Feb 19/05 — Shabbat Tetzaveh: Somebody Has to Polish the Stars

Commentary by Rabbi Lawrence M. Pinsker

To appreciate the task that God has assigned to the Israelites who have been liberated from Egyptian slavery, it’s important to understand that the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary — where God’s Presence will dwell during the Israelites’ wanderings — is a miniature cosmos. Each part symbolizes an aspect of the physical world: the menorah is the sun, moon, and visible planets. A laver — a basin full of water — is earth’s seas; an altar is the earth itself, and so on.

You entered the Mishkan (and later the Temple in Jerusalem) either to express gratitude to God for life’s blessings — or to repair your relationship to God and the community, which had been damaged by your wrongful or hurtful behaviour. Arriving to make an offering, you walked through the seas and into the sky. You looked down and saw the earth’s bounty. Through the sacrificial rituals, you returned your life to a universe saturated with meaning, duty, and closeness to God. A priest cleaning out the ashes beneath the altar or adding pure olive oil to the “Eternal Light” (to ensure that its fire never went out) understood that his life fitted into the tasks and rhythms of a universe defined by Divine order, design, and purpose.

We shouldn’t be surprised to see that nearly all of the Book of Exodus following the departure from Egypt is about building the Mishkan. This is the central symbol of the purpose of Jewish existence: we are to make every action into sacred service to God. Every part of life must be fashioned as a holy place in which God may dwell. In Judaism physical reality and spiritual reality become one.

When my kids were small, I used to read to them poems and stories by Shel Silverstein, who wrote The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and other wonderful books. One of their favourites from his writings was this one:

Somebody has to go polish the stars,
They're looking a little bit dull.
Somebody has to go polish the stars,
For the eagles and starlings and gulls
Have all been complaining they're tarnished and worn,
They say they want new ones we cannot afford
So please get your rags
And your polishing jars
Somebody has to go polish the stars.

So pick up a rag and prepare for holy work. Who would have thought a holy book could be filled with architecture and interior decorating tips? As you read the lengthy, loving descriptions of the Mishkan, try to imagine the underlying trust, faith, and partnership between God and the Israelites: make Me a sacred space and a spiritual life fit to be My home.