4mm.
.
,
W—fi‘
.‘rflnv‘
EQUAL mm‘mrzs 1
My:
.4
-
»4..V.V
.._
Vwmwtgr
.,
'
‘
EO BAECK COLLEGE ‘
-
‘
V
7
'
1L2.fi
yNRQA“
This week*s Sidra describes in somewhat weé§i§hfie detail thé
constructibn of the tabernacle which was to serve as the Israelites' portable shrifie on their journey through the wilderness. the details afe, however, of great interest. ‘Thus,
amng
Some of thé many
craftsmen who are employed to fashion the elaborate structure with
all its furnishings and fittings of go;fl, silver‘ané branze, £wo aré siggléd opt and mentioned by name: Bezalel of the tribe of Judah and Oholiab of the tribe of Dan.. They were apparently masters of their craft; able'no do the work expertly and to pass 9h their ékill t6” “ others.“ The fiible exPresses this byssaying that God haé‘filledrth§m_
"with the Sgiri't of God, with aéility; with intelligefiee, with kzgaézleage,
‘
;
and with all-graftsmanship" and that hé has "insgipeé‘thém tp fieachif“ ‘Thié‘in itééif igyinterestidg; for it shows a High eéteem fhf;gftistiq .;
‘
J‘gk;1i ahd“fbr labour gehcpallylk To 8e pfbficient inEywurrtradégiévén
a manual tfiadg, 15:8 gift ffqmiGod.tg be fiéed reveréntly afiq in bg
rresbected by fitners.
f
more than tfiat,Ӥrfiisanship is an expreasfign-oil
the éivifié injfigfi; it is temuiéfié; aé thé-human level; the créafivity‘*:gs ‘0? Goq. JIn tfié“e days bf augwwationvénd mass mafiuflécture this;nbb1e and 'éxal‘ted‘cbncéfition‘or the dignity.or-mam;a1 labour, .Bf
é-xhioh
is chapac‘téfistipi
JewiSh'téaqhifig, desepvgsimbbe than afar to be étfessed.rflaf“
hut thefe fies
n.
”
more.
The: Rabbis min-iced haw tye Bible
m‘
streéfiée'is‘
tribal origins 035the-two lééding céartsfien and Eéfived from that the follnwing midrash, whiéh @s feiaped in the‘name 6f Rabbi ‘~Cfianihé beg $62éi: "There is no.gfi¢§§e¥ tribe tfian Jgdfih; thgré is no himx;r hfimblef tribe tfian Danm Yet the‘Héif One, bléssed é; Hg; s§id{ Let (that is, Bezalcl of the tribe 6f Jfidafi) téém up riéh OhoiiaPr~§ thg f >‘fihe diffegefit
W
_
‘
<
,
‘
~
tribe 5f Dun; that they
tay
not desp Sq him; and that no man hay be
arrogafit of spirit towards him, tor béfore 696 great and small are
alikea So
he joined them togethéf."
(ExoR;
£034)
The Hebrew term
‘
I
is xigdavag, which cqmés from the fiord ggg, méaping a pair or a team;
Théy wére to work tsgetheg as‘aiteammdr'two, 5 team of eouzlé» This Madrash has far~reachihg implications,‘
‘3
3
It is a simple but
§;oquent statement ofhthe whole prinéiple of defigcracy, that beforé God
511 aré equaiL
It is theferoré applicable to all departments of iifg,
Vinciud;ng poli.iqs and inQ&stry.
But it is partiouiarly applicaéle
to thé Synagogue; as it arises out of the account of tfie construction of the fiabernacle, which is the prototype of all later houses of Jewish
worship. XXéXXKEXEXfiKEEEHKXKKHEKXE1X03K5KXXKK§X§EKXIXKE§X§§KKXX If democracy: {is to be practised in society, it must be practised first of all within '
the congregation. equal.
In the synagogue above all gréat and-shall aré KXXXX
And indeed the Synagogue has a fine record in this yespecta
is the most democratic of all religious institutions.
it
No-one has any
The rabbi is not g priest who performs‘ Esoteric rites; he is merely qualified to teach, to pars n his kn “ledge
pfivileges denied t6 others;
The précentwr also is not a wriest, and it is characfiew‘stio‘ that he isftraditéonally and technically dekcribed as shgligch tzébbur, a representative of the cangregétion chosen by them t0 lead thefi in to others.
worship. There is indeed one undemocratic practice which_has creptr Ainto synagogue life in recent times and is stili maintained in some,
némely thg special seats or boxes regerved for the Wardens of the‘ Synagogue, usually in a prominent and elevated position near tfie Ark. But that t'oo has been abolished in Liberal Synagogues. One of the things‘
~ ~~
~ ich‘éften‘surbrises visitORS'from other
congregations, and bne of fihe
things we may be proud of, is thét we haVe no snecial‘pléces of hnnour for the Pfesident and Council. ‘Giaude‘Monfiefiore, one o; the wealthiest
and mbst distihghiighed persbns in Angld—Jewry, when he wasgour President »a1ways used tbLSit‘inconspigidus”y in one of the back rows; andour présent’ \
?f¢éident5 Sir Lohis Gifiekstéin, does the same;
;
I
VHowever, democracy does hot mean ohij eQua1~privi1ege;‘ I+_also of two;: \méans gquai rqsponsibilityg_ Bezalei and Choliab fiefefié tcgm
Erwflhey worked tggethér forlthe glfifiy of God;
F"
They weré equal partners, but
'
was a partnership of workers, and eabh gaéevtpifiheffull ofithéir'abiiifiy Jefiish and skiil to the common task. SQ it must be in the Synagngfie. The V‘cfingregation must be a team of equal partners, but the partnership must ‘it
,
‘Each memberr be one of shafied-rennsib‘litygag wgll as shared firivilege. old and young must of the‘cnngregafiian, great and small, wealthy and poor, the best that is in him to the upbhilding of: rénder service, must hedibated in the serfice of énd..“2§ery able man a flourishifig community to do any‘ in whom thé Lord has put abilit5 and inteiligence t6 know how work in fihe'constructign df thé safictuary shall Egg; in accordancé with
gn
5
‘
al{ that;the Lord has comnanded."
~ .-m..;.“
.1 “a...
V“
..,H
.
A.“
“‘3‘
‘fl
