February 11, 2011
17 Adar 5771
Dear WRJ Sisters,
Parashah T’tzaveh (“you
shall instruct”) is a sensory recipe spoken by God to
Moses and by Moses to the Israelites. And, as we know,
the goal of the recipe is holiness and includes the
following:
Within the Tent of Meeting,
let there be
olive oil, clear and pure, to provide light during
the night
For the priestly vestments,
first by Aaron and then others to follow, let there be
fine linen, with intricate embroidery of gold,
blue, purple and crimson threads
golden breastplate accented with twelve unique
colorful semi-precious stones
blue robe hemmed with golden bells and colorful
pomegranates
headdress of fine linen with gold medallion
inscribed with God’s holy name
For Aaron’s consecration as
priest and all to follow, let there be
the smoke and the scent of burnt offerings for a
week
the smell of meats and breads of sustenance for a
week
And on the altar of the
Tent of Meeting, let there be
the fragrance of fresh incense at morning and at
twilight
And as My promise to you
and the children of Israel after you, let there
be
Our sacred partnership
(Cynthia Roosth Wolf)
And thus the Tabernacle’s
holy space is filled with sights and tastes, sounds and
smells; and, yes, my dear sisters, the opportunities for
feelings and fulfillment that we each live on a daily
basis through our involvement as women in our
congregations.
We must never forget that
God’s recipe for holiness started with the environment
of holiness and for that environment to remain holy, God
ordered that the priests be holy in the way that they
looked and in the rituals that they performed. Theirs
was sacred work.
And God’s presence was
promised to us, but that presence is not just in the
brick and mortar and ritual items of our temples. God’s
presence is within each of us when we do our best to
welcome the stranger and to make certain that our
seasoned members feel welcomed; when we act with concern
for the young and the aging of our congregations and of
our communities; when we not only act with holiness but
when we acknowledge the holiness in someone other than
ourselves. And, in so doing, the membership within our
local women’s groups/sisterhoods and within our
congregations truly do begin to create sacred
connections. And because of our part as women of WRJ,
our tagline stronger together is even more meaningful!
Ours is sacred work!
And, speaking of stronger
together, within WRJ, we are working very hard to
welcome back all who have served on the WRJ board. We
want our board alumnae to become members of Chai
Society and
to enjoy special recognitions and special programming at
WRJ assemblies. Please encourage alumnae within your
sisterhood to become members of Chai
Society and
to stay involved or to become reinvolved in your local
sisterhoods and districts! Anyone interested can contact
Rachel Jurisz atrjurisz@wrj.org or
212-650-4063.
Please read Parashah
T’tzaveh (Exodus 27:20 - 30:10) in our own The
Torah: A Women’s Commentary on
pages 473 – 494. And for your convenience, you can
download the free study guide for this and other
parashot at www.wrj.org/studyguide.
Shabbat Shalom and please
share this e-mail with your women’s group/sisterhood!
In Sistership!
Cynthia Wolf
WRJ Board Member
Temple Emanuel Sisterhood
Beaumont, TX
