They brought to the front of the Tent of Meeting the things that Moses had commanded, and the whole community came forward and stood before the Lord.
Vayikra/Leviticus 9:5
Rabbi Avraham ben Mordecai Azulai (1) begins his comment by first citing Rabbi Isaac Luria who wrote, “Every person is obligated to take upon themselves the positive command, “You shall love your fellow person as yourself” as a prelude to prayer.” Azulai then cites a teaching by Cha”zal, our ancient sages of blessed memory, from the Talmud stating that, “the term Amidah always means prayer”. Viewing our verse through these twin lenses Azulai reads the phrase, “and the whole community came forward” not in its literal sense of approaching the entrance to the Mishkan but rather as expressing that the people of Israel drew closer to each other, that they not only stood next to each other, but they stood with each other, supportive and connected in a deep, soulful manner.
Rabbi Azulai’s understanding of our verse resonates especially forcefully this Shabbat following our commemoration of Yom HaShoah yesterday and begin to look towards next week’s observance of Yom HaZikaron and celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut the next day. These days are truly moments when we are drawn to each other, supporting each other as we remember the horrors of the Shoah, the sacrifices made in creating and protecting the State of Israel, and celebrate the remarkable achievements of the Jewish state. These days push us to look past the real differences which exist within the Jewish world to see instead the souls of the Jewish people with whom we share a commitment to memorializing our shared history and celebrating the ongoing process of building the Jewish homeland as a reflection of our long-held values and dreams.
May the closeness these days evoke, the feelings of soulful connection, remain with us throughout the year so that we can stand with each, and for each other.
Shabbat Shalom –
Rabbi David M. Eligberg
1 Rabbi Avraham ben Mordecai Azulai (c. 1570–1643) was a Kabbalistic author and biblical commentator. Born in Fez, Morocco Azulai moved to Palestine in 1599 and settled in Hebron. Written sometime after 1619 his Kabalistic work Chesed le-Abraham (Mercy to Abraham) was published after the Azulai’s death by his student Meshullam Zalman ben Abraham Berak, in Amsterdam, in 1685.
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