Beloved friends,
I have been thinking a lot lately about the spirit of volunteerism. What is it that motivates people to volunteer valuable time to a cause or an organization? As you may know, we ask each of our B’nai Mitzvah candidates to pick an issue and/or an organization to which they will devote their time and their talent.
For some, this is easy as they and their families have already been actively involved in the work of Tikkun Olam, bringing repair to our world. The parental example is a powerful force in the lives of our children. For others with whom I speak, they talk about participating with a friend or a group of friends in a project, not of their own choosing, as motivation to become more involved in volunteering. Still others speak of being personally touched by events in their own family that guided them to volunteer time, talent, and resources.
A theme, running through these conversations is the gratitude these children feel for all they have: family, friends, food, clothing, and shelter. This sense of gratitude allows them to respond to others’ needs and help make the world a bit better.
The Torah portion for this week, Terumah, is all about this spirit of volunteerism. After being redeemed from Egyptian bondage and reaching Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah, our ancestors were asked, not commanded, to build a Mishkan, a central place for worshipping God. God tells Moses to speak to the children of Israel calling all “whose hearts so move them” to bring offerings of specific materials needed for the construction of the Mishkan. Two artisans are singled out, Bezalel and Oholiab, to oversee the project as lead volunteers. I am in awe of this group of Israelites, so recently freed from slavery that they were denied the ability to choose how to spend their time, now overwhelmingly willing to volunteer their time and their resources to this project.
God’s goal is made clear in God’s own words. God wants the people to build the Mishkan not as a House of God in which God would dwell, but rather so that God’s Presence could be felt among the Israelites. This project was designed by God to build relationships through deeper connection to one another that would inevitably strengthen the community. From this, I learned and have taught that when we help others, we build community.
At the heart of being a sacred congregation is the spirit of volunteerism. Volunteers came together in the late 1950s to dream and to build Temple Jeremiah. Volunteers have sustained us from then until now. We need one another. Volunteering as a community member at Temple brings us closer to the fulfillment of our vision to be a Jewish community of meaningful connection. I invite you each to find the volunteer opportunities that most resonate with you at Temple. Together we make God’s Presence felt in our midst.
Shabbat Shalom,
