For a easily printable version click here.
People of Influence
The current events in Egypt should be of concern to every Jew. We do not know how things will shake down in Egypt but there is a very serious possibility that the Iranian regime will become a player in Egyptian politics. Considering Egypt's strategic position as it controls the Suez Canal, the gateway to the Arabian Peninsula, as well as being the doorway to the Hamas controlled Gaza, every Jewish person that is capable of doing something to defend our people and our Land should do so. Of course the question is "what can I do?" For that matter what can anybody do? It is hard to imagine that anybody can guide this most powerful grassroots movement in any direction.
Of course, we know that there is One Who could do something and Who in fact has brought about this entire situation; it is the Director of History. Every person who has any influence with the Director to move this situation into positive territory must do so. To stand idly by and just hope that it will blow over is entirely irresponsible.
We know that HaShem cares very much about us. He has been caring for us the past 3,300 years and has been successful in assuring our existence and our vitality since then. We are as vibrant and solvent today as we were in years past in spite of all that has occurred to us. We must now use our clout and petition Him to protect us. The Talmud teaches us that when we had the Temple, our sacrifices provided us much protection, but what do we have today? With this in mind let us consider the following Parsha thought.
This week we read the Parsha of Terumah in which HaShem instructs Moshe and His people to build a Mishkon (a portable Temple) that will be used in their travels through the desert as well as in Land of Israel until the permanent structure of King Solomon's Temple will be built. The Parsha begins with the list of building materials that were required for the building of the Mishkon. The list includes gold, silver, copper, dyed wool, flax, animal skins, oil, spices and lumber. We could imagine that the animal related materials were gotten from the animals that they had with them. The precious metals and jewels, too, were articles that they took out from Egypt. Before leaving Egypt the Jewish people collected tremendous amounts of jewelry from their Egyptian neighbors. But from where did they get the lumber? And to give you an idea of how much lumber was needed consider that they needed to make 116 wooden columns each one being at least 18 feet tall by 18" x 27". We are talking about getting 116 perfectly straight tall trees. From where did they get them?
The Midrash addresses this question and tells us that 210 years earlier our ancestor Yaakov came to Egypt with his family. He knew that his children would settle in Egypt and sometime later would exit Egypt and would need this wood to build a Mishkon. In preparing for this eventuality, when Yaakov descended to Egypt he stopped by the city of Be'er Sheva where his grandfather Avrohom had built a large hotel to serve the people in that region. Avrohom had landscaped his hotel with beautiful cedar trees. It was from these trees that Yaakov took saplings with him to Egypt to plant there with the intent of growing these trees for his descendants to take with them hundreds of years later to build the Mishkon.
What forethought! The later eventuality of the Jewish people's need to build a Mishkon was thought out already hundreds of years earlier by Grandfather Yaakov.
Let us delve a bit deeper into understanding why it was necessary that the Mishkon be built from the trees of Avrohom's hotel.
The prophet Hosea tells his people in the name of HaShem; "For it is kindness that I desire not the sacrifice..." and Hosea goes on to reprimand his people for their lack of kindness. The meaning of this statement is that while HaShem certainly wants our sacrifices as He states multiple times throughout the Torah, He nevertheless wants the purpose of the sacrifice to be kindness. The kindness that comes from the sacrifices was that the cow which was brought as a sacrifice had to completely eaten within 36 hours which is impossible for any one person to do. The only way to accomplish this feat is by inviting others, many others, to join in the feast. Hence, the poor people living in Jerusalem, the city of the Temple, never went hungry.
Hosea is telling his people that they lost sight of the purpose of the sacrifice and were merely treating the sacrifices as some religious ritual. HaShem wants the kindness that comes from the sacrifice, not the sacrifice without kindness.
To further illustrate this lesson, the Midrash relates the following conversation. The Sage, Raban Yochonon ben Zakai was walking with Rebbe Yehoshua shortly after the destruction of the second Temple. Rebbe Yehoshua exclaimed, "Woe is to us that the Temple is destroyed, we have no place which can provide us with atonement." To which Raban Yochonon replied, "My son, do not be so troubled for we have an alternate atonement which is doing kindness to others" and he quoted the verse from Hosea.
Grandfather Yaakov understood that for the Mishkon to serve its purpose of granting us atonement it should be built upon the columns of kindness planted by his grandfather Avrohom.
Behold! Although we do not currently have the Temple by which we can petition HaShem on behalf of our people, we can nevertheless open our hearts, minds and resources to help others. As we do those acts of kindness and words of kindness we must also turn to HaShem and beg that He accept our deeds and words of kindness and save His beloved people from the hands of those who plot and scheme for our demise.
Have a wonderful Shabbos.
Paysach Diskind
