Tetzaveh

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Purim! This week's portion is about... priests?

nope not that guy.

I'm talking about Jewish priests (aka those guys who were in charge of the Tabernacle) 

Aaron and his sons were chosen to be the priests. The torah turns into a fashion manual by giving detailed instructions to the priests to weave gold into their clothing and *GASP* wear wool and linen together etc. This whole wool and linen thing comes from an obscure law saying that we can't wear the two fabrics together... but no one knows why. So if these priests were so fashionable, does that mean they were in charge of the Fabernacle? Or maybe the Swaggernacle? Hmm I'll have to consult Rabbi and get back to you on that...

Now that the Tabernacle was set up, it needed something to make it special. It already had the material beauty of gold, silver and bronze but the spiritual element was missing. The Israelites are commanded to bring pure olive oil and light a Ner Tamid. We still have one on our sanctuary (yes it uses a lightbulb but the times have obviously changed)

The lesson I'm taking from all of this is that beautiful things are holy things. Sure, gold and silver are pretty but when you give them a spiritual meaning they become holy. I'm not telling you to worship gold (we'll talk about that next week), I'm telling you to make yourself feel beautiful. This weekend, treat your body like a temple and adorn yourself with what ever makes you feel good. Sparkles, your favorite outfit, a perfume you save for special occasions, whatever! And make sure you share your holy beauty with others :)

Mishpatim

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Valentine's Day! I am currently in sunny Atlanta, Georgia for NFTY Convention 2015! It's going to be a weekend filled with amazing speakers, new friends and exploring Atlanta :)

This week's portion is about laws. I'm no Jewish law expert and I'm also not home so here is a video from Godcast explaining everything. My favorite part is the description of God's sapphire pedestal, I had no idea that was a thing! I also find it interesting that Moses wrote down the laws that God gave him on a scroll, as if he was writing a big post-it note so he wouldn't forget! I need post-its for just about everything so thinking of God's laws as one big, holy post-it is pretty cool. Holy post-it note, Batman! Over this long weekend, write yourself a note reminding yourself of something important and put it where you can see it every day. That's one small thing you can do to make your life a little brighter until Spring.

Yitro

Shabbat Shalom! This week's portion is all about a dude named Yitro (Jethro), Moses' father-in-law (No, not Jethro Tull aka that band with the flute).

Fun fact, Yitro is actually not a Jew! Say what now? Yeah Moses married a Midianite named Tzipporah, a perfect example of an interfaith marriage right there. So anyways, Moses is the leader of the Israelites at this point but he's a bit frazzled by the job he has to undertake. Moses is the lone judge of the people basically. He has to decide who gets possession of what, who is responsible if there is an accident and how crops are divided. Moses is seriously stressed and his father-in-law wants him to spend more time with the family. What's a guy to do? Here's where Yitro comes in.

Instead of complaining to Moses about their lack of family bonding, Yitro comes of with a plan to help. He tells Moses that a system of judges can be set up to alleviate the stress of his job and give him the balance he needs in his life. This is the perfect solution! You go, Yitro :)

Next, the Israelites go to Mount Sinai where they are prepared for 3 days and then get the Ten Commandments directly from God. The Israelites say that "All that God has spoken we will do."

The Israelites are scared of God's power so they ask Moses to to be their messenger to God.

^^^wait hold up Maia, you just wrote a whole thing on some random goy that you've never even heard of and practically skipped over the 10 Commandments? What the heck! 

I know, self, it's crazy right? Here's the deal: 1. This entire portion is named after one guy, so he must be pretty important. 2. These are not the real 10 commandments. The final tablets come into play in a few weeks so stay tuned!

Since Yitro is so important, the lesson we get from him is this: look for a solution first instead of complaining to someone that they are not doing enough. Instead of whining about what you hate, go and fix it! Trust me, you'll feel good that you helped you friend and your friend will appreciate the help!