:וַתֵּ֕כֶל כָּל־עֲבֹדַ֕ת מִשְׁכַּ֖ן אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וַיַּֽעֲשׂוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כְּ֠כֹ֠ל אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֧ה יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶת־משֶׁ֖ה כֵּ֥ן עָשֽׂ

“All the work of the Mishkan of the Tent of Meeting was completed; the children of Israel had done it according to all that God commanded Moses, so they had done.”
—Exodus 39:32

In this week’s parshah, Pekudei, the above verse sums up the story of the Israelites’ construction of the sacred Tabernacle. After much detailed direction from Moses and devoted work by each of the 12 tribes, a physical space was created as a place for the former Hebrew slaves to connect with God. As a community of wanderers whose only home had been a place of bondage, I imagine that having an actual substantial space to visit in order to feel God’s presence and connect with the larger community was exciting, meaningful, fulfilling, and so needed.

We know now, after nearly two years of Zoom calls and video conferencing, that it is indeed possible to connect with others outside of a shared physical space. We even developed our own Zoom identities—perhaps as technological aides or infamous un-muters—and in a way, each of us, like the children of Israel, brought forth some piece of ourselves into this arena of gathering. We likely did not contribute bronze or gold or dolphin skins (!!) as our ancestors did, but we all brought our presence to the screen when we could not consistently or safely bring our offerings to our actual shared, sacred, holy space.

While we never fully left our campus—our own Tent of Meeting—you can feel now, more than ever, that we are returning to a fresh and much-needed new normal. Our sanctuary is once again full, day after day, with the voices and the yearnings of the children of Israel. Like the building of the Tabernacle, these past two years took incredible personal resilience, and it also took the support of our communal leaders, the heart-filled offerings of each member of our congregation, and the knowledge that God would forever be present with us.

This week, as we read and re-read Pekudei, may we know the blessings of having our very own Tent of Meeting—our school, our campus, our sanctuary—and the deep joy of gathering together here. We look forward to seeing you in person this Shabbat or very soon.

—Cantor Emma Lutz