In
this week’s Torah portion, God describes to Moses how to construct the
Tabernacle. Upon God’s request, the Israelites gather their finest gold for the
Tabernacle. According to the text, the Tabernacle features fine linen curtains
and an extravagantly decorated table surrounded by cherubs. God emphasizes the
quality of the Tabernacle’s appearance, stressing its holiness and therefore on
level with its relationship to God. Throughout this week’s Torah parsha, God
emphasizes the attractiveness of the Ark, but modern values make this emphasis
on aesthetics seem superficial and perhaps unnecessary.
We
all know the clichés “Looks don’t matter” or “Don’t judge a book by its cover”,
yet the extent to which people act on these sayings poorly reflects how often
we hear them. Unfortunately, image plays an important role throughout the
world. Keeping the Torah in a cardboard box rather than a finely constructed
ark depreciates its value in some aspect. The lessons within the scroll remain
the same, but the degree to which people respect the book changes. In this way,
people are not shallow but merely psychologically affected by appearance. By no
fault of their own, one’s experience changes as what they see changes. Part of
the distinction between humanity and the rest of the animal kingdom is a love
of art. Paintings, theater, and buildings alike demand talent to design because
we value their attractiveness. Wanting anything to appear nicely is inherent
within human nature. When it comes time to think about whom to marry, we choose
someone we find at least somewhat physically attractive. Whenever we come into
the temple sanctuary, the beauty of the room sets a tone for worship. In a less
appealing room, the mood completely changes, and the meaning of the prayers in
the congregation hearts suffer from this alteration. As much as I want to believe looks do not
matter, I know that is only a lie I can tell myself for so long.
On the contrary,
we need to strive to move past this emphasis on visuals and focus on that which
makes a human more than their external features. In the example previously
used, I said that looks matter when deciding on a life partner, but the person
with the nicest hair or the best body in our eyes is not necessarily our soul
mate. Certainly, we need to find someone who physically pleases our mental
image of the ideal partner, but they need other qualities that extend beyond
their appearance. Likewise, we need to set aside aesthetics when they very
minimally impact our experience. While the sanctuary or the Tabernacle deserves
some form of beauty to please people in regards to worship, selecting who
reports the news on TV should not require an attractive, young person, as
unfortunately frequently happens. As looks play no substantial part in the
equation, remove them from the process.
In regards to this week’s puzzling emphasis on
looks, then, the question arises on how to live within this balance. One needs
to place some stress on personal
appearance and aesthetics in general. Sure, we need to dress somewhat nicely
for job interviews, but this obsession with looks in America and all around the
world needs to end when it reaches extremes. The difference between looking
nice and appearing perfect is substantial. Attractiveness means going to the
gym to maintain a healthy weight or wearing braces to improve one’s smile.
Perfection leads to outrageous diets, eating disorders, and unnecessary
surgeries. One must stay within their bounds of sanity, for obsessing over
looks makes one superficial. Their increasing quality of physical appearance
often depreciates their focus on perfecting what really matters: the soul. When
within reach, make the sanctuary pretty, dress the Tabernacle with linen
curtain, or shine the shoes a little bit.
In this way, we build confidence by carrying ourselves proudly in
generating good self body image, but we stay between the limits of effort and
obsession. One should judge others as he or she wants to be criticized.
Recognizing beauty and forming an attitude about a person based on it are
distinct entities. To be shallow is to form an opinion about someone based on
their appearance. Rather, people need to take appearance minimally in regards
to their judgment. If we all work to perfect our own look while judging people
minutely on their appearance, these actions cyclically improve one another. In
that way, God teaches us to design ourselves beautifully like the Tabernacle,
for we are all created in the image and in respect to God.
No comments:
Post a Comment