Pekudei 5785 – Steps Towards Geulah
Our generation has been blessed with the incredible and miraculous gift of the return to Eretz Yisrael. This is something for which we must be deeply grateful, ever mindful of our being granted the privilege that our ancestors dreamt about and prayed for. Gratitude is, however, only a first step. As with any privilege, we must also consider the resultant mission and responsibilities. What is supposed to be our vision for Eretz Yisrael and Medinat Yisrael, and what role is it to play in our lives? While this question requires consideration from multiple angles, an important element can be derived from our Parsha.
It was clear from the outset that our redemption from Egypt was intended to bring us to Eretz Yisrael. Tragically, we interrupted that journey through our own failings, delaying our arrival for a generation and preventing Moshe from getting there at all. We did, however, achieve two intermediate goals, each of which also served as a destination point that represented redemption and each of which was achieved within this book of redemption, Exodus, Sefer HaGeulah.
The first goal was Sinai, defined at the very outset of the redemptive process (Shemos 3:12), “when you take the people out of Egypt, they will serve God at this mountain (Sinai).” The second was the temple (Mishkan/Mikdash), itself a representation of Sinai, which upon its completion restored Hashem’s presence to our people (see the closing words of our parsha and Ramban’s introductions to Shemot and Terumah.)
These two destinations represent two core elements of what we as a nation were charged to achieve, the assimilation of Hashem’s truth and wisdom in both thought and action (Sinai), and an active spiritual connection that demonstrates God’s presence in the world (Mikdash). This dual national mission is expressed in Devarim (4:7-8): “For what great nation is there that has a God so close at hand as is Hashem our God whenever we call upon Him (Mikdash)? And what great nation has laws and rules as perfect as all this Torah that I set before you this day (Sinai)?”
These are not destinations separate from Eretz Yisrael; quite the opposite. Ki mi’tzion teitzei Torah u’dvar Hashem mi’Yerushalayim. “From Zion Torah comes forth and the word of God from Yerushalayim.” (Yeshayahu 2:3) Our presence in the land of Israel is purposeful and true to its mission when it demonstrates both Torah wisdom and genuine spirituality and when it radiates that wisdom to the Jewish world and beyond.
That is the essence of the story of the contemporary return to Zion. Our post-Holocaust revival must be seen for the miracle that it is, the product of the millennia of multiple daily prayers offered by millions of us three times a day and every time we concluded a meal, each and every time asking of Hashem that He not only allow us to continue as a people but that He restore us to Yerushalayim and Yerushalayim to us. Within that holy land it is our charge and opportunity to live the laws and the values of Torah, its wisdom and understanding, in a way that creates the ideal image of that Torah as a value system for life and a framework for a faithful, true, and just society. Torah is to produce a community of people living with awareness of and gratitude towards their Creator, motivated by the values of caring and compassion and the pursuit of wisdom and truth in theory and in practice.
At this particularly challenging juncture in the story of our return to Zion, we must double down and focus on living our mission: strengthening and deepening our relationship to Hashem through Tefillah and living lives that reflect the truest values of Torah, both as individuals and as a community.