From the Ukraine to the Sinai Desert and Back to Illinois
A Note on Parashat Pekudei
February 26, 2014
In this week's Torah portion (Parashat Pekudei) we find the Israelites, deep in the Sinai desert, creating the Mishkan - a holy sanctuary. We read in great detail about the gems and gold poured into creating this structure.
Considering the news these days, one might be reminded of the outlandish presidential palace of the ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Protesters stormed his residence, only to find that their taxes went to fund gold faucets, a private restaurant, and even a private zoo. The Ukrainian people were outraged.
In reading about the Mishkan, should we not be outraged as well? Is this Miskan not over the top, for a people suffering through the desert?
I submit that the answer is no: Moshe is not Yanukovych.
Let us review the four stages of creating the Mishkan, as described in the Torah portion:
FIRST, God commands Moses to create the Mishkan, and God describes in great detail how it should be done. The fact that this is commanded by God is stressed dozens of times in the Torah portion. This is not a whim of a corrupt community leader.
SECOND, the community’s artists are instructed by Moses to create the various components if the Mishkan. Moses empowers others in the community to drive the creative process.
THIRD, once all of the Mishkan’s components are completed, it is Moses who puts the pieces together and erects the structure. As a leader, Moses inserts himself at the crucial moment where a synthesis of various parts is needed.
FOURTH, perhaps most significantly, Moses himself does not sets foot in the Mishkan. It is not meant for him. It is made by the people, for the people’s spiritual needs, in service of the community.
So in Pekudei we see Moses as a true community leader: building communal structures that serve the community in the long term, even when the short term cost may be difficult. He brings together the communal talents, and inserts himself only at the important intersections of the process. And finally, he knows his place. The riches are not his. They belong to the community, and serve the community's spiritual growth.
Many states and communities across the US are facing economic challenges. Illinois’ economy is in dire straits. We are still walking through the desert of a recession. Some say that in such times we must cut back on our communal ties, cutting funding to education, social services and other threads in the social safety net. From Pekudei we learn that we should be doing the opposite. We must gather the communal riches especially when we are in the desert, so that we can address people’s spiritual and material needs as a community.
One way to do so in Illinois is by creating a progressive income tax to replace the existing flat tax. Non-partisan research shows that such a move would lessen the tax burden on 94 percent of Illinoisians, while still producing higher revenue to fund crucial services to those most in need.
As Rabbi Israel Salanter said almost two centuries ago: the material needs of my neighbor become my spiritual needs.
Considering the news these days, one might be reminded of the outlandish presidential palace of the ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Protesters stormed his residence, only to find that their taxes went to fund gold faucets, a private restaurant, and even a private zoo. The Ukrainian people were outraged.
In reading about the Mishkan, should we not be outraged as well? Is this Miskan not over the top, for a people suffering through the desert?
I submit that the answer is no: Moshe is not Yanukovych.
Let us review the four stages of creating the Mishkan, as described in the Torah portion:
FIRST, God commands Moses to create the Mishkan, and God describes in great detail how it should be done. The fact that this is commanded by God is stressed dozens of times in the Torah portion. This is not a whim of a corrupt community leader.
SECOND, the community’s artists are instructed by Moses to create the various components if the Mishkan. Moses empowers others in the community to drive the creative process.
THIRD, once all of the Mishkan’s components are completed, it is Moses who puts the pieces together and erects the structure. As a leader, Moses inserts himself at the crucial moment where a synthesis of various parts is needed.
FOURTH, perhaps most significantly, Moses himself does not sets foot in the Mishkan. It is not meant for him. It is made by the people, for the people’s spiritual needs, in service of the community.
So in Pekudei we see Moses as a true community leader: building communal structures that serve the community in the long term, even when the short term cost may be difficult. He brings together the communal talents, and inserts himself only at the important intersections of the process. And finally, he knows his place. The riches are not his. They belong to the community, and serve the community's spiritual growth.
Many states and communities across the US are facing economic challenges. Illinois’ economy is in dire straits. We are still walking through the desert of a recession. Some say that in such times we must cut back on our communal ties, cutting funding to education, social services and other threads in the social safety net. From Pekudei we learn that we should be doing the opposite. We must gather the communal riches especially when we are in the desert, so that we can address people’s spiritual and material needs as a community.
One way to do so in Illinois is by creating a progressive income tax to replace the existing flat tax. Non-partisan research shows that such a move would lessen the tax burden on 94 percent of Illinoisians, while still producing higher revenue to fund crucial services to those most in need.
As Rabbi Israel Salanter said almost two centuries ago: the material needs of my neighbor become my spiritual needs.