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| Photo: Ariel J Friedlander |
Struck by a thought this morning as L & I looked at the Torah portion. Earlier, with our chavurah, we'd looked at the juicy section containing the Priestly Benediction (Numbers 6:22-27). We had a lovely discussion about the meaning of blessings - who gives them, what is being given, and what they represent. Afterwards, L & I went back to the beginning of the portion and read:
29. As for the Merarites, you shall record them by the clans of their ancestral house;
30. you shall record them from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who are subject to service in the performance of the duties for the Tent of Meeting.
31. These are their porterage tasks in connection with their various duties for the Tent of Meeting: the planks, the bars, the posts, and the sockets of the Tabernacle;
32. the posts around the enclosure and their sockets, pegs, and cords - all these furnishings and their service: you shall list by name the objects that are their porterage tasks. (Num. 4)
I said that I'd always had a problem with pieces like this - what possible connection did I have with a list of priestly duties for the Tabernacle? There are no more priests. There is no more Temple. What meaning could there be for someone like me in a sentence discussing who carries planks or posts or pegs? In the desert?
Then I said, well, I suppose I can understand a system where everyone has a particular role in the community - something specific and personal, but that also is part of the community ethos. In this text it is expressed through a description of priestly duties. Maybe I can extrapolate from that the concept that this is still part of our lives and community today, i.e., we all have a task to perform. The difference is only that the task is not so clearly delineated. I just need to figure out what my task is.
And BOOM! Something I almost threw away turns out to be relevant after all. Ok, off to my room to see if there are any pegs I've not noticed :-)
Shabbat shalom.
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