Spotlight Dvar Torah : Trumah

“The Chosen People—Under all Circumstances?

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner Beit-El

The idea that G-d dwells amongst the Israelites is a fundamental one in the Bible, stated repeatedly: In today’s parasha, “That I may dwell among them” (Ex. 28:8), as well as “I will abide among the Israelites” (Ex. 29:45), “I will dwell in your midst” (Zech. 2:14-15), to cite but a few. Is G-d’s presence among us contingent upon our behavior, and is it likely to be cancelled if we are sinful? Two verses would seem to indicate that this reality is eternal and irrevocable: “I will abide among the children of Israel, and I will never forsake My people Israel” (I Kings 6:13), “and I will dwell among them forever” (Ezek. 43:9).

We find the following polemic in Tractate Yoma 56b: “A Christian said to Rabbi Haninah: Now [since the Destruction] you [Jews] are surely impure, as attested by the scriptural verse, ‘Her uncleanness clings to her skirts’ (Lament. 1:9).” Said Rabbi Haninah to him, “Come and see what is written about them: ‘which abides with them in the midst of their uncleanness’ (Lev. 16:16).” The simple meaning of the verse is that the Tent of Meeting resides amongst them, but R. Haninah took it to mean that the Divine Presence remains, even in the midst of their uncleanness. One of the theological tenets of Christianity is that Israel was chosen by G-d conditionally and their chosen status was revoked because of their sins. R. Haninah countered that this status was irrevocable.
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