​            There is a great scene in The Godfather Part II, in which Michael (Al Pacino) is in crisis with both his business and his family.  He asks his mother if it is possible that one could work so hard and yet still lose connection to his family.  His mother replies, “But you can never lose your family.”
            This week we read Parshat Tzav.  We are commanded to have a continual flame burning[1].  “A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar; it may not go out/אֵשׁ תָּמִיד תּוּקַד עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לֹא תִכְבֶּה.”  The Sfas Emes[2] teaches that “inside the heart of every Jew there is a hidden point that is enthusiastically aflame with [love of] God, a fire that cannot go out.  Even though ‘it may not go out’ here refers to a prohibition, it is also a promise.”[3]  The promise is that although there are difficulties and distractions that make it harder at times to feel the warmth of that inner flame, we know that it is always there.  Prayer is the point where we fan the flame in order to burn away those parts of us that make it difficult to serve God and make the world a better place. Prayer, in essence, is that very struggle inside of us.  Rabbi Art Green explains that “[i]ndeed, there is pure fire of love in our hearts, but it is there in order to meet and consume our lower passions, our distractions, all those thoughts that seem such un-welcome guests in our hearts when we try to pray.  But their presence is the very point of prayer.  They—or the ‘we,’ the self who is represented by them—come to us in that moment in order to be consumed, to be taken up into that secret fire that burns within us.”[4]
            This week is the final week in the lead up to Passover.  We will be cleaning our homes and removing all the leaven/hametz from our homes.  We also need to begin our spiritual spring cleaning.  This week it is important that we are reminded: you can never lose your inner flame.  It is now the time to use that fire to sweep away the inner corners of our souls, so that when we sit down at the Seder Table, we are truly free from the limitations that have restricted us.  This year, we are all free.  Next year in Jerusalem!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ezra


[1] Lev. 6:6

[2] Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (Hebrew יהודה אריה ליב אלתר‎, 15 April 1847 – 11 January 1905), also known by the title of his main work, the Sfas Emes (Yiddish) or Sefat Emet שפת אמת‎ (Hebrew), was a Hasidic rabbi who succeeded his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, as the Av beis din (head of the rabbinical court) and Rav of Góra Kalwaria, Poland (known in Yiddish as the town of Ger), and succeeded Rabbi Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin of Aleksander as Rebbe of the Gerrer Hasidim

[3] Sfas Emes 3:21

[4] Rabbi Art Green, Language of Truth, pg. 156

            A few years ago, I was running a session on prayer during staff week at Camp Ramah in New England.  Every half an hour I got a new group.  When each new group entered the room, they saw pieces of paper all over the room; taped to benches, to walls and to pillars.   When they looked closer at the pieces, they saw that the same things was written on each of them: “You”.  Then we sat and listened to an old Hassidic song, A Dudele[1].  The point of the exercise was to expand our notion of what prayer is and where it can be done.  Can we see “You” everywhere? What do we do when we see “You”?
           This week we begin the book of VaYikra.  The parsha begins with a calling. “The Lord summoned Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying/וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה, וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֵלָיו, מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר.” The Midrash explains this verse through a parable.     
"And He called to Moses." What is written above this matter [of these words "And he called to Moses"]? Parshat Mishkan [the building of the Tabernacle]. This can be compared to a King who commanded his servant and said to him, "Build me a palace." On every item which the servant built he wrote the name of the King on it. When he built walls, he wrote the name of the King on them. When he stood up columns he wrote the name of the King on them. When he installed beams, he wrote the name of the King on them. After a while, the King entered into the palace. On everything which he looked, he found his name written. He said, "All this great honor was afforded to me by my servant and I am on the interior and he is outside?!" [The King] called [the servant] to enter into the inner part of the palace. So too, when The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to Moses, "Build me a Sanctuary," on every single matter Moses wrote, "As Hashem had commanded Moses." The Holy One said, "All of this great honor was given to me by Moses and I'm inside and he is outside?!" He (God) called to him (Moses) to enter the inner place, and therefore it says, "And He called to Moses."[2]
For all of Moses’ hard work for the sake of Heaven, he did not feel ready to come inside the Tent until he was called. 
           The Sfas Emes[3] teaches that Moses drew so much from the spiritual heights in the building of the Mishkan that even he did not feel as though he could enter.  Moses brought intense holiness down from the Heavens into our reality in order to build a dwelling place for God on Earth.  Moses performed his task with the utmost humility.  To build something that holy for the right reason requires an extinguishing of the ego.   And for his victory of his ego, Moses is rewarded by being called into the Tent of Meeting.[4]
           There is a little bit of Moses inside of each and every one of us.  Our challenge is to access it and act on it.  Many of us feel comfortable with taking on parts of his role.  We give to our communities in a variety of different ways for the purpose of loving God, Torah and Israel as a community.  And still sometimes we feel as though we do not belong.  What happens inside the sanctuary is too intense for me. Even though I helped build it to ensure that it was built, every inch of it, with holiness in mind, I still cannot go in.  This week we are rewarded for our true service and called back in.  And if we step back in on Shabbat, we will find that the holy crowns we once adorned will be waiting for us to don once again.  May we all have a sweet Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ezra


