Parshat Terumah is like Extreme Home Makeover -but Betzalel plays the role of Ty Pennington, the client is even More likable than usual (it's God's house after all), and there is no demolition scene.
Among the most cherished things built by Betzlel is the aron, the forerunner to today's ark at the front of the synagogue.
What was stored within that original ark?
The rabbis are explicit and united on this point. Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah (1) agree that the aron contained the first broken set of luchot as well as the second, final set of luchot.
The first set of luchot were broken by Moshe. They weren't just broken, they were broken for a reason: the Jews had sinned with the golden calf (eigel hazahav) and so Moshe (in anger/disgust, or perhaps feeling that they no longer Deserved the tablets) threw down the tablets.
The second tablets make their appearance later. Moshe appeals to God on behalf of the Jewish people. God grants His forgiveness. Only then does Moshe descend once more, carrying our second chance. (You could say this was not only the two tablets, but Tablets 2.0)
All of which points to just how strange a decision it is for us to not only hold on to the first tablets, but keep them prominently displayed. This is worse than a scarlet letter: it should be a badge of shame, and sin.
And yet...we keep these tablets with us in space, so that their message stays close to us as well. It is, to coin a new expression, top of ark.
We all make mistakes, but if we learn from our mistakes, then the first luchot are considered part of the same path and process -and yes, in the same ark - as the second set of luchot.
In the Jewish tradition, when a person truly repents, his or her sins actually turn into mitzvot.
I don't understand this in a voodoo way. It's simple. We live in a world where regret is somehow anathema to many. The catchphrase and concept is "I have no regrets about anything I did because if not, I wouldn't be the person I am today."
The genius of the Jewish understandings of teshuva is a nuanced response to the above.
Some people may sin and then, tired of that lifestyle, they return to God and goldliness.
Some may be seeking all along.
And so we tell the former sinner, it DEPENDS.
If for you the sinning was a process, or you can at least look into all stages of your life and derive meaning, then we say, perhaps this was truly necessary for you to transform into the person you are today. Then, while your route to God may have been longer than the Hopstop version, you still get credit for the whole trip.
I think that is the deeper reason we were told to keep the first luchot alongside the second luchot: the two luchot truly become ONE linked set of luchot as the original version becomes a stepping stone to our ultimate brit (covenant) with God.
But let's take a step back, no pun intended.
We are suggesting that the second and first luchot are linked in much the same way as when a ba'al teshuva's sins turn into mitzvot.
It's a nice idea. But whether or not you are prepared to accept that analogy, the one inarguable lesson we learn is that for some reason the broken luchot made it into the aron.
The simplest moral here is that we need both pairs of luchot -one set representing our moment of forgiveness and triumph, and the other to keep us humble.
The aron is a reminder of God, and its contents are a reminder of the power of healing and the value of forgiveness.
If we remember our own sins, we also remember to tolerate and understand the sins of others.
If we consider the Jewish people who sinned after witnessing their miraculous redemption from Egypt, perhaps we can spare a little "chanun" for those who sin in our own more confusing times.
This weekend I heard a moving story. It is about Rabbi Eliezer Silver, ztz"l, a true giant of American Jewry in the first half of the 20th century (2).
Apparently Rabbi Silver's congregation in Cincinnati had a fairly mixed crowd. Many attendees were not religious, and so someone asked Rabbi Silver how/why he was okay praying in such non-distinguished company?
Now I recognize that some of us won't even understand the hava aminah (presumption) of the question as we would say in the Talmud -OF COURSE we should pray together! Other people won't be satisfied by ANY answer -let's only pray if we are all identical card-carrying members of the Sonei Achim, Ohavei Lariv sect. But let's put aside what we think, and our initial sympathies or antipathies with the question.
Rabbi Silver answered by citing the example of the aron where both the whole and the broken luchot resided together.
How beautiful. How moving. Simple and deep all at once. I can't help but be haunted by the image of Jews who are maybe not fully there when it comes to religious practice as being "luchot" -created by God, holy, if not wholly there.
And then there is the word shattered which could replace the word broken -these Jews, perhaps unconsciously, are shattered by their alienation from God. Let us not add to that pain by also alienating them from us.
In all honesty, this We are The World approach has practical benefits for all parties. If we embrace the complexities of human nature (and of or own natures), then we know that there are times when we are luchot sh'leimot and times we are shivrei luchot -- we are strong and committed, skeptical and confused, chillul or kiddush Hashems all in one imperfect, inconsistent package.
As long as that imperfect package stands in God's tent, and keeps the tent flaps open to all sides, we can perfect both ourselves and the world.
(1) They argue instead about the identity of the third item stored in the aron
(2) The OU's website describes him as follows: "Rabbi Eliezer Silver (ZT”L) of Cincinnati, OH, achieved national and world renown for his leadership role in a number of organizations-Founder and President of the Agudath Israel of America, President of the Vaad HaRabbanim of the U.S. and Canada, and Founder and President of the Vaad Hatzalah Rescue Committee (he helped save thousands during and after the Holocaust). Rabbi Silver was also instrumental in founding one of the first Jewish Day Schools west of the Appalachian Mountains, the Cincinnati Hebrew Day School/Chofetz Chaim (CHDS)."
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