{"id":61683,"date":"2019-03-06T15:31:33","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T20:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=61683"},"modified":"2019-03-06T15:33:00","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T20:33:00","slug":"cc-family-edition-on-jewish-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/parenting\/cc-family-edition-on-jewish-character\/","title":{"rendered":"C&C Family Edition: On Jewish Character"},"content":{"rendered":"

Covenant & Conversation: Family Edition<\/em>\u00a0is a new and exciting initiative from The Office of Rabbi Sacks for 5779.\u00a0 Written as an accompaniment to Rabbi Sacks\u2019 weekly\u00a0Covenant & Conversation<\/em>\u00a0essay, the\u00a0Family Edition<\/em>is aimed at connecting older children and teenagers with his ideas and thoughts on the\u00a0parsha<\/em>. Each element of the\u00a0Family Edition<\/em>\u00a0is progressively more advanced;\u00a0The Core Idea\u00a0<\/em>is appropriate for all ages and the final element,\u00a0From The Thought of Rabbi Sacks<\/em>, is the most advanced section. Each section includes\u00a0Questions to Ponder<\/em>, aimed at encouraging discussion between family members in a way most appropriate to them. We have also included a section called\u00a0Around the Shabbat Table<\/em>\u00a0with a few further questions on the\u00a0parsha<\/em>\u00a0to think about. The final section is an\u00a0Educational Companion<\/em>\u00a0which includes suggested talking points in response to the questions found throughout the\u00a0Family Edition<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Download as PDF<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Covenant and Conversation on OU Torah<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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The Parsha in a Nutshell<\/strong><\/p>\n

The parsha of Pekudei brings us to the end of the book of Exodus. Moses orders all the donations given for the making of the Tabernacle to be counted, and a record is made of how each of the materials are used. The priestly garments are made. Moses finally sets up the Tabernacle, and it becomes filled with the glory of the Lord.<\/p>\n

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The Core Idea<\/strong><\/p>\n

This week\u2019s parsha could almost be mistaken for a mathematics lesson in school. It begins with calculations of all the money and materials that were donated by the people to make the Sanctuary. But if you look past all the sums and numbers there is a deep message here that follows on from two extraordinary stories. One is told in last week\u2019s parsha, the other the week before. Together, these teach us something deep about Jewish nature that is still true today.<\/p>\n

The first incident is when God told Moses to ask the people to contribute materials to the building of the Sanctuary. They brought gold, silver and copper. They also brought wool, linen, animal skins, acacia wood, oil, spices and incense. Some even gave precious stones for the High Priest\u2019s breastplate. What was remarkable was how willing the people were to give. In fact, they brought so much that Moses had to tell them to stop!<\/p>\n

We often see the Israelites argue and complain, but here we see a people with a deep wish to give.<\/p>\n

One parsha earlier, we read a very different story. Moses had been up the mountain for a long time and the people had become worried. Was he still alive? If not, how would they receive the Divine word telling them what to do and where to go? So they asked Aaron to make them a golden calf, to be an \u201coracle\u201d, an object through which God could speak to them.<\/p>\n

Aaron, according to many commentators, realised that he could not stop the people by simply refusing so he tried to slow them down instead. He asked them to bring him their precious jewellery. According to the Midrash, he thought this would create arguments within families and the project would be delayed.<\/p>\n

Instead, immediately thereafter, without a pause, we read: \u201cSo all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.\u201d (Exodus 32:3). Here again is the same generosity we saw with the Tabernacle.<\/p>\n

These two projects could not be less alike. One, the Tabernacle, was holy. The other, the making of the Golden Calf, was close to creating an idol. Building the Tabernacle was a supreme mitzvah; making the calf was a terrible sin. Yet the people\u2019s response was the same in both cases.<\/p>\n

That is why the Sages said: \u201cOne cannot understand the nature of this people. If they are asked to give for a calf, they give. If they are asked to give for the Tabernacle, they give!\u201d<\/p>\n

The common factor was the people\u2019s characteristic of generosity. Jews may not always make the right choices in what they give to, but they\u00a0give<\/em>.<\/p>\n

QUESTIONS TO PONDER:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Why do you think the people were so generous in contributing to the Tabernacle?<\/li>\n
  2. What is the positive message taken from the story of the Golden calf?<\/li>\n
  3. Why do you think giving comes so naturally to Jews?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    It Once Happened…<\/strong><\/p>\n

