Vayakhel and the New ‘Never Again’: Perfection in the Art of Jewish Brotherhood
Why Moses began building the Sanctuary by gathering the entire community in unconditional unity
This weeks Torah portion begins with an important gathering convened by Moses. The emphasis, not only on the substance of what he was teaching, but on the gathering itself, as its own independent act, is significant. So much so that the portion is named Vayakel, in order to emphasise that stand alone importance of gathering; almost at the level of ritual. Assembling the nation, and hearing Moses share G-dly wisdom
is the Torahs way of prodding us to foster meaningful and substantive group experiences. In doing so we come to recognise the delicate work of nurturing and deepening our individual spiritual worlds, within the joyous warmth and familiar coziness of our sacred community. Seen from this perspective, an ethos of belonging emerges, necessarily deepening and redefining the more narrow conventional obligation of joining a Temple or Shul.
These days, I hear about a growing sense of isolational trauma as a result of the nauseating surge of antisemitic bile that continues to proliferate.
Please listen to this carefully. We are NOT isolated. To the contrary, we are of necessity being pushed closer together than ever before.
People ask me—how do you view your role as a Rabbi and community leader vis a vis fighting antisemitism. My answer is honest. I can no longer pretend to have the capacity to manage how other people view me. Nor should I be expected to do so. But I am eminently qualified to manage how I feel about myself, and how it feels to be a Jew today.
I can't expect the emergence of the new Antisemitism of today, unchecked within a wider society that seems either powerless, or unwilling to intervene—as a culturally acceptable form of mass group gaslighting, where feelings are facts, and facts are micro aggressions, gains new momentum daily—to support or protect me. The good people who are not fooled by groupthink, have always distinguished themselves that way. Their humanity, wisdom, and innate goodness stands out today more than ever, and I'm eternally grateful to them.
But when I lift my eyes up to the mountain, scanning the horizon for a break in this miasma of pure Jew hatred, violently erupting as an almost involuntary volcanic stream of vomit, I fully understand King David's cautionary note, " Put not thine trust in princes,..." And I see only my people. My brothers and sisters. My holy and beautiful tribe.
That is what we can and must do. We must become "Hakhel" maestros; perfecting the art of brotherhood. We must forge on with the singleminded devotion and effort, to strengthening our broader Jewish networks:
October 7th has brought many painful lessons in its tragic wake.
The list is topped by this awareness. We are finally beginning to let go of the Jewish communal Codependent instinct that has us instinctually feeling the need to meticulously manage the sometimes subtle, and now, quite overt hostility toward us. Post October 7th, the glass on the ceiling of the Hyper accommodating role we have felt destined and duty bound to play, as our societal tax, has been duly shattered, along with our illusions of "Never Again" (never is now).
Alongside the deep and patriotic pride we feel as Americans, there is an inner communal shift, away from the emotionally unhealthy need to be overly conscious, of how we are meant to be in this life, in order to gain acceptance. Perhaps THAT is the new "Never Again."?
Never again will I, as a Jew, feel more of a need to prove my right to a place in this world, than any other man.
October 7th has extracted a steep price on our generational Jewish psyche. We can ill afford to have to ever relearn these lessons. But it has also come with an unexpected surrender to a new reality. If you scratch the surface just beneath the worry and the angst—one notices, a truly weird, but utterly invigorating collective sigh of relief. We can and should just be ourselves, the best of who we are. FOR OURSELVES. Not for acceptance into any club that doesn't really want us. We are Am Yisroel! We hold automatic life membership in the virtual club we are onto one another.
Much Love and Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yossi