Weekly Newsletter

Shabbat Shekalim - Terumah
Week of February 28th, 2025
Shevat /Adar 5785
Wishing you and your family 
Shabbat Shalom and a Happy Rosh Chodesh Adar!
Mishenichnas Adar, Marbin B'Simcha

Friday February 28th ,2025 * 30 Shevat 5785

• Erev Shabbat: Candle lighting at 5:28 pm

• Shacharit Services in Shul will begin promptly at 9:30 am, followed by a Kiddush.

• StantonKIDS will take place from 10:30 -12:00. We hope to see many familiar faces and also new ones! 

• Weekly Shiur with Rabbi Birkeland- in person and on  ZOOM ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Birthdays:
Friday, February 28, 2025   •   30 Shevat 5785- Rosh Chodesh Adar

•  Happy Hebrew Birthday to Alan Roditi!

Sunday, March 2, 2025   •   2 Adar 5785

•  Happy Hebrew Birthday to Jonah Sampson-Boyarin

• Esther Rivkah bat Yaakov Meir

Torah Inspiration with Rabbi Birkerland

Dear friends,
This week we read Parshas Terumah in which we learn about the design and function of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), along with all of its vessels. God shows and describes for Moshe the design of the Ark of the Covenant, the special table for the show bread, the menorah, and the component parts of the Mishkan itself. Moshe is to collect the materials from those who desire to give and is tasked with overseeing the production of this new institution.
The Mishkan serves a unique purpose in Jewish life; one that was later embodied in the Temple in Jerusalem and which has no true analogue today. At the beginning of the parshah, God says “and they shall make for Me a sanctuary so that I may dwell among them” (Ex. 25:8). The Hebrew word mishkan essentially translates to “dwelling place” and it is here that we were commanded to gather during holidays and to offer up sacrifices. It also becomes the primary place in which God and Moshe interact. When the Mishkan is actually erected in Parshas Pekudei, we are told “And the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of God filled the Mishkan” (Ex. 40:34). To whatever extent such a thing can be possible, the Mishkan served as a place in which the presence of God could be perceived in a tangible way.
One of the deepest things about Jewish monotheism is also one of the most challenging. As we read just two weeks ago, it is entirely forbidden to build any kind of statue or make any kind of depiction that represents God. We direct our prayers towards, and center our spiritual lives around, an invisible and largely transcendent Deity. This can be challenging in any generation but was just about impossible for the generation that left Egypt, for though they would cry out to the God of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, they would, at the same time, worship Egyptian idols. In another two weeks we will read about the episode of the Golden Calf in which the Israelites slid back into these old habits. We see that it is tempting and can be easier to focus one’s spiritual energy when there is something tangible to relate to.
There is a debate among the commentators as to when construction of the Mishkan was commanded to Moshe. Even though it is recounted before the Golden Calf, many commentators say that the Mishkan was only commanded afterwards and in response to it. When it was clear that relating to an invisible Being was too esoteric, God commanded a building in which God would manifest and be accessible in a way that was more down to Earth, literally.
Given all of this, I would like to suggest that the Mishkan models a certain type of religious engagement. It starts as a group project where people donate the necessary materials. The artisans then bring the vision to fruition. Once completed, this is the place to bring sacrifices, this is the place to gather on holidays, this is the place to come and encounter the Divine head-on as individuals but also as a people. Holiness and religiosity are often presented as in the purview of the holy individual, divorced from the broader world around. A personal, intimate, separate relationship with the Almighty is certainly an important part of a healthy spiritual life but the closest we can come to actually seeing, hearing, and perceiving God, is only in the context of the deep communal ties engendered and embodied by this central Tent of Meeting. 
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Birkeland

Women's Tefillah Group
GET READY FOR PURIM!!!


We will gather together on March 13, 2025 for a Megillat Esther Reading. We hope you join us!
If you would like to layn, lead services, or give a d'var Torah with us, or if you have questions, please be in touch!

StantonKIDS
Shabbat Programming for 5785

Dear Stanton Community, 
Thank G-d in recent weeks we have been welcoming back Israeli hostages returning from Gaza. Israeli citizens are still hostages in Gaza. You can find information on them and on their families' efforts to release them  here. Over 1,800 Israelis are dead with many more wounded. There are also innocent civilians caught in the line of fire in Gaza and Lebanon. 
 
This has been an unprecedented and the most deadly attack on Israel in a generation. We must take action!

In addition to our prayers, we ask you to consider making a generous donation to one of the listed causes.
 
The One who makes peace on high,
may He bring peace down below to us.
Amen

ONLINE ARCHIVES

If you missed services this past shabbes, or arrived too late to hear the drasha, you can go to our archives and read a copy! 
Click here for an archive of shiurim
Click here for an archive of drashot
Click here to go to our YouTube Channel for an archive of all of our ZOOM classes