PunkTorah

Independent Jewish Spirituality Online

  • Convert to Judaism
  • Online Rabbinical Program
  • Donate

Parsha Tetzaveh – Back to the Past?

February 25, 2015 by Russell McAlmond

NO3N2

This week’s parsha of Tetzaveh is about temples, sacrifices and priests – oh my! Seriously, we who live in the 21st Century have a hard time understanding the reasons for all of this.  Regarding kohanim, it goes against our modernity and and sense of egalitarianism that people should be given power for reasons of heredity. After all, look at what happened in North Korea.  And animal sacrifices? In the day of PETA looking over our shoulders, do we really want to read about how to sacrifice bulls and rams and spread their blood on altars?  Should we look to this ancient past for inspiration and help in our time?

The answer is, “Yes, we should!”

It is important to keep the Torah in modern perspective.  It was written by men many years ago who were primarily concerned about how to maintain the cohesiveness of a tribe and people.  It was also about how our people viewed G-d and their place in the world.  It worked!  Jews still identify as Jewish after thousands of years based on a shared heritage and respect for the wisdom of the Torah.  But is the Torah all wisdom?  No.  There are things written, such as in this week’s parsha (Exodus 27:20 – 30:10), that had significance in that day and age, but simply don’t fit into the 21st Century.

Judaism evolves, as all religions and ideologies should evolve, to keep up with modernity.   As human beings reach higher levels of moral maturity, we will naturally discard ancient ideas that conflict with these new realities.  The wisdom of the Torah is mutable – and this is a good thing.  As Jews, we need flexibility in our lives as well as our religion to adopt to new circumstances.  If there is a lesson here for us in this week’s parsha it may be that we should learn how to discern true wisdom from ancient practices.  Being careful not to throw out the baby with the bath water, as modern-day Jews, we still have a need to read the Torah with discernment.

Back to the past, yes, but firmly in the present as well.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Judaism & Belief, Rants Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, judaism evolving, modernity, online conversion, Parsha, Parsha Tetzaveh, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, tetza, Torah, torah mutable

Parsha Tetzaveh: More Than Fashion (Ex. 27:20 – 30:10)

February 29, 2012 by Jeremiah

I have to admit I put writing this week’s thoughts on Torah off, well that’s not entirely true I followed my weekly process I just didn’t want to sit down and type up a few paragraphs on it; but I made a commitment to you, myself, and most importantly Hashem. So lets do this.

In Tetzaveh Hashem via Moses codifies instructions to consecrate everything priestly. This includes oil for the Tabernacle, priestly garments, ordination of the priesthood, the alter, and incense burning. In today’s age the Temple has been reduced to a wall supporting the earthly foundation of a Mosque and we no longer have a family of priests we have Rabbis and any Jew can be a Rabbi after the proper training. Looking at this week’s portion within the framework of the early 21st century we can apply these laws to how we as Jews view and present ourselves within the world surrounding us.

Anyone who knows me well will tell you that in so many words I talk and act like I spent 3 years and 8 months in a federal penitentiary. The truth is I spent that time living and working a desk job in Charlotte, North Carolina and the culture shock of the mid south was something I never became accustomed to. During the past week while I reflected on Tetzaveh I was reminded of a co-worker in Charlotte who was adamant that I was not Jewish because I did not look like a Jew. I have absolutely no clue what a Southern Baptist thinks a Jew looks like and honestly I didn’t ask since we worked in an office building and that conversation would not have ended politely to say the least. Then I started to think about my misspent youth and how sometimes I would be followed through stores based on my “look” but we are not even through Shemot and I have talked about myself way too much. The inspiration for these reflections is how important our presentation is to our self image, our community, and to the non-Jewish community at large.

I really wanted to forget about Tetzaveh because challenging myself and asking how do I want my presentation to be, is a very heavy task. At this point in Torah, Aaron and his sons are finally at a point where dressing in priestly garments is a natural and comfortable expression of themselves and the greater Hebrew community is ready to except them as is. Before this point dressing as a priest would have resulted in a small flicker of awkardness emanating from the priestly caste and even a small flicker would have been blinding to those within the Hebrew camps doing more harm than good. Like Aaron I want to exude a complete and confident Jewish aura instead of an awkward or uneasy aura. The first thing I want Non-Jews whom I interact with to think when they hear the word Jew is something positive. I do not want that response to be something like “Oh, you mean your like that stiff, awkward guy Jeremiah.”

This week examine yourself. How do you find comfort in outward Jewish expression? Are there times when an outward expression makes you feel uncomfortable? In the past how did you overcome that discomfort?

Jeremiah@punktorah.org Twitter: @circlepitbimah

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: Aaron, Circle Pit The Bimah, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, exodus, jeremiah satterfield, jewish clothes, jewish fashion, online conversion, Parsha Tetzaveh, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, what do jews look like

PunkTorah Inc.
PO Box 1641
Midlothian, VA 23113

questions@punktorah.org
YouTube
Facebook

Read our DMCA notice

Search the PunkTorah Blog Archive

What We Do

Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary: Online Rabbinical Program

Now Hiring: Rabbis, Educators & Creatives

Become a Jewish Spiritual Leader

  • Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud)
  • Judaism & Belief
  • The G-d Project Videos
  • Podcasts & Videos
  • NewKosher (Recipes)
  • Converting To Judaism
  • LGBTQ & Women
  • Shabbat & Holidays

Copyright PunkTorah Inc.© 2023