Reb Jeff
  • Blog
  • About
  • Favorites
  • Resources
    • Counting of the Omer
  • Wedding Officiation
  • Contact Me
  • Temple Sinai

Vayakhel: Being Part of Something Bigger

2/20/2011

 
“Lazybones, go look at the ants. Study their ways and become wise. Without leaders, officers, or rulers, they prepare their stores in the summer, gather their food at harvest time" (Proverbs 6:6).

An ant can spend an entire day, or many days, doing nothing but moving grains of sand from point A to point B. Sometimes, an ant will do this without even noticing that another ant, simultaneously, is moving the same grains from point B back to point A. 

A colony of ants, though, can do remarkable things. Leafcutter ants, for example, plant, feed and harvest a fungus that provides for all their food. They make adjustments in the care of the fungus in response to factors like temperature and their nutritional needs. Other ant species can build tunnels underground starting from two distant points that meet, incredibly, at exactly the right place in the middle.

Taken individually, ants are mindless. Taken as a community, they are miraculous. In a way, this is what this week's Torah portion is about.

Parashat Vayakhel begins with Moses instructing the Israelites about Shabbat: "On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Shabbat of complete rest..." Moses gathers the people to remind them (they've heard this before) about how to observe the sanctity of the seventh day. "...You shall kindle no fire throughout your settlements on Shabbat" (Exodus 35:1-3).

Then, abruptly, the subject changes. In the very next verse, Moses instructs the Israelites about the materials they should donate for the construction of the Mishkan, the tabernacle for God they will carry through the wilderness. Moses tells them to bring metals, yarns, skins, stones, and incense. 

What does Shabbat have to do with building a portable temple?

The Isbitzer Rebbe (whom I quoted in one of last week's post) states that the connection between Shabbat and the building of the Mishkan has to do with bringing people together. In the collection of his teachings, Mei HaShiloach, he says, "The building of the Mishkan brought all of Israel together in their hearts, with none raising his or herself over a fellow worker." This is like Shabbat, he says, because Shabbat is all about connecting ourselves to something greater than our own individuality. 

The Isbitzer explains that when the Israelites would look at the things they themselves had done to build the Mishkan—attaching an animal skin to a frame, beating a golden fastening ring into shape, or carving a tent peg—they would be suitably impressed by the careful and loving work of their own hands. However, it was only when the Israelites saw the Mishkan assembled as a whole—how the frames all fit together and how the skins and tapestries came to form a unity—that they realized how each piece belonged to the others. 

The Israelites had the simultaneous experience of great humility for the smallness of their own individual contribution and great pride in what they had done together. Each saw that this particular sum was composed of more than their individual human parts. In allowing themselves to come together in holiness, holiness itself provided the crowning glory for their labors.

The Isbitzer says, "The Shechinah [God's indwelling presence] would not have been able to dwell within Israel if even one tent peg had been missing. Therefore, none could think him or herself as higher than any fellow worker—not even the one who made the Ark over the one who made the tent pegs for the courtyard."

When we seek a spiritual life, we strive to discover personal meaning. We want to know the purpose for which we were made and we want to know how we can reach toward God. We sometimes forget, though, that living a spiritual life is not, so to speak, an individual sport. We are most able to see ourselves as part of something larger than ourselves when we do it as part of a community. We see the path toward our own individual life's meaning when we see it reflected in the eyes of others.

As you go through this week of Vayakhel, take some time to consider how community plays a role in your spiritual development. When you are feeling that you are lost in your life's  journey toward meaning and purpose, when you are lost in seeking God's presence in your life, do you allow connection to community to guide you back? Do you (perhaps privately and quietly within yourself) believe that you have to "go it alone" to find spirituality? Just think about those tent pegs.

Jews are not ants, but we can learn something from them. As human beings, we need to be more self-reflective than an ant is capable of being. Ants don't have egos, but we need to allow our ego to assert itself within us from time to time. Yet, we can follow the ants in learning to let go of the illusion that we are isolated beings, independent from each other. Like the ants, we can see our own smallness in contrast with the miracle of being part of something larger than ourselves.
Susan Le Gresley
2/24/2011 01:40:22 am

I love your thoughts on Ants. Sometimes my hearing goes hyper sensitive and I have to find very quiet places to hang out. On this occasion I decided to try and get a rest from all the noise by lying under a tree and listening to the wind russle the leaves. An ant ran over my hand in a very wiggly kind of way and I suddenly thought it wants to talk to me!So I just listened, and then I heard them! They were all talking together, saying the same thing so I could hear what ants sound like. I decided they were singing... They are a collective. They live in 'the moment' and each does what seems to us just an instinctive job, but each one has a 'voice'. These were the little nippy ants, and when I saw the one on my hand I thought 'Ok I will listen if you don't bite me'.. I must have spent a couple of hours just resting and listening to them it was realy relaxing, and no bites!So they all know what they are doing if one knows and tells the others.I think this experience rates as one of the most amazing things I have heard and completely changed my perception of thinking these occasional hearing changes were a 'problem'. I just rested there wondering at what a truly wonderful and mysterious world God has made for us to be part of. I also felt very huge compared to ants and just aware of being! It's a place I often re-imagine when I need to be relaxed and rested. I also don't have any fear of being bitten by anything any more!

