It's not about women's "vanity"

Pekude

Exodus 38:21-40:38

Précis: The final parasha of the Book of Exodus begins with an inventory of the items used in the construction of the Tabernacle, as well as the vessels and clothing collected by Moses and Aaron.  When the accounts are squared, the completed structure is blessed. The Ark is placed within the Tabernacle, as are the various holy vessels, and a cloud of glory descends and covers the tent.

Ex.38:8 “He made the laver of copper and its stand of copper, from the mirrors of the women who performed tasks at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.”

          This is a fascinating verse, since it is one of the few examples in the repetitions about building the Mishkan and its accouterments when we are informed of a specific gift, and that the gift was used for a specific purpose. [Two quick asides: (1) Women were working at the entrance to the Tent! (2) a literal reading of the text might suggest that the mirrors were from “legions” working at the entrance; however, the Hebrew word for “legions” is in the feminine, so the Sages assumed that these were women.]

          Rashi suggests a wonderful midrash in which Moses questions God by suggesting that the gifts of mirrors was inappropriate, because they were used for purposes of personal vanity. God responds by telling Moses that the mirrors had special value; they had been used by the women while the Israelites were still slaves in order to enhance the women’s attractiveness and to help them arouse the sexual interest of their husbands, who were exhausted from their slave labor. The so-called “vanity” of the women ensured the continuation of the Jewish People.

          This detail about Mishkan construction is a reminder of the essential contribution of women to Jewish survival. The women never abandoned hope for the future.

          This parasha concludes the reading of the Book of Shemot. We recall that the Book began with the critical role women played in the survival of the Israelites: Yocheved who dared to save her son from Pharaoh’s order of extermination, Miriam, who watched over the baby Moses in his basket on the river, and Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted the young child. The Book now ends with a subtle reminder that it was the women of our People who had the faith and perseverance needed for our survival. 

Edah, Tzibur, Kehillah - Community

Vayakel

Exodus 35:1 - 38:20

Précis: Moses instructs the People again on the laws of Shabbat, and asks for a donation of gifts (both of material and service) for the construction of the Tabernacle. The appointment of the construction leaders is also included, and the construction begins. There are again specific descriptions of implements, articles, and of the Ark itself.

Ex. 35:1 “Moses then assembled the whole People of Israel and said to them.”

               Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, formerly the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, has a wonderful drash on this parasha from which some of the following observations are based.                 What was Moses’ reaction to the Golden Calf and the smashed tablets? Moses now has two tasks: the shattered tablets have to be replaced and the shattered People of Israel have to be restored. How does Moshe proceed? We have a clue in the first word which gives the parasha its name: “VaYakhel.”  We usually translate this as “Then Moses ‘assembled’ the whole Israelite Community.”

               The Israelites had gathered together to fashion the Golden Calf. Now they are gathered together to restore themselves and to repent.  Just as the sin was committed by the people acting as a kehillah (from the same root as VaYakhel), so atonement was made as a community. There are at least three different Hebrew words for community: edah, tzibur and kehillah, each with a different meaning.These words have much to tell us about the Jewish concept of community.

               “Edah” comes from the root ed, meaning “witness” and implies a strong sense of collective identity; the group is defined by a collective experience. An edah is a community of the like-minded.

               The second word for community is “tzibur,” a word which is not Biblical but rather Mishnaic. It comes from a root meaning “to heap up” or “to amass.”  A tzibur is a gathering of people who happen to be in the same place at the same time, but not necessarily with a common purpose or understanding.

               A ‘kehillah” is the third word for community. Members of a kehillah have joined together to undertake collective action, where each individual makes his or her own unique contribution.

               The real beauty of a kehillah is that it gathers together distinct and separate contributions of many individuals, so that each can say, “I helped do this.” That is why, assembling the people on this occasion, Moses emphasizes that each individual has something different to give: “Take from what you have, an offering to God. Everyone who is willing to bring to God an offering . . . All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded . . .”

               The mishkan was a collective achievement, one in which not everyone did the same thing. Every contribution was valued, and every participant felt valued.

               “VaYakhel” – Moses’ ability to forge the people into a new and genuine kehillah -  was one of his greatest achievements. To merge the diversity of a tzibur with the unity of purpose of an edah: that is the challenge of kehillah-formation, community-building.