[1] Composed by Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev: One approach to addressing the Divine was offered by Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, a Hasidic rebbe in the second generation of followers of the Baal Shem Tov. He offered his theology in the form of a song, known as a dudele (from the Yiddish word du for “you”). Levi Yitzchak presents us a way of looking at the world through the eyes of the teaching “Everything is God and nothing but God.”  A good version can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDEz07XSONc

[2] Lev. Rab 1:7

[3] Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (Hebrew יהודה אריה ליב אלתר‎, 15 April 1847 – 11 January 1905), also known by the title of his main work, the Sfas Emes (Yiddish) or Sefat Emet שפת אמת‎ (Hebrew), was a Hasidic rabbi who succeeded his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, as the Av beis din (head of the rabbinical court) and Rav of Góra Kalwaria, Poland (known in Yiddish as the town of Ger), and succeeded Rabbi Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin of Aleksander as Rebbe of the Gerrer Hasidim

[4] Sfas Emes 3:2

​            This week we read a double portion of VaYakhel Pekudei.  The parsha, which largely contains guidelines for the building of the Tabernacle/Mishkan, opens with a large gathering of the people[1].  “Moses assembled all the congregation of the Israelites and said to them: These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do/וַיַּקְהֵל מֹשֶׁה אֶת כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם, אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' לַעֲשֹׂת אֹתָם.”  Rashi[2] explains this is all happening, Moses’ second descent from the mountain with the second set of tablets followed by the building instructions, the day after Yom Kippur. 
            The Sfas Emes[3] teaches that the People of Israel were in mourning over their actions that resulted in the Golden Calf.  And now that they had repented and done teshuva, The Holy Blessed One, in all of His mercy, gave them the commandment/mitzvah of giving generously[4] for the sake of the mishkan in order to make them happy.  As it says in the Talmud[5], all mitzvot that were accepted joyously, are still done joyously to this day.
            Maintaining relationships is difficult.  Especially if there has been a fracture.  Our involvement in the Golden Calf greatly hurt God, and when we reflected on what we had done, we needed to ask forgiveness in order to mend our union.  However, that is only the beginning.  In my experience, saying sorry is only one part of the process towards renewed trust and engagement.  It takes positive interactions after having a fight with somebody to normalize the relationship again; to remind all parties about why they got together in the first place.  Practically, this may mean trying to get somebody to laugh and smile after a conflict has been resolved.  It will soften the heart and bring back positive feelings.  
            The same is true with our relationship with God.  It makes sense that we would still be walking on eggshells after what we did with the Golden Calf.  That is why it is so wonderful to appreciate the kindness done to us by God in giving us the opportunity to give of ourselves with a generous and open heart.  After we atoned for our mistakes on Yom Kippur, we are immediately given the holiday of Sukkot, on which God commands us to be happy.  As the Sfas Emes explains, the work of the mishkan and the holiday of Sukkot are ultimately the same matter.  The joy that one experiences in serving God after teshuva is an everlasting joy. 
            Service performed from a place of fear and obedience may be important and serve a purpose.  And this week we are reminded that fear is often not a long-lasting motivator.  Happiness, fun and camaraderie are what sinks roots into the hearts and minds of a person.  This week let us continue the ecstatic work of creating holy spaces in our communities.  Our joy creates the ideal dwelling place for the Divine Presence/Shekhina.  And that delightful dwelling place will be an everlasting structure.
 
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ezra


[1] Ex. 35:1

[2] Shlomo Yitzchaki (Hebrew: רבי שלמה יצחקי‎; Latin: Salomon Isaacides; French: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (Hebrew: רש"י, RAbbi SHlomo Itzhaki), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud and commentary on the Tanakh.

[3] Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (Hebrew יהודה אריה ליב אלתר‎, 15 April 1847 – 11 January 1905), also known by the title of his main work, the Sfas Emes (Yiddish) or Sefat Emet שפת אמת‎ (Hebrew), was a Hasidic rabbi who succeeded his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, as the Av beis din (head of the rabbinical court) and Rav of Góra Kalwaria, Poland (known in Yiddish as the town of Ger), and succeeded Rabbi Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin of Aleksander as Rebbe of the Gerrer Hasidim

[4] Ex. 35:4-5: “Moses said to all the congregation of the Israelites: This is the thing that the Lord has commanded: Take from among you an offering to the Lord; let whoever is of a generous heart bring the Lord’s offering…”

[5] BT Shabbat 130a