FINDING MEANING IN THE MUNDANE

Parashat Pekudei

29 Adar 1 5774 / 28 February – 1 March 2014
Torah reading: Exodus 38:21 – 40:38

Maftir: Exodus 30:11-16 (Shekalim)

Haftarah: 2 Kings 12:1-17; 1 Samuel 20:18; 20:42 (Shekalim/Erev Rosh Chodesh - Ashkenazim);

2 Kings 11:17 – 12:17; 1 Samuel 20:18; 20:42 (Shekalim/Erev Rosh Chodesh - Sephardim)

 

Calendar and dedications follow below. For a full Calendar of Events and lots of other information, please visit http://www.bethmeier.org

 

Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.

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FINDING MEANING IN THE MUNDANE

“Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled upon it ("alav"); and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:35

Etz Hayyim: It is unclear whether entry is literally blocked or is not permissible or that Moses dared not enter.

The writer David Mamet asks an interesting question. “But is there something in the notion that Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud rested on him?”(reading the word “alav” as “upon him” rather than “upon it” - the Hebrew is ambiguous) He goes on to suggest that when Moses was filled with the Holy Spirit, in direct communion with the Divine, he was thereby unable to act as a servant to either God or the Israelites.

There has lately been a quest by Jews and non-Jews alike for “spirituality”. These searchers want a connection with God that is uplifting, meaningful, emotional, etc. And often, they want it immediately - they want a moving personal experience when they want it. This is a difficult proposition for rabbis and cantors, clergy of all types, who cannot always deliver spirituality on demand. One also must wonder whether God takes orders in quite this way - or in any way at all!

 

I am not in any way denigrating the spiritual needs of people. I also desire that connection, however ephemeral or short-lived it may be. But whenever I am having my individual experience with the Divine in a way that is not through any physical act, such as meditation or even singing, or when my spiritual moment is divorced from the world around me (something that I do seek from time to time), I am not then able to fulfill the Divine will. That is to say, we are commanded to act in this world through gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness), through tikkun olam (repairing this broken world) and through tzedakah (justice or charity). One might argue these are only ordinary acts. But I think they are extra-ordinary. We all know that there can indeed be joy in performing these mitzvot. By acting as God’s servants, by feeding the hungry and burying the dead and cleaning up the Earth, we make the spiritual connection that God wants, even if it is not necessarily the connection we want, when we want it.

 

If indeed God is Hamakom, the One That Is In Every Place, then in a narrow sense, God is within us as well. Although we may seldom if ever experience an ecstatic connection with God, we can nevertheless have an emotionally satisfying connection whenever we want - by finding meaning in the mundane; in ordinary, everyday Jewish living. You want to find God?  Go - perform an act of chesed or tikkun or tzedakah and save the world! One small piece at a time.

Shabbat Shalom v'Chodesh Tov! Be Happy – Adar II is Coming!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA
http://www.bethmeier.org

"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still"
Isaiah 62:1

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Candlelighting: 5:30 pm

 

Friday: Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.

Saturday: Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday: Religious School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew Class – 10:00 am.

Tuesday: Lunch and Learn - noon.

Wednesday: (Re)Introducion to Judaism class– 7:30 pm.

 

Don’t forget to RSVP for the installation of Rabbi Flom (that’s me!) on March 9. Deadline for reservations is February 28. Contact Ken Goodman for details. Also please let Ken know if you have any items for the silent auction.

 

The Rabbinical Assembly's annual guide for Pesach is available on-line for download. It's not too early to start thinking about your spring cleaning and Passover prep! The guide is available at: rabbinicalassembly.org/pesah-guide

 

This d'var torah is offered in memory of Roza Blady, who passed away on Sunday. Funeral was Monday. Condolences to Ben Blady and Sarah Ferman on the passing of their mother. Y’hi zichronah liv’rakhah – May her memory be a blessing.

 

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Blimah Reizel bat Ruchel, Miriam Minya bat Alisa Batya, Eve Beatty, Howard Ehrlich, Bryon Fendrich, Jerry Forman, Pamela Huddleston, Rose Jordan, Steven Kleiger, Lizzie Legnine, Frank Marcovitz, Sheldon Mazo, Marshall Neiman, Phil Raider, Margeurite Rassiner and Neil Turbov.

 

Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list or if there is anyone who may be removed from this list.

 

My divrei torah are also available via e-mail from the Cyber Torah list.

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