Summary:
In our parasha, the children of Israel are commanded to bring pure olive oil for the ner tamid "a constantly burning light," above the sanctuary. Then, Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, are chosen to serve as priests.
God instructs Moses to make special clothes for the priests. Aaron and his sons are ordained in a seven-day ceremony. Finally, Aaron is commanded to burn incense on an acacia altar every morning and evening.
Lessons from our Haftarah – Ezekiel 43:10-27:
Did you know that your dining room table has religious significance? Did you know that your home is as important as the ancient Temple in Jerusalem? According to the commentary on our haftarah this week, your dining room table and your home have the potential to be deeply religious places!
In the year 587 BCE Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple was burned. Along with the destruction almost all of the population was deported to Babylon. It is in this setting of destruction and exile that the prophet Ezekiel offers his words of consolation. The highlight of his prophecy is the return to Jerusalem with the rebuilding of the Temple. Much of this short haftarah focuses on the details of the building of the sacrificial altar in the Temple as well as its consecration.
The centrality of the altar points to its importance in Judaism at the time. Instead of offering prayers, the people connected heaven and earth through the sacrificial service. The people depended upon the priests in the Temple, without whom the people could not offer sacrifices to God.
Later generations, also in exile and without a Temple in which to offer sacrifices, returned to Ezekiel’s vision. In the midrashic commentary, we are taught that when the nation is in exile, preparing a plan for the temple would be considered as if they were actually occupied with the building of the Temple itself. Noting that Ezekiel also refers to the altar as a “table”, the Talmud teaches that when the Temple is destroyed, a person’s table has the same power as the Temple itself. In Pirke Avot in the Mishnah, we learn that when three people sit together at a table and discuss Torah, it is “as if they ate from the table of the Presence of God.”
Each Friday night when you light your Shabbat candles. Each time you say a blessing in your home. Each time you take a minute to learn Torah (or read this blog) you turn your table, and your home, into a holy place – as holy as the Temple in ancient Jerusalem!
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Don Goor