Making sense of the sedra: Vayakhel
The synagogue has uses extending beyond ritual alone
Rabbi Ariel Abel is based in Liverpool
Vayakhel, the word signalling ‘gathering’ the people, launches the assembly of the Tabernacle in the desert with a short paragraph on keeping the Shabbat day holy. Part of this includes six days of labour and earning one’s keep, which gives meaning to resting. Only work gives meaning to rest. Conversely, rest is a function of work. An esteemed senior lecturer at Manchester University, Dr Alexander Samely, told me in 2012 that it is necessary to also take time to do nothing; that is also doing something and is necessary to be productive. At risk of workaholism and consequent burnout, I have spent the last 12 years since his wise words to me applying them to being more effective and productive at what I do.
Vayakhel mentions the Aron Kodesh – the Holy Ark. Nowadays we use the term Aron Kodesh to denote the Ark in which we place the holiest objects we have – the Torah scrolls. Sephardim refer to the Aron Kodesh as the heychal, which means sanctuary or palace. The gathering of Israel to address the holiness of Shabbat and refraining from creative work was a necessary precursor to advancing the building of the mishkan, the Divine place, or residence on earth. The mishkan in the desert was, unintentionally, the forerunner of our modern synagogues. When we gather in synagogues in honour of Shabbat we will read that when Moses gathered with the Israelites, he did so not only so that he could tell them about how to keep Shabbat at home, but how the Mishkan – the synagogue community – would need to be built by them as a communal project. Our challenge is to look ahead and see how to build for the future.
Are synagogues primarily places of prayer or centres for wider communal activity? Clearly without the centrality of the religious aspect, a synagogue loses its raison d’être. However, social activity is the lifeblood of a Jewish community. In Hebrew, a synagogue is known as a Bet Knesset, a place of assembly: a sacred space, with uses extending beyond ritual alone.
The supplementary reading of Shekalim, read only last week in Ki Tissa, registers the interest of every Israelite to contribute to the future construction of Israel’s central sacred space. Former Dayan of the Manchester Beth Din, Dayan Weiss, pointed out that whereas members of the community under the age of bar/bat mitzvah age cannot validly transfer ownership in commercial matters, their contribution of the half-shekel, although not incumbent upon them to make, was accepted as valid. Perhaps this is to demonstrate that all our youth, as soon as they are ready, are needed in the effort to act for the community in respect of charitable work, and as advocates and ambassadors to the rest of the world.
At times as challenging as these, with the huge spike in antisemitism in the West and accompanying adversity in politics and public life, we need to summon every potential we have to counter ignorance and extremism.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
