Parshat Pekudei begins by reiterating the critical roles of Betzalel and Oholiav in the construction of the Mishkan. Earlier Rashi noted that when the Torah mentions Betzalel or Oholiav, it often makes the point of providing their lineage: not only the names of their fathers, but also identifying the tribe from which they come.

“Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah…..With him was Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan….”(38:21-22)

Rashi explains that the tribe of Dan was the least respected tribe, as Dan was the son of a maidservant; while the tribe of Yehuda was the most respected tribe, the tribe of leadership and monarchy. The Torah wants us to understand that in order for the Mishkan Campaign to be successful, it needed to include, and be supported by, a full spectrum of Jews.

Last Friday, I joined 22 of my rabbinic colleagues from Young Israel synagogues across the country in signing a statement of concern directed towards National Council of Young Israel. NCYI is an umbrella organization with over 100 “branches” (ie independent Orthodox synagogues that utilize the name “Young Israel”). It’s stated mission is to “broaden the appeal of the traditional community synagogue as the central address for Jewish communal life by providing educational, religious, social, spiritual, and communal programming." The organization traces its beginnings to 1912 when a group of young Orthodox Jews decided to do what they could to make Orthodox Judaism more relevant to their peers, and combat the wave of assimilation.

I have a lot of respect and appreciation for what National Council has accomplished for Orthodox Jewry in the 20^th century. They provided interest-free loans to help Orthodox synagogues get off the ground, thereby enriching the landscape of Orthodox Jewish communities across the country. I grew up attending a Young Israel, and I attribute my chosen career path to my experiences in my hometown shul. Recently NCYI convened a very successful Parenting Panel at our shul.

In the last few years NCYI has increased its political advocacy work and its press releases, both in terms of the quantity, as well as the breadth of issues that it comments on. This includes press releases on issues related to both policies and politics, in the United States and in Israel.

An Orthodox synagogue umbrella group should be both patriotic and Zionistic, ie find ways to support Israel and the United States, in both word and action. However in today’s hyper-partisan climate, my colleagues and I feel that NCYI should be careful when and what it comments on and how those views are expressed. Not every news item or current event, here or in Israel, requires a press release or statement. Since the platform for NCYI to issue press releases is built on the fact that it “represents” thousands of Orthodox Jewish families (approximately 5,000 of which are represented by the 23 congregations that initially signed the statement), we feel that there needs to be a transparent and inclusive process before statements are released “in our names”. Furthermore as a matter of priorities, we believe that NCYI should focus on synagogue services and advocacy work that directly impacts and benefits synagogues and their constituents, and not on press releases that can be partisan and divisive.

We must be vigilant that political views are never a litmus test for membership and involvement in our shul. We are a diverse community- and that diversity extends into the realm of politics. Everyone is welcome to be a part of our shul; so long as you subscribe to our vision of a model synagogue community built on Torah and Mitzvot, a trajectory of religious growth, and a culture of caring. We are each entitled to our opinions about politics and policies- both US and Israeli (and as Rabbi, I sometimes choose to share my opinions from the pulpit). But conflicting political positions should never be conflated into interpersonal conflict within our shul. We should be able to share our shul with those with whom we disagree. We must always remember, that like the Mishkan, our miniature Mishkan only realizes its potential when the full spectrum of committed Jews is included and involved.