By: Bethany Friedlander
PJ Library Manager
The assembly and disassembly of the Tabernacle was not an easy task. Whereas today we have our fancy waterproof “glamping” tents that spring up with barely the help of a small child and a car to stuff everything into, the Tabernacle was a much bigger packing job. And so, G-d assigned each clan responsibility to assemble and break down camp each time with very specific instructions that most packing companies may not find worth the effort.
I wonder if the Israelites had this bittersweet feeling each time they set up and took down the Tabernacle, where they may have felt a sense of awe as something gets assembled and used and a bit of let down as it gets taken down, wrapped up, and moved along the desert sand, then to be assembled again with a new sense of awe. Packing is a rough job.
This past week, we entered Shavuot, a celebration of receiving the Torah and the spring harvest. We were coming into this holiday from a deep low upon learning about the horrible attack in Boulder earlier that day. How could we disassemble the feelings we had of this recent event and assemble together to create space for celebration?
Possibly, we can take a bit from how the Tabernacle was disassembled to help view transition in a meaningful way. When the Tabernacle was taken down, some items were wrapped in tachash, often translated as dolphin skin or even unicorns (Numbers 4:6-15). There are some theories that river dolphins swam in the Red Sea. As the Israelites were being chased by Pharaoh and his chariots, beyond grabbing their timbrels, they also took along some river dolphins, knowing they would make perfect “bubble wrap” blankets for their yet-to-be-built tabernacle as they traversed the desert. As the Israelites transitioned from place to place, they took with them something that reminded them of their exodus from Egypt. Each time they packed and unpacked, they were reminded of where they came from.
Shavuot was not put on hold because of the Boulder tragedy. Shavuot was embraced. We wrapped ourselves in the knowledge that our community was with us, that we could come together to pray, learn, eat, play, and sit together as a living Jewish community, not willing to be deterred from convening and celebrating who we are with pride and holding, at the same time, compassion for those injured earlier that day.
Let us find, hold on to, and share those “dolphin skin” moments. Let us be proud to be a community that, while going from slavery to freedom, grabs onto the precious moments that allow us to care for others and take pride in our Jewish community. This summer, whether putting up our camping tents or packing up entire homes, may we find moments and objects that ground us in who we are, what we love, and what we care most about.
Please email Bethany Friedlander at bfriedlander@jewishcolorado.org with questions or comments.