    On 24th<\/sup>\u00a0February 2017, at 2 o\u2019clock in the morning, arsonists broke into a mosque in Tampa, Florida, and torched the building. Police soon concluded that this was a hate crime, shocking the local community. Later that day Adeel Karim, a worshipper at the mosque, set up a crowdfunding page called Stand With New Tampa Muslims Against Hate, in order to raise funds to rebuild the mosque. The community rallied, and within less than a week the campaign had reached $60,000, surpassing his original goal of $40,000.<\/p>\n

    But Adeel noticed something strange about many of the donations they had received. \u201cI couldn\u2019t understand why people were donating in what seemed like weird amounts to the cause.\u201d He wrote on Facebook later that week. \u201cThere are sums of $18, $36, $72 etc. Then I figured out after clicking on the names Avi, Cohen, Goldstein, Rubin\u2026. Jews donate in multiples of 18 as a form of what is called \u201cChai\u201d. It wishes the recipient a long life.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe Jewish faith has shown up in force to support our New Tampa Islamic community. I\u2019m floored,\u201d the post continued. It concluded with the hashtag #chaidelivered.<\/p>\n

    QUESTIONS TO PONDER:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    1. What is the symbolism behind giving charity in multiples of 18?<\/li>\n
    2. Why do you think so many Jews gave to this cause?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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      Thinking More Deeply<\/strong><\/p>\n

      In the twelfth century, Moses Maimonides twice interrupts his customary calm legal prose in his law code, the Mishneh Torah, to make the same point. Speaking about\u00a0tzedakah<\/em>, charity, he says:<\/p>\n

      \u201cWe have never seen or heard about a Jewish community which does not have a charity fund.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

      [Laws of Gifts to the poor, 9:3]<\/p>\n

      The idea that a Jewish community could exist without a network of charitable provisions was almost inconceivable. Later in the same book, Maimonides says:<\/p>\n

      \u201cWe are obligated to be more scrupulous in fulfilling the commandment of tzedakah than any other positive commandment because tzedakah is the sign of the righteous person, a descendant of Abraham our father, as it is said, \u201cFor I know him, that he will command his children . . . to do tzedakah\u201d . . . If someone is cruel and does not show mercy, there are sufficient grounds to suspect his lineage . . . Whoever refuses to give charity is called Belial, the same term which is applied to idol worshippers.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>[Laws of Gifts to the poor, 10:1-3]<\/p>\n

      Maimonides is here saying more than simply \u2018Jews give charity\u2019. He is saying that the characteristic of being charitable is written into Jewish genes, part of our inherited DNA. It is one of the signs of being a child of Abraham, so much so that if someone does not give charity there are \u201cgrounds to suspect his lineage.\u201d Whether this is nature or nurture or both, to be Jewish is to give.<\/p>\n

      There is a fascinating feature of the geography of the land of Israel. It contains two seas: the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee is full of life. The Dead Sea, as its name implies, is not. Yet they are fed by the same river, the Jordan. The difference is that the Sea of Galilee receives water and also gives water. The Dead Sea receives but does not give. To receive but not to give is, in Jewish geography as well as Jewish psychology, simply not life.<\/p>\n

      So it was in the time of Moses. So it is today. In virtually every country in which Jews live, their charitable giving is out of all proportion to their numbers. In Judaism, to live is to give.<\/p>\n

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      From the Thought of Rabbi Sacks<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Tzedakah means both justice and charity, because we believe that they go hand in hand. Justice is impersonal, charity is personal. We call God \u2018Avinu Malkeinu\u2019, \u201cOur Father, our King\u201d. A king dispenses justice, a parent gives a child a gift out of love. That is the meaning of tzedakah, an act that combines both justice and love. Giving to others is one of the most beautiful things we can do, and one of the most creative. We create possibilities for other people. We soften some of the rough edges of the world. We help alleviate poverty and pain. We give God the sacrifice He most desires of us: that we honour His image in other people.<\/p>\n

      Nothing more marks Judaism as a religion of love than its emphasis on tzedakah. We do not accept poverty, hunger, homelessness or disease as God\u2019s will. To the contrary, God\u2019s will is that we heal these fractures in His world. As God feeds the hungry, so must we. As God heals the sick, so must we. We become good by doing good. We walk in God\u2019s ways by acting out of love.<\/p>\n

      Ten Paths, Unit 5, Tzedakah: Love as Justice<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

      QUESTIONS TO PONDER:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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      1. What is the difference between the word \u201ccharity\u201d and the word \u201ctzedakah\u201d? What does this tell us about the Jewish concept of tzedakah?<\/li>\n
      2. Who is the focus of the mitzvah of tzedakah, the giver or the receiver? Or is there another consideration?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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        Around the Shabbat Table<\/strong><\/p>\n

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