Parshat Pkudei
March 1, 2014
Rabbi Philip Weintraub
The Book of Shmot, Exodus ends:
When Moses had finished the work, 34 the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Presence of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud had settled upon it and the Presence of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. 36 When the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the Israelites would set out, on their various journeys; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they would not set out until such time as it did lift. 38 For over the Tabernacle a cloud of the Lord rested by day, and fire would appear in it by night, in the view of all the house of Israel throughout their journeys.
Our sefer, our book opened with the Jews descending into Egypt and ends with God’s presence, the Shekinah, descending into the Tabernacle. While in Hebrew the language (entering vs dwelling) is not the same, I was struck by the parallel of the opening and the closing of this story. It made me think about the parallels in our own lives.
In Sophocle’s Oedipus, the Sphinx asks Oediphus: “What goes on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?” The answer, of course, is man, people. From infancy we learn to crawl, then walk, and then for many of us, at a certain point walking becomes more difficult.
Life has phases. There is nothing wrong with that. Yet we have to live in all of them. In my chaplaincy, in my work with our community, I find people that are happy in every stage of life and those who are bitter in every stage. There are some that say “if only” and some that say “Thanks.”
I think that the conclusion of Exodus is God saying “Thanks.” God shows God’s appreciation of our ancestors hard work by dwelling among them. The Holy One saw all the work, the time, the energy, the money, the resources that went into building the Tabernacle and said, “This is a Holy Space.”
In the days and weeks ahead, let us recognize the Holy Spaces around us. Let us recognize the Holy People around us. Let us recognize the Thanks that we have to our Creator and to all who make our lives liveable.
The other day, I had someone say to me “You probably do not know it, but I really appreciate you. You are a nice guy and I am glad to see that the nice guys always step up. Thank you.”
I have to say that I really appreciated that gratitude. We all can use a reminder of the good we do. Personal thanks can really make a difference in some one’s day. So with that, I say:
Thank you to every one of you. I truly appreciate you. Your hard work makes my job much easier and makes me far more effective.
Yesterday I went with Mike and Mark Copans and Steve Licker to a seminar on networking. My take-away was the important reminder that depth is more important than breadth. I can give away a thousand business cards without having a real conversation, or I can talk to a few people, develop a rapport, build a relationship, and they can share their experiences with others. Either way I can reach a thousand people, but the second way has far more lasting effects.
I have said it once and I will say it many more times. We do great things here. If we want to make others aware of it, we only have to tell them, bring them, and share the love. One person at a time can and will change the world. Amen.
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