This week, at this troubled time, we arrive at the end of the Book of Exodus. This year we have a double Torah portion, Parashiot Vayekhel-Pikudei (the last six chapters in the end of the Book of Exodus). We will read of the rules of Shabbat, and of construction of the Mishkan, its implements and utensils, and the making of the sacred garments to be worn by those who serve there.

We will read of dimensions. We will read of architecture. We will read of sums. We will read of all of precious materials. We will read of sacred geometry.

We first learned of idea of the Mishkan, the portable dwelling place for God, earlier in the Book of Exodus, in Parashat Terumah:

A portable dwelling place for God: we will carry this sacred space with us. The idea of an actual portable physical space - the Mishkan - has developed through the centuries, an unfolding amalgam of ideas of Rabbinic Judaism (the Talmud), other commentators, Jewish mysiticism, Chassidut. It is a profound and beautiful idea: God / Shekinah (the indwelling presence of the Divine) is here in each of us.

People on the move - whether it be in the desert, in diaspora, or in crazy busy modern lives - need to know that God is inside of us, and need to know how we can each be willingly active in cultivating this inner space.

This week we will read of the participation of the entire community in constructing the Mishkan:

The word קֹדֶשׁ - holy, set apart - will appear 22 times in these six chapters, nearly one third of its occurrences in the entire Book of Exodus. What we offer is holy, and precious, and what we build is holy and precious.

What is precious to you?

Today is 8 March 2026 | 19 Adar 5786; it is 5 a.m. I sit at my table, drinking tea in the dark early morning. I am studying our double portion, Vayekhel-Pikudei, and turn on the news.

"Iranian Red Crescent Society warns public to avoid toxic acid rain after Israel struck oil storage depots
Plumes of black smoke are filling the skies in Tehran after Israel targeted oil storage facilities in the capital city of Tehran, which has a population of about 10 million. That marked the first time a civil industrial facility has been targeted in the war, the Associated Press reported, although US and Israeli strikes have damaged about 10,000 civilians structures across the country, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society.
In a post on social media, the group warned the public about the dangers from the fires at the oil facilities and encouraged the public to stay indoors where possible to avoid toxic pollutants. It said that locals shouldn’t go outside after rainfall over concerns about toxic acid rain and offered advice on gargling salty water if anyone had inhaled the oily soot particles emerging from the black smoke. Some experts have warned that rainfall could mix with the contaminated water and go into dams in and around Tehran, affecting the quality of drinking water for Iranians."

The chaos and destruction of precious resouces is coming from all sides:

"Bahrain says Iran hit a desalination plant, stoking fears of attacks on civilian sitesBahrain has accused Iran of striking a desalination plant as the regional war expands with no end in sight. Iran’s president said Sunday his country is responding to pressure with stronger attacks. He threatened more strikes on American targets in the Middle East."

Another photo:

I notice the tall building in the left part of this image. It seems to be an apartment building. I imagine all of the people who live in this building. I wonder what is precious to each of them.

My country and a country far away that claims to speak for me, as a Jew, are ceaselessly assaulting citizens in Iran. And while this is happening, assaults continue in the West Bank and Gaza. And Iran is assaulting numerous neighbor countries.

Is there a way to connect back to the most basic values of order, of the desire for peace and wholeness, the value of every human life?

I bring my attention back to studying this week's double Torah portion. The contrast between the chaos erupting instanteously in the world, and the minute details of these portions, is poignantly clear. I dive into the details, all of the details, the gold and the copper and the silver and the blue and crimson and purple, the posts and the sockets and the loops and the tenons.

As l wade through the complexity of the technical vocabulary, so many unfamiliar words, I oscillate among trying to understand the words, trying to picture what all of this looks like, then I allow myself to be tossed by the currents of all of these details. This year I am finding this myriad of details to be curiously soothing, promising. I think it is like some sort of sacred trance music, like a niggun, a wordless melody which helps us enter into a meditative or prayer-ful state.

I suggest that when we connect and re-connect to what we hold most dear, the values and ethics and precepts that we love in Judaism, we will be guided to value life and to value peace.

I have always been so moved by this idea that I named my on-line learning space micro-mishkan in order to lift up and emphasize the agency that each of us can have in cultivating this sacred inner experience. I invite you to visit, and to consider what you can cultivate inside yourself.

I will conclude by sharing a poem that I wrote on 24 October 2024 | Shabbat Beresheit 5785 (shortly after the one year anniversay of the Hamas attack in Israel and the start of Israel's bombardment of Gaza).

It is entitled which of your precious.