Betraying Our Tabernacle: Vayakhel – Pekudei
I can’t add much to the statement signed by former Likud ministers Dan Meridor and Meir Shitrit that the pogroms in the West Bank are war crimes.
And before we put all the blame on the settlers, the next sentence in the published advertisement was “These activities take place with the active support or elements in the IDF, police and settlers closing their eyes” …The Government of Israel ultimately has legal and moral responsibility to to stop this wave of terror.”
This week we conclude the book of Exodus with the final two Torah portions that deal with the completing of the work of building the tabernacle housing the original broken tablets with the Ten Commandments and the second set. The Israelites carried this Tabernacle with them and it eventually made its way into the Temple (Mikdash) in Jerusalem.
Our sages taught us that after the destruction the Temple every synagogue and place of Jewish study throughout the centuries, and ideally every home, was a “Mikdash Me’at” – a minor sanctuary or temple (Megillah 29a) At least as important, we are taught that when we were originally commanded to build the tabernacle a few weeks ago in Parashat Terumah the commandment “Build me a sanctuary (mikdash) that I may dwell amongst them” (Exodus 25:8) means that there is to be a Mikdash Me’at inside every one of us.
In other words, we were each to carry within us the tablets – our core values.
Throughout the centuries Jews lived and died and sacrificed to honor that Mikdash Me’at in everyone of us by remaining true to our highest Jewish values. Today, all too many Jews are betraying what we lived and died for when they carry out pogroms in order to drive non-Jews from their homes.
And the State of Israel is betraying our highest Jewish values by openly supporting and enabling those using violence on a daily basis to drive people from their homes.
Two examples just from the area where my NGO – Torat Tzedek (The Torah of Justice) works.
1. In the village of Mukhmas not only did settlers carry out pogroms to burn homes on October 25th, January 17th and then again burnt homes a few days after. The army’s liaison unit – the DCO has forbidden the Bedouin whose homes were burned to rebuild. The army then placed concrete blocks cutting off access from the village and the impacted Bedouin neighborhood-Khallat a Sidra. The area is also a closed military zone in which theoretically only Palestinians can be present. So is one of the many terrorizing outposts – Kol Mevaseir. The closure order would be great if it were enforced, but it is not enforced against settlers. It primarily serves to prevent us from providing protective presence for the residents. These actions are a death sentence to the community, who now cannot safely live in their non burnt homes and can only try to watch from without and alert security forces when settlers enter their homes. Recently we caught a father bring his two small children to one of the homes, load a solar panel on his car and drive off with it.
If Elijah the Prophet confronted King Ahab when he had Naboth put to death in order to take over Naboth’s vineyard by shouting “Have you murdered and then inherited?”, all people and countries of conscience starting with the Jewish People must confront the State of Israel “Have you burnt and then inherited?”
2. In Duma/Marajam, outposts set up in August have been terrorizing shepherding communities. The communities braved violence, settlers bringing sheep inside their homes, the ripping of tents, breaking down doors, shattering solar panels, puncturing water tanks and other acts of destruction. But they made it clear that they couldn’t do so without our presence. A week and a half ago the army issued a closed military zone order including all the communities we have been protecting and excluding the outposts. There is no possible explanation of this order other than a blatant attempt by the State of Israel to prevent us from enabling Palestinians to brave settler violence and remain in their homes. They had to know what the settlers would do as soon as we were out of their way.
Palestinians also fled when police presented human rights defenders with the order and expelled them. Just over an hour later settlers entered the area closed to human rights defenders and wrought destruction. Several days later police came and saw settlers that had broken through a fence in a second Palestinian compound inside the closed military area in which only Palestinians were allowed, and left without doing anything. Another eleven families fled. Yet ever since the order was issued, soldiers have been almost every day searching the Palestinian homes inside the closed area to make sure that we aren’t there. Sometimes they even mention our specific names when asking the Palestinians if we are present.
Both a Mikdash and a Mikdash Me’at are practically meaningless if they do not house the tablets – if we are not acting according to the values they exist to contain and protect. We are taught that both the First and Second Temples were destroyed becuase we were not living according to those values.
The values we carried with us in our personal and collective tabernacles throughout the generations and from country to country must not be allowed to die in the Jewish State.
On this Sabbath it is high time that we not only read of the completing of the Tabernacle, but return the Mikdash Me’at to our State, to our Government, to our army and to each and every one of us who must take concrete action (such as joining us as protective presence volunteers where we are still allowed) to stop the violence and live according to our sacred values.
May we know TRUE Shalom in the spirit of Shabbat
