The description of the desert tabernacle (Mishkan) is truly a magnificent picture drawn with words. You can read it here. Countless generations of readers of the Bible have sought to turn the visual description into either two-dimensional drawings or three-dimensional recreations. Type “mishkan” or “Israelite tabernacle” into your search window to see the artful and imaginative recreations.

This desire to turn a word picture into something concrete might actually subvert the intentions of the author of our original text. What if the entire intent was for the words to stand alone? That with the fabulous description of fine yarns, intricate gold designs, colorful fabrics the author sought to awe us with an artful description not an architectural design? We are, after all, the People of the book.

One of the wonderful characteristics of Jewish communities wherever they have established themselves is the engagement with the written words. As scholars deliberated and told stories their words were recorded for later generations to read. Young children were taught to read the holy tongue and rewarded with cookies in the shape of the aleph-bet. How doubly cruel, then, that when the Nazis sought our destruction, they first burned our books?  Such is the cunning deviousness of evil.

At Wise we offer a wide range of opportunities for adults to study our written words each week. An unexpected gift of the pandemic is that you can log on from anywhere now and join our clergy or Melton School instructors as we teach the words of our People through our ancient and modern texts. Join us—the words we’ll study together will inspire you, elevate you, and take you on a marvelous journey into the written wisdom of our people.

— Rabbi Ron Stern