This week’s Torah portion, Terumah, describes the construction of the mishkan, the tabernacle. Acacia wood planks were used to construct the walls of the mishkan. The Torah then describes “You shall make bars of acacia wood: five for the planks of the one side wall of the Tabernacle, five bars for the planks of the other side wall of the Tabernacle, and five bars for the planks of the wall of the Tabernacle at the rear to the west. The center bar halfway up the planks shall run from end to end.” (Exodus 26:26-28)
Our
tradition teaches a deep religious truth we should constantly remember from
what looks like simple IKEA instructions. Even when serving God, we should
remember to do acts of kindness. “Targum Yonatan states that the center cross
beam was made with wood that came from trees that Abraham planted. I heard
Rabbi Mordechai Mann of B’nai Brak comment on this that those trees were
planted by Abraham for the purpose of doing kindness for travelers. The center
cross beam was placed right in the middle of the tabernacle to remind us that
even when we are devoting ourselves to serving the Almighty we should never
forget they have compassion for fellow man, who was created in the image of the
Almighty.” (Growth Through Torah by Zelig Pliskin, page 207-8)
Too many
people mistakenly believe that a truly pious person is one who meticulously
observe the commandments between God and a human being at the expense of
observing those commandments between two human beings. Nothing could be farther
from the truth. The Gemara asks: “Who is considered a foolish man of piety?
For example, it is one who sees that a woman is drowning in a river, and
he says: It is not proper conduct to look at her while she is
undressed and save her.” (TB Sota 21b, Sefaria.org translation)
We serve God
best when were kind and compassionate to all those around us.
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