On completing the construction of the Mishkan - the portable Tabernacle which the Israelites transported on their journey from Mt. Sinai to the land of Canaan - the glory of God descended upon it and "filled it". In fact the Pillar of Cloud rested on it by day and the Pillar of Fire by night. (Ex.40:34-38) In this way, the book of Exodus reached its conclusion.
The book of Leviticus opens with the word vaYik'ra - "He called out toMoses; and the LORD spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying..." (Lev.1:1)
Rashi takes the opportunity to reflect on the nature of the Divine Communication. He informs us that, in fact, every time God "spoke", "said" or "commanded" Moses, He preceded it by calling out to him. It's as if God would call out "Moses, Moses" and once He had Moses' attention, He would only then proceed to instruct him. Rashi goes on to say that this "calling out" is associated with affection for the one being called. It is an expression used by the Ministering Angels as it says (Isaiah) "They (the angels) called out (my italics) one to another..." to encourage one another in their praise of God.
So even though the Torah doesn't explicitly say anything about God doing this before each and every statement, our tradition interprets this verse as the prime example of just how much love God had for Moses when He communicated with him.
Of course, there is a suggestion just to how much thought we put into the way we communicate with others. How much do we think about the need to find ways to prepare a person for what we are about to say; to let them know in no uncertain terms just how much respect, or affection we have for them... and this certainly doesn't have to be limited to family and friends.
We note with sadness the passing of Henry Eisenkramer who, among other musical contributions he made to the St. Louis community, directed our choir during the sixties. He is survived by his wife Mildred (née Molasky) and sons Larry and Robert. Larry's son, Eric Eisenkrameris a rabbi in Ridgefield Ct.
Just this past Tuesday, Victor Shafarenko passed away. He is survived by his wife of almost forty years Nadia and his two sons Alex and Michael. Victor, who was originally born in Moscow, spent much of his career traveling to Russia representing US corporations servicing the railroad industry.
On Sunday, BSKI is privileged to host the Jewish Family and Children's Service for its Annual Meeting. The JF & CS plays a vital role in our community in providing much-needed social services on a whole host of levels: from counseling individuals and families to operating the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry. As many of you know so well, our current economy has compelled many more people - Jews and non-Jews to take advantage of this vital service. I'm pleased to say that members of BSKI have shouldered their responsibility in supporting the Pantry: our Social Action Committee has prepared soup packages and other supplies and many of our members have donated actively through our Food Baskets displayed every Shabbat Morning on the Bima in the Allen Sanctuary.
My personal thanks to all who have offered their support to this vital resource so willingly.
May this Shabbat bring you and your family the peace and happiness you so richly deserve and may you always sense the nearness of the Divine Presence.
