Tetzaveh: Temple Visions and Garments

Priestly Garments by Laya Crust

This week’s Parashah, Tetzaveh, describes the High Priest’s ceremonial robes. Details of the weavings, the breastplate, the gold bells, and tiny pomegranates fill the imagination with colour and texture.

In the previous Torah reading, Terumah, God outlined all the materials to be donated and collected to build the Mishkan. The Mishkan, a portable place of worship, would be crafted with exquisite textiles, gold, silver, and brass instruments. This week’s haftarah from the Book of Ezekiel also describes a place of prayer.

The prophet Ezekiel, the son of a Cohen, was among the 8,000 Jews to be exiled to Babylon in 597 BCE. He wrote the words of this haftarah while in exile. Ezekiel says that God carries him to the land of Israel and places him on top of a very high mountain where he sees something like the structure of a city. A man, seemingly made of brass, gives Ezekiel a tour of the future Temple.

Temple Floor Plan by Laya Crust

We read detailed descriptions of each element to be measured and positioned. The illustration above is based on a rendering of Solomon’s Temple from an illumination in an early 12th C. German manuscript. It shows the Temple’s floor plan. All the sacred objects in the floor plan seem to lie on the floor. I used the manuscript drawing because it is so unusual and delightful. It is a charming way for the viewer to see the Temple artifacts. The manuscript is currently in Vienna, Austria in the National Library.

The Jews were miserable. It was the 25th year of their exile in Babylon. God gave Ezekiel an incredible amount of information about the next Temple to share with the Jews. Hearing about the future Temple in Jerusalem, the Jews were optimistic that they would indeed return to their homes. A provision accompanied the details and plans. The Temple would only be restored if the Jews were repentant and corrected their behaviours and observances.

We will fast-forward almost 2,550 years. Under Jordanian rule, Jews were forbidden to pray at the Western Wall from 1948 until 1967. When Israeli forces liberated Jerusalem in 1967, Jews were once again free to go to the Kotel, the only remaining wall of the Second Temple. We don’t have a Third Temple, but we have a unified Jerusalem, and we can pray at the Kotel. This remnant of the Temple should be a place of acceptance and harmony, and it should be a place where all Jews can speak to God in their own way.

As always, let’s pray for peace and harmony.

Shabbat Shalom,

Laya

Mattot- Masei

Jeremiah’s Despair Laya Crust

It is the height of summer and we are observing a period of mourning leading up to Tisha B’Av, the day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples. There are three “Haftarahs of Rebuke” which are read in the three weeks preceding Tisha B’Av, all words from the prophet Jeremiah. On this week’s Shabbat we read two parshas: Mattot and Masei.

Jeremiah was a prophet whose life spanned the reign of 5 kings. It was a tumultuous time in Jewish history, a time of idolatry and war. Jeremiah warned B’nei Yisrael that they were going to be punished for their idol worship, . At the end of his life, in 586 BCE, Judah was destroyed and Jerusalem was sacked by Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah, who was reviled for his messages, escaped to Egypt but the majority of Jews were exiled to Babylon. The illustration I created for Mattot is an homage to Art Spiegelman’s “Maus”. I have drawn Jeremiah looking out of his window watching his beloved city’s destruction.

The path the Israelites followed from Egypt to Canaan is described in great detail in the first 49 verses of the parsha Masei. It was a long and arduous journey for the Israelites and they strayed from Gd’s lessons throughout.

The Perilous Desert Journey Laya Crust

In the haftarah of Masei the prophet Jeremiah reminded B’nei Yisrael how Gd led His people “out of the land of Egypt, through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death…. And into a land of fruitful fields…” (ch.2: 6,7). 

There is negativity and sadness in the haftarah. Jeremiah reminded B’nei Israel of the difficult trek through the desert and how Gd protected and took them to the Promised Land. Then Jeremiah describes B’nei Yisrael’s sins. At the very end of the haftarah Jeremiah mitigates the message slightly by telling the people that if they return to Gd “in sincerity, justice and righteousness nations will bless themselves by you and praise themselves by you.”

The word “איך”- How? is used twice in the haftarah asking how Israel can have changed so much, turning to sinning and base behaviour. This reminds us of the word “איכה”- the Hebrew word for “Lamentations”. On the Ninth of Av we will read the book of “Lamentations”.

Messages from the haftarah still resonate today. We are blessed to be in the “Land of Milk and Honey”, creating, cultivating, and helping nations in need. During these three weeks Jews all over the world will read Jeremiah’s words and hopefully try to improve themselves and society around them. Have a good week, and let’s look forward to a time of jubilation and more positive growth.

The artwork featured in this and most of my blogs is part of a collection of art created to illustrate the haftarahs read throughout the year. Currently the collection is on exhibit at the Beth Tzedec Synagogue in Toronto, Canada. It is a great exhibit of my work and will be on display to the end of December, 2019. And, to let you know, I am currently working on a book of the art pieces and accompanying commentary. Exciting!!!! Have a Shabbat Shalom, Laya

The Etrog- NeHedar! (Splendid!)

photo by Fort Tryon Jewish Center

It is the holiday of Sukkot, a beautiful holiday when we eat in a sukkah (a small structure with tree boughs in place of a roof) and make blessings over the lulav and etrog. It says in the Torah, “And you will take on the first day fruit of splendid trees, (עץ פרי הדר), branches of date palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook…” The Rabbis put the elements together to create the lulav and etrog as we know it. A palm branch is gathered into a bundle with myrtle and willow branches. And of course the עץ פרי הדר- the splendid fruit- is the etrog or citron.

art by Laya Crust

The question is, how was the etrog chosen? It is not native to Israel and it’s inedible. Where did it originate, how did it arrive in Israel, and why was it chosen to be used as the splendid and magnificent fruit?

It seems to be widely agreed that the etrog didn’t reach Israel until the period of the Second Temple. It was native to Persia- archeologists have found evidence of it dating back over 4,000 years.  There are references to the etrog in Indian literature dating to 800 BCE. It was taken to Greece by traders. It seems it made its way to Israel after the campaigns of Alexander the Great.  It was so unusual, beautiful and aromatic it isn’t surprising that it was chosen to be the beautiful fruit to accompany the lulav.

 

Bar Kochba coins

 

 

Mosaic from Tiberian Synagogue

 

 

Those who have tried to eat an etrog or make etrog jam know that it is beautiful and smells heavenly, but the fruit is bitter and needs a lot of help to become edible. I wondered how it was used in Indian and Persian cooking. It seems that it is used mostly for medicinal purposes- in teas, and mixed with oils to use as ointments. The fruit is never eaten on its own since it’s so bitter. But it is used for tea infusions, made with sugar for etrog jam or marmalade, the zest is used in rice and as a colourful accent, and some people candy it then dip it ion chocolate…that sounds like fun!

photo by Fort Tryon Jewish Center

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into the history of the beautiful, perfumed etrog. Enjoy your Sukkot, and maybe try something new with your etrog- but use an organically grown one !

Chag Sameach, Laya