Susan Le Gresley link
3/27/2011 10:30:24 am

More about Ants. They made me curl up in fits yesterday.

I noticed on Friday evening a whole gang of them climbing down the wall in my bathroom. They resisted every attempt I made to get them to change their mind. I even tried scooping them up on a leaf to put them outside but they weren't having it. They wee ducking and diving at every attempt I made. So I decided to leave them to it as I was just going to bed.

Saturday morning My husband had just flushed the loo, and well trained as he is went to pass the brush. I heard this Agggh.. from the bathroom so I went to find out what was going on. The Ants had all got themselves on the loo brush, heaven knows how they got into the loo brush holder, and it has Milton in it!

I had no idea how I was going to fish the poor little guys out, and then I thought of putting the loo brush close enough for them to jump on to.

Well they jumped on that loo brush like space fleas. Except for one little guy who had to be talked round by the rest.

All saved! I put the brush back in the holder thinking they found their way there so I guess they will find their way back OK. They were out of there and gone in less than a minute. I have to admit I was creased up with a bit of manic laughter over My Husband being so horrified at finding Ants down the loo. I think he thought for a moment that they might have been in his pants.


Comments are closed.

    Welcome

    This blog is about living a joyful Jewish life and bringing joy to synagogues and the Jewish community. Join the conversation by commenting on posts and sharing your experiences. For more on the topic, read the First Post.
    "Like" Reb Jeff on FB

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address to subscribe to Reb Jeff posts by email

    Follow Reb Jeff's Tweets

    Recent Posts

    Purim & COVID-19
    ​The Honor of Heaven
    Chasing Our Own Tails
    Drilling Under Your Seat
    Change the World
    Self-Righteousness
    Where We Came From
    What We Must Believe
    ​Is Passover 7 or 8 Days?Origin Story
    Va'eira: Leadership​

    Jeff's Favorites

    • First Post
    • Searching for How the Bible Defines Marriage 
    • The Difference between God and Religion
    • In the Beginning of What?
    • Rape, Abortion and Judaism
    • Ten Thoughts about Being a Rabbi
    • Temple Dues and Don'ts
    • A Pesach Lesson from Yoga
    • The Purpose of the Torah

    Torah Portions

    Genesis
    Bereshit
    Noach
    Lech Lecha
    Vayera
    Chayei Sarah
    Toledot
    Vayetze
    Vayishlach
    Vayeshev
    Miketz
    Vayigash
    Vayechi

    Exodus
    Shemot
    Va'eira
    Bo
    Beshalach
    Yitro
    Mishpatim
    Terumah
    Tetzaveh
    Ki Tisa
    Vayakhel
    Pekudei

    Leviticus
    Vayikra
    Tzav
    Shemini
    Tazria
    Metzora
    Acharei Mot
    Kedoshim
    Emor
    Behar
    Bechukotai

    Numbers
    Bamidbar
    Naso
    Beha'alotecha
    Shelach
    Korach
    Chukat
    Balak
    Pinchas
    Matot
    Masei

    Deuteronomy
    Devarim
    Va'etchanan
    Ekev
    Re'eh
    Shoftim
    Ki Tetze
    Ki Tavo
    Nitzavim
    Vayelech
    Ha'azinu
    Vezot Haberachah

    Holidays
    Shabbat
    Rosh Chodesh
    Pesach/Passover
    Omer Period
    Yom HaShoah
    Yom HaZikaron
    Yom Ha'atzma'ut
    Pesach Sheini
    Lag B'Omer
    Yom Yerushalayim
    Shavuot
    Fast of Tammuz
    Tisha B'Av
    Tu B'Av
    Rosh Hashanah
    Days of Awe
    Yom Kippur
    Sukkot
    Hoshanah Rabbah
    Shmini Atzeret/
    Simchat Torah
    Chanukah
    Tu BiShvat
    Adar (Joy Increases!)
    Purim

    Archives

    November 2022
    September 2022
    May 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    Loading
    Jewish Bloggers
    Powered By Ringsurf
    Picture