Two Minute Torah Podcast

Terumah 5773 by Rabbi Elyse Winick

Shalom and welcome to KOACH's Two Minute Torah, a project of the Department of College Outreach of The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.  This is Rabbi Elyse Winick, Director of KOACH/College Outreach.

V'asu li mikdash v'shakhanti b'tokham - They should build for me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them.  This phrase, from Exodus 25:8, graces many a synagogue building, a designation of sacred space.  It is, though, a challenging requirement for a people which has spent more time placeless than placed, a people which long ago learned to sanctify time even more than space, knowing that God can dwell among them based on the way they live their lives and invite God in, no matter where they are.

Abraham Joshua Heschel refers to 'our Sabbaths' as 'our great cathedrals.' The poet Elazar Azikri spoke of the sanctuary we build in our hearts, 'bilvavi mishkan evneh.' Each of these builds in us a sense of our ability to render the mundane holy; each identifies a place for divinity in our souls.  Like the liturgy of the high holy days implies, we need only open ourselves up in the slightest way for God to come charging through.

But having our hearts in it is often the most difficult part.  The world around us swirls with chaos and challenge, defying us to hold course and to keep our hearts open.  And relying on your heart is a risky prospect.  It can be fickle and unpredictable.  Yet the heartfelt commitment is deeply passionate and transforming.  And without the risk of opening our hearts, we can never change the world.

Parashat Terumah opens with just that message.  Vayikhu li terumah mey'et kol ish asher yidvenu libo:  bring me gifts, God says, from every person whose heart so moves him.  What a daring challenge!  What if there aren't enough people whose hearts so move them?  What then?  In this case, the suprising outcome is what gives the story its power:  ultimately too many gifts are brought and they must be turned away.  Who could imagine such a thing?  But when the cause is close to your heart, when your heart is so moved, how can you but give with a free and open hand?

This coming Shabbat more than 100 college students from across North America will come together for the annual KOACH Kallah.  The Kallah, this year in particular, is a tangible expression of both the heartfelt gift and the fact that you don't need four walls in order to have God dwell among you.  All of the supporters who make KOACH possible prove that this is so.  Yet, Women's League for Conservative Judaism, in adopting the Kallah as its pet project, has done so more than anyone.  Women's League, its staff, its leadership and its members, have taken the risk of opening their hearts to the future.  Their generosity to KOACH and to our students has the power and the sanctity that no building could ever provide.  And our gratitude is equally limitless.

Shabbat Shalom - and for those of you who won't be with us in Philadelphia this weekend, try not to be too jealous.