Rabbi Weill's Blog

Dear Friends,

The sunrises over the wilderness of Sinai. The Israelites awake and pour their coffee. When they emerge from their tents, they see before them the Tabernacle.

The Tabernacle – or Mishkan – was the portable sanctuary the Israelites transported during their journey to the Promised Land.  It was situated in the center of the Israelite camp. The tribes were arrayed around it. God’s cloud of glory swirled above it.

As we have been reading in the book of Numbers, the Israelites were a fractious community. But the Tabernacle unified them. It represented their mission of bringing holiness into the world, and it guided them on their journey. And there it was, in the center of camp, at the core of their nation.

We Americans have also become extremely fractious. I often wonder: what lies at the core of our nation? Around what principles and values are we Americans arrayed? What commonalities supersede our divisions? What might heal our nation?

I posed these questions during a recent sermon, and I would like to know your opinions. If you could implement one great fix to heal America’s divisions, what would it be? Please email me at rabbiw@ehnt.org with your responses, and type NEW TABERNACLE in the subject line. Feel free to offer solutions either sober and practical, or whimsical and fantastical.

We need something to bind, orient, and guide us. We need a NEW TABERNACLE. What could it be? I look forward to hearing from you.

L’Shalom,

Rabbi Jeffrey Weill