Rabbi Kirshbaum's brief reflection on this week’s Torah portion

Parshat T’rumah, the 7th section in the 2nd book of Torah, Exodus (in Hebrew, called Sh’mot)
 
With Syrian civilians huddling in bombed-out buildings as I write and – right around the corner from us – too many of Trenton’s civilians living permanently in sorely substandard and even dangerous housing, do we have any business thinking about tents and houses as metaphors this week?

I think the answer is yes, based on the juxtaposition of the week’s Torah and haftarah portions. This week’s parsha, T’rumah, goes into minute detail about the exterior and interior of the portable tent serving as a sanctuary (better known as a ‘tabernacle’ to some) that will accompany the Israelites through their years of wandering; this week’s haftarah, in contrast, goes into minute detail about the house that Solomon builds for YHVH in Jerusalem, several centuries after our wandering.  Tent and house, house and tent. Among other things, they can serve as a reminder of impermanence and a reminder of stability; a reminder of the longevity of our people and a reminder of our individual mortality.

May this week’s pairing of opposites strengthen our resolve to be more compassionate, more inclined to reach out toward others who live in misery and danger as we remember that our very own mortal home doesn’t amount to much more than a tent, that insecurity lurks underneath our own relatively comfortable lives. Tent and house; house and tent. May this pairing also lessen our sense that we can do nothing but stand idly by; our tradition is filled with effective responses to meeting basic human needs, responses that are as enduring as a well-built house.

Hodesh tov – a good new month of Adar * – and Shabbat shalom,
 
Reb Donna on 30 Sh’vat 5772  

*the expression associated with this Jewish month is
mi sh’nikh-nas Adar, marbin b’sim-kha – “when the month of  Adar comes, joy increases.”