Exodus Tetzaveh Verses 27:10-30:10

Tetzaveh continues the description of the Tabernacle. This week describes how the lighting and interior of the Tabernacle should appear. I found it peculiar that God kept mentioning 4 colors to be in the Tabernacle. These colors are gold, blue, purple, and crimson. I believe that the Torah has hidden one its many metaphors in Tetzavah. Everyone of us is a painting.

Gold is a regal, polite person. Golden people are confident and classy. For example, Steven Spielberg has the class that is on a golden level. He could live as one of America's greatest Hollywood legend and that only. Instead, Steven has continued to help the community by doing גמיולית חסדם-Acts of Love and Kindness. An eye for an eye makes the world go blind, but giving an eye stops the blindness.

Blue is a the calm side of a worthy character. A temper can spoil someone else's day. Going with the flow is how blue people roll. To be a blue person, we must remember to not be a bystander either. Bruce Springsteen is the perfect example of someone who is blue as a smurf on the inside, yet not another person's beanbag. During a performance, he is a rocker who follows the mood of the show. Bruce also is an active liberal Demacrats. Keep it relaxed, keep it blue.

Purple is the creative side of life. The color resembles that although we are classy and calm, we think outside the box. When I read about the Tabernacle, I had to be purple to interpret the very specific instructions of its construction. Without purple in our personality, music, art drama, and sports would never have existed. Having the color purple is proof all humans are truly unique. Why be someone's clone?

Crimson is the bold color. God turned the Nile red with ambition, ambition to free the Israelites slaves from bondage. Barrack Obama was a crimson person to run for president as an African American. With a purple point of view, a blue attitude, and plenty of gold with his staff and fellow politicians, his painting is forming into a work of art. Without the color red, the world will stop moving. Ambition is the drive, the drive of people.

According to my theory, God filled the Tabernacle with dignity, serenity, creativity, and ambition just as God filled everyone of us. I believes we should shine like the gold frames of the Tabernacle which God commanded were built. On the frames there are tons of red, blue, and purple yarns. Life is your painting. Why not make it look nice?

Exodus Terumah 25:1-27:19

In this week's portion, God sets up the plan for Tabernacle. God asks Israel to gather the materials necessary to begin building. The Tabernacle is traveling synagogue that is carried around as the Israelites continue their voyage across the desert. Then, God describes the whereabouts of everything in the Tabernacle. By the end, everybody is prepared to construct the holy building.

What should we think of when we walk into temple? Some think of it as a school. To others it is a home. A place of worship can even be a lounge. It is holy to most of us. When we go to temple, what are we looking for?

I am looking for confirmation of my faith. Synagogue is a place where I believe I can affirm that God is there, looking down at me. I can go there and think about life. The Tabernacle was really the first civilized synagogue, but I still feel intertwined with Moses and the Israelites. Whether it is a synagogue, church, or any other building, we should try to look into our hearts and feel at least something...anything

Olympics

It's that time of four years again when we gather as one world for the greatest competition of sports on the planet. For about a 115 years the Olympics has occurred in modern times. The ancient Greeks had practiced this tradition long before our time. Which is more important in modern times, the sports or the meaning?

The sports are amazing. Over the years a number of Jewish athletes have competed on this great stage. This coming year three Israelis will go from the Negev to "negevtive" zero in Canada. In my school, the gym teachers have decided to host an Olympics. I thought competitive drive would rear its ugly head, but just the opposite. People are being nicer to each. The Olympics is the most competitive there is, but all the athletes are good to each other.

To our world, the Olympics is a break. Tonight when the games open, blacks and whites, Arabs and Jews will be in the same place. No fighting whatsoever. Peace is finally achieved on a global scale. Unfortunately, after the games end it is all over. Why?

Everyone in the world can come together for two or three weeks. Our school has come together through the Olympics in gym class, but when that class ends it backs to business as usual. What if we channeled war into sporting events more often? One day Iran and the United States could be shooting hoops instead of shooting guns. How do we achieve this dream? Is the Olympics the way?





I want to here YOUR ideas! To comment, leave a comment below (if you know how) or email me at agraubart@msn.com.

Exodus Yitro Verese 18:1-20:23

Yitro presents us at the base of Mount Sinai with the Israelites. God contributes the Ten Commandments. This scene in the Torah depicts Moses as he begins climbing up the mountain. The winds are blowing, thunder is crashing, and the shofar is blowing. I picture a creschendo of creation and then all the sudden a melodramatic, dead silence. That is when Moses finally understands God. Finally, God gives Moses the Ten Commandments to share with all of Egypt.

Last year, I wrote about what each commandment stood for. This year I am asking why ten? There are 613 commandments in the Torah all together. Why did God choose these ten? It seems like God just wants these out there. The Israelites are driving God crazy in the desert and the Ten Commandments are like throwing water on a fire. The other 603 are rebuilding the foundation the fire destroyed.

My dad compared the Ten Commandments to the Bill of Rights. However, everyday though politicians are hard at work ammending the Bill of Rights. The Torah has not been ammended in a long, long tme. This especially includes the Ten Commandments. When I first learned about the Bill of Rights, some ammendments seemed more sensable in the 1800's. Although some messages apply more to biblical times, I find the Torah timeless. Just like the Bill of Rights, it started the foundation of a people's fire.