Shabbat Parashat TerumahAdar 6, 5770 February 19th 2010 Shalom,
After spending an incredible Shabbat with Mr. S, those on the family tour, and the eighth grade of BiCultural Day School, Tehila and I joined the families on an excursion to the south of Israel. We were fortunate to have an incredible tour guide, Lee Glassman, whose breadth and depth of knowledge is extraordinary, and whose deep love of the Jewish people, and the State of Israel shines through every story, comment, or explanation. Even for the seasoned Israel traveler, Lee created a unique experience, full of drama and passionate emotion. Lee could bring every stone and pebble come alive! We toured Ein Gedi, went to the Dead Sea, and climbed Masada. Lee told of the historic battle of Masada, where 1000 Jews bravely fought the Romans, and after a long siege, committed mass suicide rather than fall into the hands of their enemies. Lee transported us all to those ancient times, and made us feel as though we were part of the story.
The next day, we arrived at Eilat, the premier vacation spot of Israel. After that, the next highlight of the trip was the excursion to the lost city of Petra in Jordan. Petra is located in a canyon, 885 meters above sea level, completely surrounded by mountains. The only access to the city is through the narrow, tall canyon, with walls made of red Nubian sandstone. Petra is famous today because of the exquisite monuments carved into the stone, which are very well preserved. Until the 20th century, Petra was identified as the biblical city of Kadesh. According to Josephus Flavius (38-100 C.E.) the historian who also wrote about the events of Masada, Kadesh is Petra. According to the Bedouin tradition, in Petra, Moses hit the rock, and Miriam, as well as Aaron,were buried there.
The brook in Petra is called "Wadi Moussa," or the Brook of Moses. According to some experts, it is possible that Bnei Yisrael are the ones who dug some of the caves in the area, as they camped in Kadesh for 38 years. Later, Petra was built in the 9th century by the Edomites and became the capital of the Nabatians after they took control over the city in the 3rd century B.C.E. In ancient times the city was an important junction as merchants plying the spice trade, went there often. In 106 C.E., the city was conquered by the Romans. Their influence is evident in the imposing, artistically decorated monuments.
When the Arabs controlled the area, in time, the city disappeared from the history books, until it was rediscovered by Jean Louis Burckhardt in 1812.In the 1950's, many Israeli young people tried to cross the border to see Petra, but most of them did not come back alive. This is why Arik Lavi's famous song "Hasela Ha'adom," or The Red Rock, was banned at the time.
In 1985 UNESCO declared the area a World Cultural and Natural Heritage site, and in 2007, it was declared as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Walking in Petra, listening to Lee, seeing these incredible monuments carved into the rock by men, primarily for the purpose of religious ritual, was quite a moving experience. It also reminded me of certain parallels in this week's parsha, Terumah. The parsha speaks about the building of the Mishkan, our first house of worship, which served our ancestors for 480 years until the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. Both the Mishkan, as well as the Temple, were built by Bnei Yisrael, as a sanctuary for the worship of God. Neither the Mishkan, nor the Temple, exist today, only some ancient ruins remain.
Despite the destruction of our buildings, it is our religion, values, and principles, and our Torah, that are very much alive. Petra, its buildings, its holy sites, its places of worship are ruins as well. However, the people who built Petra, as well as their religious practices, have vanished. Perhaps this is a reminder that no building, nor any holy site, nor any object or relic, can inherently emanate holiness. It is by the actions, values, and practices of a people that they remain vibrant and alive. While our enemies may imagine that our physical structures define us, we know that this is far from the truth. They assume that our faith rests on what we can build, but we know that has never been the essence of our people and our Torah. Our beliefs and our actions, our mitzvot, are what makes a place or an object holy; not the other way around. Buildings may come and go, they are built, destroyed, rebuilt, and torn down again, but our beliefs and our values will live forever.
Let us always remember the true source of our strength; it is not the stones, or bricks, or mortar that survive, but rather our Torah principles and the mitzvot that we do. May all our actions, and everything we build, always bring us closer to God.
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem,
Cantor Arik Wollheim
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