Always another opportunity

This week’s Torah portion is a story of forgiveness and the opportunity to make things right.

The opening sentence tells it all: “Moses assembled (vayakhel) the whole Israelite community and said to them: ‘These are the things God has commanded you to do.’” (Exodus 35:1). I imagine the subtext, the words that did not make it into the official Torah record, of Moses also saying, “We have been given a second chance. Let’s not mess it up again. This time let’s become the holy community God wants us to be.”

This makes sense when we remember that the first time a version of the word vayakhel is used, things do not go so well. Just last week, we read, “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered (vayekahel) against Aaron and said to him, come make us a god … ” (Exodus 32:1). This first coming together was a gathering of rebellion, lost faith and lack of trust. What resulted was our well-known transgression — the building of the Golden Calf. Looking back, we can safely say it was not one of our finer moments. As a result, Moses shattered the tablets of the Commandments and God was ready to turn God’s back on us. It seemed that the Covenant was broken beyond repair.

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Fortunately, the story did not end there. Moses pleaded on behalf of the people, asking for forgiveness for this most egregious of sins. And God responded positively, giving us another chance.

Returning to this week’s portion, then, we look at the instructions for building the Tabernacle with new eyes. Not only are the detailed descriptions meant to be a blueprint for the designers and architects, but they are to be a seen as proof that the people were back in God’s favor. It’s as if God said to the people: “All is forgiven. I will give you another chance. This time, build Me a place to dwell among you so that you can finally become a Kehilla Kedoshah, a holy community.”

In my imagined words, I use the word kehillah intentionally. It may be familiar as it is one of many words we use to describe a group of people. It is often used interchangeably with the word kahal that comes from the same Hebrew root meaning “to assemble, to gather.” But they do not mean the same thing. The most relevant difference is that kahal is a group of people gathered together and kehillah is a group of people that invites in the Divine Presence. Kahal becomes kehillah by adding just two Hebrew letters to its spelling — a yod and a hay — letters that spell God’s name and indicate God’s presence. A Kehillah Kedoshah is a community blessed with God’s holiness.

In this week’s Torah portion, the people are given a second chance to create a sacred community. We learn from this that there is always another chance to make a place for God’s presence in our lives if we would only take that opportunity
to do so. PJC

Rabbi Jessica Locketz is a rabbi at Rodef Shalom Congregation. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Clergy Association.