D’var Torah: A Joint Venture in Space and Time

Rabbi Eric L. Abbott

This week’s Torah portion is Ki Tisa: Exodus 30:11 — 34:35

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel — scholar, theologian and civil rights activist — famously taught that Shabbat is a “cathedral of time”:

“Judaism teaches us to be attached to holiness in time, to be attached to sacred events, to learn how to consecrate sanctuaries that emerge from the magnificent stream of a year. … The meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time. It is a day on which we are called upon to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of creation to the mystery of creation, from the world of creation to the creation of the world …”

Rabbi Heschel reminds us to celebrate and embrace time. One day a week, we are to rest. One day a week — whether through time with family, making the day special, observance in traditional law, or a myriad of other rituals and observances — we acknowledge the holiness of time over space.

Yet when we read this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tisa, we see a major emphasis on space.

Ki Tisa and the Torah portions surrounding it instruct the Israelites to build the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary that would accompany the Israelites throughout their wilderness journeys. The Mishkan was the epitome of sacred space: the place to feel God’s presence on Earth.

How do we square this circle? What do we do with our parashah’s emphasis on both time and space?

Perhaps it is a “yes/and” situation: “yes” to space and “yes” to time.

For in Ki Tisa, immediately after describing the instructions for the Mishkan and appointing Bezalel to construct it, God offers commandments on Shabbat: “You shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy for you … ” (Exodus 31:14). Then, in the next portion, just before the Israelites begin building the Tabernacle, God again offers instruction on Shabbat (Exodus 35:1-3). Thus, the Torah presents Shabbat — sandwiched between the Tabernacle — as deeply connected to that sacred site. As Dr. Elsie R. Stern, professor of Bible at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, teaches, “The placement of the Shabbat commandment here connects the realms of holy space (the Tabernacle) and of holy time (Shabbat).” Even Heschel acknowledges this, saying that control of space is indeed a human task but that it cannot be the only task.

Dr. Stern and Rabbi Heschel remind us that maintaining both space and time can be holy.

Shabbat can be the perfect example of bringing both realms together in sacred ways. I know this very well from my own community, Bethesda Jewish Congregation. On Friday nights and Saturday mornings, community members come together to pray, to learn Torah and to socialize. We discuss contemporary issues and how they relate to our lives. We share the highs and the lows of the week, and we offer gratitude for what we have in our life. By gathering in both space and time, we create holy community. I’m sure this is true of many other synagogues in the DMV, as well as holiday celebrations at home, social events at JCCs and barbecues at Hillel on campus.

Ki Tisa reminds us to form sacred community, where folks embody holiness as they gather in both space (the synagogue) and time (Shabbat). May we all join, create and build these communities of holiness.

Rabbi Eric L. Abbott is the spiritual leader of Bethesda Jewish Congregation where he builds a community in which people are seen and affirmed and where they, together, make the world better.