One week into the closing of our building, we have built up incredible virtual connections. We may not be meeting in person, but we certainly have ruach and chizuk, spirit and strength. I am incredibly proud of our community. People have been making phone calls, checking in on one another, and have joined our virtual classes and minyans to strengthen one another. Please read to the bottom of this email to see the full schedule of services and programs. Friday night services will start at 6:00 PM.
This epidemic has challenged us to rethink what community, kehillah, means. It is not tied only to a building. That is our center, it is where we congregate, but our congregation is so much more.
The first word of our double portion is Vayakhel: ויקהל Vayakhel And They Gathered
It calls to me right now. It hits me in such a vulnerable place. Vayakhel shares the same root as kehillah, community. My world view sees that the universe is always expanding, and as such, we are moving away from one another. It is the job of community, religion, and emotional connections, to draw us back together. We must find new and creative ways to connect our kehillah. We can’t congregate like we did just a couple of weeks ago. Anything more than a minyan threatens our safety. So how to we make kehillah? How do we congregate?
The first line of the portion says: וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֶֽת־כָּל־עֲדַ֛ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אֵ֚לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יְיְ לַעֲשֹׂ֥ת אֹתָֽם׃ Moses then convoked the whole Israelite community and said to them: These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do:
Rashi makes a funny comment about this verse, saying: The grammar of the word vayakhel means that Moshe was causing a thing to be done, because one does not actually assemble people with one’s hands, but they are assembled by his words, עַל פִּי דִּבּוּרוֹ. I just imagine Moshe trying to move people together, like hearding cats. Rashi points out that words have power in our tradition. The Ten Commandment, Aseret Hadibrot, is better translated as the Ten Utterances, not Commandments. In Bereishit, God creates the world with words. As the prayer states, Baruch sheamar vehaya haolam, Blessed is the one who spoke and the world was created.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said it well: "Speech has power. Words do not fade. What starts out as a sound, ends in a deed." -Abraham Joshua Herschel The way to create is to speak outloud. Spoken words are decreased as a result of this virus. We are socially isolated, especially those who live alone, but thanks to those who understand technology much better than I, we have cell phones and video chatting. Think what you need to speak outloud to another person and see where it takes you.
Affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism