My first public speech in Hebrew

Last night, at our congregation, Emet v'Shalom, in Nahariya, I delivered the drasha (sermon). This is the first time I have ever done a speech in Hebrew. If you'd like to read it (in Hebrew), click here to go to my Hebrew blog where I posted it.

If you don't read Hebrew but would like to know what I said, here's my English translation:

Shabbat Shalom!

This week's Torah portion is Parashat T'rumah. The portion is full of exact details regarding the construction of the Tabernacle in the desert and regarding its furnishings and utensils. This portion is very important for anyone who wants to know all the details about ancient worship in Judaism. But for people who are not that interested in such details, there's not much that's interesting in this portion.

I also read the haftara, and I was not surprised that it described the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem by King Solomon. Of course, the Tabernacle built in the desert was the model for the Temple.

When we read these part of the Tanakh, we immediately understand how different the ancient Jewish ceremonies were from the ones we know today. We have no Temple, and we don't bring sacrifices. Instead, we pray many prayers, most of which were composed after Temple times. Maybe it would be interesting to think about how our ancestors felt when they performed these ceremonies. What connection did they sense to God? Was it similar to the connection we sense today? I don't know the answers to these questions, but it's interesting to consider the questions, I think.

Probably all of us have been to Jerusalem and have seen the Temple Mount. But it's definitely impossible to see the Temple itself! The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, and the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans. Nevertheless, it IS possible to see the foundations of a temple similar to the First Temple.

When King Solomon died, there was a rebellion, and the northern part separated from the kingdom and became a second kingdom. The king of this new kingdom was Jeroboam. But he had a problem. Of course he didn't want the people going up to Jerusalem, because it was the capital of the old kingdom, and so there was a danger that the people would want to become part of that kingdom once again.

So Jeroboam built two new temples, one in Bethel, which is in Samaria, and the other in Dan. We can assume that these temples were similar to the Temple in Jerusalem so that the people would consent to go up to them instead of going up to Jerusalem.

Today, it's possible to go to Tel Dan, which is not far from Kiryat Shmona. There, archeologists have found the foundation of this temple! I very much recommend this place to anyone who wants to imagine what the Temple in Jerusalem was like. Also, there are many springs there and thus a lot of water. Highly recommended!

Shabbat Shalom!