It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update on our construction project. Here’s the latest:
Our progress has been slowed down somewhat due to the weather, which has been abysmal since January. We are currently about 19-20 days behind schedule, which is not that bad, considering how much snow, freezing rain, and high winds we’ve had to put with. Through it all, I’ve been consistently amazed at the stamina of the steelworkers, who will not miss a day unless it is absolutely impossible to be outside.
Now that the weather is comparatively milder, we hope to make up on some lost time. The workers are finishing up the final welding of all the steel griders and bolting metal decking on the floors of the structure. They’ve made literally thousands of welds to ensure the structural integrity of the building frame.
Next week workers will spot-drill holes in the steel where wiring and plumbing will eventually be installed, after which they will begin pouring the concrete for the floors. (If the weather is too cold, they will have to enclose the entire structure with tarps and heat the concrete with propane burners). By the end of the month, we hope to see our roof and walls in place.
The picture below gives you a good view of the arch for the main entry of the building, which will eventually be clad in Jerusalem stone.
We are still on track for LEED certification, and continue to aim for Gold level status. Stay tuned for more news on that front…
In honor of 
If you’re thinking of buying a Red Razr phone to fight AIDS in Africa, you might want to check out 
I’m willing to lay odds that this Purim there will be a fair share of Jewish commentators claiming that history is repeating itself in Shushan – that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the contemporary Haman come back to life to once again threaten the Jewish people with genocide. I’m also fairly sure that some of these pundits will even recommend that we should emulate the Jews of ancient Persia in the Purim story (see Esther 9:1-16) and launch a preemptive military strike against Iran to avert the coming cataclysm.
Worked to Death
The verses above, which come from this week’s portion Ki Tisa, are probably best known as “Veshamru” – the prayer/hymn featured in the Shabbat Evening service. It’s one of JRC’s favorites (particularly with the younger kids who love the jaunty melody.) I wonder, however, if Veshamru would be nearly as popular if we started singing just one verse earlier: “…whosoever does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death.”
While I expect most of us would consider it overly harsh to prescribe capital punishment for Shabbat transgressors, it might be helpful to view this verse as descriptive rather than prescriptive. In other words, let’s read it this way: “whosoever does work on the sabbath day will eventually work him/herself to death.”
Take a closer look at verse 17: “and on the seventh day, God rested and was renewed.” It is notable that the word for “renewed” (“vayinafash”) comes from the root nefesh, which refers to the life force or essence. This Godly act of renewal suggests that the need to replenish regularly is somehow woven into the very fabric of creation. Like the world itself, we are so designed as to require cyclical renewal.
Shabbat is thus the Jewish means of expressing this eternal truth: we ignore the importance of soul-rest at our peril. This insight speaks even more powerfully to a contemporary world in which workaholism is rampant; in which studies increasingly show the health dangers of enslavement to an unmitigated work week. According to medical experts, the stress caused by overwork has been linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, and other serious illnesses. By all indications, we are indeed working ourselves to death.
It is also indicative of our times that, sadly, we will only tend to rest when rest is “forced” upon us. Wayne Muller writes poignantly of this phenomenon in his book, “Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest:”
Postscript: this “renewal imperative” also has important public policy implications. In a 2003 article for the New York Times Magazine, journalist Judith Shulevitz suggested that the socially egalitarian nature of the Shabbat was revolutionary for its time. Moreover, Shabbat is considered by the Torah to be a remembrance of of Israel’s liberation from slavery in Egypt (see Deuteronomy 16:3). As Shulevitz concludes, the liberation of the soul is inextricably linked to the liberation of working men and women:
(Why not learn about interfaith labor advocacy in celebration of Shabbat Ki Tisa? Just click here for more info.)
→ 5 Comments
Posted in American Jewish Community, Judaism, Labor Justice, Religion, Torah Commentary