SERMON  -  by Rabbi Daniela Szuster

             In this week’s parashah it is tell about the Mishkan construction.  The Mishkan was the mobile sanctuary the people moved through the wilderness.  But the Mishkan was not a divine creation but a human building.  It needed a lot of physical and material effort to be built.

            Moshe asked the people to give offerings and thanks to them the Mishkan was built.  But Moshe did not ask everyone to give but to those who wished to do wholeheartedly.

            The Torah says: “of every man whose maketh him willing ye shall take My offering” (Shemot 25:2).

            The question we can make to ourselves is why He directs only to those who willingly wish to donate and not to the whole people?

            There is a tale that can help us to understand this text from the Torah.

The story tells about a small country where its inhabitants mostly occupy in the wine production.  They exported wine to other countries and with the earnings they could live well.

One day, the president of this country, happened to revoke the taxes for his inhabitants could be happy.  To solve the state expenses, the president ask each one of the citizens to bring once a year, when they have bottled their wines, a liter of the best harvest wine and to empty it into a big barrel.  The idea was that with the sale of those liters of wine they will have enough money to cover health, education, etc.

The day of the contribution came and all the families came with their pitchers and emptied them in the national barrel.  At mid afternoon when the last citizen emptied his pitcher, and no one was missed, the president, very proud wanted to make a toast for such event.  The leader raised his glass and noticed that the content of the glass was transparent.  Slowly he put it close to his nose and confirmed that it was odorless.

He commanded and called all his counselors to find an explanation for such mystery.

The eldest of his ministers came close and whisper to his ear: Miracle?  Alchemy?  None of that.  Your citizens are humans, that’s all.

I don’t understand, said the president.

Let’s take for Example Joseph.  Joseph has a huge vineyard that extends from the mount to the river.  The grapes he harvest are from the best stock of the country and his wine is the first one to be sold and at the best price.

This morning, when he and his family were getting ready to come downtown, an idea crossed his mind: if I put water instead of wine, who will notice the difference?

One sole pitcher within fifteen thousand liters of wine… no one will notice the difference, nobody!

And nobody would have noticed, except for a detail, everyone thought the same way!

In this story, clearly, no one puts his heart for his country.  Everyone, absolutely everybody preferred to deceive his own nation and his people.

They behaved miserably, without being responsible for their function as citizens.

Maybe this is what the Torah wants to teach us.  We shall not be mediocre, let’s help to the construction of the present “Mishkanim” with the best we have.   With all our heart and with all our souls.

Doubtless, B’nei Israel was built with the good heart and effort of many people, B’nei Israel continues growing and getting stronger and for that reason it needs permanent good heart of its members.

Let’s give the best of us.  Let’s give our best wines and don’t deceive others and ourselves making as if we bring wine, when we are just bringing water.

The Mishkan was built with the good heart of many people.  In that country, because of good heart lacking, they lost their well being.

We shall not follow their footsteps; let’s continue the steps of our people when they built the Mishkan with effort, love and affection.