Thought of the Week: Pekudei

Written by Writings & Sermons by others — 10 March 2016

On Tuesday this week I returned from three months Sabbatical leave from Alyth.  I am very grateful that the Rabbinate enables me to have this time and space to refresh myself and my family every few years from the demands of the wonderfully full-on congregational rabbinate and to then return to Alyth ready for action!   What it also enables is for me to do the kinds of projects which need concentrated time to finish them, without needing to constantly change task and attention.

For me this has meant dedicating the time to read a number of books which support my teaching and Jewish development.  I have been able to study Hebrew poetry with an excellent teacher and do some more mundane learning of how to use some of the software packages on my computer much better. But what will be of lasting value from this Sabbatical are two projects which have now (almost!) got to completion.  The one likely to have the greatest impact is the creation of the new Movement for Reform Judaism Machzor for Rosh Hashanah, working with Rabbis Jonathan Magonet and Paul Freedman and a dedicated Editorial Group.  We at Alyth will be using a trial edition of our Machzor as our prayer book this Rosh Hashanah.  Our aim has been to create a Machzor which makes the High Holydays involving, accessible and spiritually meaningful for our times whilst also enabling us to pray with the words of our ancestors and the values of our people going back millennia. We look forward to sharing it and hearing how it works for you.  There is still a bit more to do and we are going to print in June this year.

I have also (almost!) completed a book based on the way in which Judaism moves us to concern for the world as a whole.  Its message is that Judaism is for ourselves and our relationship with God but it is of vastly reduced value if it does not move us to be actively concerned for other peoples and the planet.  The text is complete, I just have the index, glossary and introduction to do and plan also to publish this by June.

In our Torah portion Pekudei Moses gets the chance to be present at the completion of a great project, the making of the Mishcan, the desert tabernacle or prototype temple for the Jewish people.   The final words of the Book of Exodus say that Moses finished the work (Exodus 40:33) which the whole community of Israel had been engaged upon.  Yet it was not really finished – it just set up the place for which the whole of the next Book of Leviticus will give us the instructions for its use as the worship system of the Israelites is built for the first time.   Just as it says in Genesis that God finished the work of creation (Genesis 2:1), each ending is really an invitation to move to the next great task.   As I finish this Sabbatical I am ready for the coming years with enthusiasm and eager anticipation to share what I have been up to, and for how this work may help us to build for our future.