In the Torah portion this week we read about how the tabernacle was actually built. It is indeed inspiring the way the Torah describes how every one, men and women alike, took pride in the building of their communal centre and place of worship. The children of Israel donated their own personal belongings to the building of the tabernacle. As the Torah says ‘the men came with the women: everyone whose hearts motivated them brought bracelets, nose-rings, rings, body ornaments, all sorts of gold ornaments ‘.
Our sages (Midrash Tanchuma and Yalkut Shimoni) tell us that when all the material was gathered and the building of the tabernacle was complete, Mosses blessed the children of Israel saying, ‘May it be God’s will that the divine presence should rest amongst your work ‘. Thus Moses is acknowledging that he couldn’t have done it on his own – only in the merit of each individual’s contribution was the objective of the building of the tabernacle obtained and the Divine Presence enabled to rest in the tabernacle.
It did not matter what part of society the donor came from or how much he contributed, everyone’s contribution was of equal importance. This is illustrated by the fact that the two people who were very active in the actual building of the tabernacle and are mentioned in the Torah, Bezalel and Oholiab, both came from different backgrounds. Bezalel came from a distinguished tribe and family, and Oholiab came from a very ordinary background: nonetheless they are both mentioned on a level pegging in the Torah itself (Rashi).
The tabernacle was the centre of the community for the children of Israel when they were in the desert and they were all eager to make it a success. Only through every individual and irreplaceable contribution was it able to be the success that it was. The lesson from this is clear. In order for a community centre to be successful, communal input into its development is vital. To rely merely on the Moses of the community is unrealistic and will not lead to success. Success will come about when we all take pride in our community and contribute; we all have something unique to offer that will give extra flavour to the community. Moreover when it comes to contributing to the development of our community it does not matter who we are or where we come from. We all have something unique to add or to offer; one person may be able to donate money, another may be able to give his time, and yet another moral support – whatever it may be, it is all equally important and should be equally recognized. Without all these diverse contributions the community would be worse off.
When we have had a contribution from every single member of the community at the level that they can offer, then we will be successful in building a community and synagogue that we will all individually take pride in as our own, and we will then all be able to say to each other ‘May it be God’s Will that the Divine Presence should rest amongst your work ‘.
Let’s not miss out on the opportunity to become a part of our individual synagogue and community.