torah Scroll. Although in English we tend to use the expression “Holy Ark,” the original name in Hebrew is Aron Hakodesh, which literally means the ark of the holy, or the ark that contains what is holy or sacred. The ark is not inherently holy, but what it contains is. The holiness does not reside in the ark but in the teachings of the Torah.

There are many other examples that show this Jewish idea that holiness is not related to objects but to the messages or teachings. I purposely chose this example of the ark in our synagogues because the modern ark represents the ark that was placed in the Tabernacle in the desert and that contained the Tablets of the Law/Testimony. There is a direct connection between what happened at the “Tabernacle of the Testimony” and what we do today in the synagogue. A main idea that was born there and we still hold dear today: holiness is not linked to objects; holiness comes from the Torah, its stories, its laws, and its teachings. Holiness is something we aspire to, not something we can touch.

Shabbat Shalom!
Rami

« Torah Thoughts: Parashat Vaykhel 5782
Torah Thoughts: Parashat Vayikra 5782 »

Service Times – In Person & Online

Friday Evening: 7:30 pm Saturday Morning: 10:00 am Sunday Minyan: 9:00 am

VISITORS & GUESTS
Due to the COVID - 19 Pandemic, the building is re-opening with strict guidelines.(CLICK ON LINK BELOW) We are still holding online services. If you wish to attend an online service you will need to contact the Office by email at office@tbelancaster.org at least 24 hours in advance for instructions. You will need to pre register to receive ZOOM sign in information. READ OUR COVID RE-OPENING GUIDELINES HERE!

Temple Business Hours

Monday: Office closed Tuesday: Office 11 - 5 Wednesday: Office 11 - 5 Thursday: Office 11 - 5 Friday: Office 11 - 2

Quick Links

  • United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
  • United Synagogue Youth (USY)
  • JCAL – Jewish Community Alliance of Lancaster
  • Jewish Family Services of Lancaster
  • PJ Library of Lancaster
  • Silver Academy, Harrisburg PA
  • Women’s League for Conservative Judaism
  • Mercaz USA: The Zionist Organization of the Conservative Movement

Archives

  • Contact Us
  • Locate Us and Directions
© Temple Beth El Lancaster