Emunah–Regaining Faith

Sources from essay by Rabbi Cheryl Rosenstein, DD in The Mussar Torah Commentary

Where the Golden Calf symbolized their lack of faith, the Mishkan stands for the emunah (faith) of the Israelites. However, such faith did not come easily to our ancestors, and it does not come easily to us today, either.
Enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years, the Israelites' faith was understandably weak. It was for their sake that God sent the plagues against Egypt, that they should witness God's power and faithfulness. In flight, flanked by Pharaoh's army on one side and the Reed Sea on the other, our ancestors' newfound faith flagged. Only after they had crossed the sea on dry land and had seen the waves close over their pursuers did their faith revive: "Who is like You, Eternal One, among the celestials?" (Exodus 15:11). Their faith reached a pinnacle at Mount Sinai-only to disintegrate in the debacle of the Golden Calf, when Moses's prolonged absence on the mountaintop enflamed their fears and doubts. The Israelites' crisis of faith precipitated God's reciprocal if momentary loss of faith in the people of Israel: "Now, let Me be, that My anger may blaze forth against them and that I may destroy them" (Exodus 32:10).
In the aftermath of the Golden Calf, when the remnant of thepeople stood punished, shattered, subdued, and repentant, God restored their dignity by asking something of them.
-Rabbi Cheryl Rosenstein

שמות ל״ט:ל״ג-מ׳

(לג) וַיָּבִ֤יאוּ אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּן֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶת־הָאֹ֖הֶל וְאֶת־כׇּל־כֵּלָ֑יו קְרָסָ֣יו קְרָשָׁ֔יו בְּרִיחָ֖ו וְעַמֻּדָ֥יו וַאֲדָנָֽיו׃ (לד) וְאֶת־מִכְסֵ֞ה עוֹרֹ֤ת הָֽאֵילִם֙ הַמְאׇדָּמִ֔ים וְאֶת־מִכְסֵ֖ה עֹרֹ֣ת הַתְּחָשִׁ֑ים וְאֵ֖ת פָּרֹ֥כֶת הַמָּסָֽךְ׃ (לה) אֶת־אֲר֥וֹן הָעֵדֻ֖ת וְאֶת־בַּדָּ֑יו וְאֵ֖ת הַכַּפֹּֽרֶת׃ (לו) אֶת־הַשֻּׁלְחָן֙ אֶת־כׇּל־כֵּלָ֔יו וְאֵ֖ת לֶ֥חֶם הַפָּנִֽים׃ (לז) אֶת־הַמְּנֹרָ֨ה הַטְּהֹרָ֜ה אֶת־נֵרֹתֶ֗יהָ נֵרֹ֛ת הַמַּֽעֲרָכָ֖ה וְאֶת־כׇּל־כֵּלֶ֑יהָ וְאֵ֖ת שֶׁ֥מֶן הַמָּאֽוֹר׃ (לח) וְאֵת֙ מִזְבַּ֣ח הַזָּהָ֔ב וְאֵת֙ שֶׁ֣מֶן הַמִּשְׁחָ֔ה וְאֵ֖ת קְטֹ֣רֶת הַסַּמִּ֑ים וְאֵ֕ת מָסַ֖ךְ פֶּ֥תַח הָאֹֽהֶל׃ (לט) אֵ֣ת ׀ מִזְבַּ֣ח הַנְּחֹ֗שֶׁת וְאֶת־מִכְבַּ֤ר הַנְּחֹ֙שֶׁת֙ אֲשֶׁר־ל֔וֹ אֶת־בַּדָּ֖יו וְאֶת־כׇּל־כֵּלָ֑יו אֶת־הַכִּיֹּ֖ר וְאֶת־כַּנּֽוֹ׃ (מ) אֵת֩ קַלְעֵ֨י הֶחָצֵ֜ר אֶת־עַמֻּדֶ֣יהָ וְאֶת־אֲדָנֶ֗יהָ וְאֶת־הַמָּסָךְ֙ לְשַׁ֣עַר הֶֽחָצֵ֔ר אֶת־מֵיתָרָ֖יו וִיתֵדֹתֶ֑יהָ וְאֵ֗ת כׇּל־כְּלֵ֛י עֲבֹדַ֥ת הַמִּשְׁכָּ֖ן לְאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד׃

Exodus 39:33-40

(33) Then they brought the Tabernacle to Moses, with the Tent and all its furnishings: its clasps, its planks, its bars, its posts, and its sockets; (34) the covering of tanned ram skins, the covering of dolphin skins, and the curtain for the screen; (35) the Ark of the Pact and its poles, and the cover; (36) the table and all its utensils, and the bread of display; (37) the pure lampstand, its lamps—lamps in due order—and all its fittings, and the oil for lighting; (38) the altar of gold, the oil for anointing, the aromatic incense, and the screen for the entrance of the Tent; (39) the copper altar with its copper grating, its poles and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand; (40) the hangings of the enclosure, its posts and its sockets, the screen for the gate of the enclosure, its cords and its pegs—all the furnishings for the service of the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting.

The gifts the Israelites bring for the construction of the Mishkan help them not only to create the sacred structure, but also to rebuild their faith in the invisible Deity. God has motivated and inspired the people with the promise "And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them" (Exodus 25:8)—a sort of "if-you-build-it-I-will-come" divine recognition that the fragile faith of the people requires presence, both God's and their own.
-Rabbi Cheryl Rosenstein

שמות מ׳:ל״ח

(לח) כִּי֩ עֲנַ֨ן יְהֹוָ֤ה עַֽל־הַמִּשְׁכָּן֙ יוֹמָ֔ם וְאֵ֕שׁ תִּהְיֶ֥ה לַ֖יְלָה בּ֑וֹ לְעֵינֵ֥י כׇל־בֵּֽית־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּכׇל־מַסְעֵיהֶֽם׃

Exodus 40:38

(38) For over the Tabernacle a cloud of יהוה rested by day, and fire would appear in it*in it I.e., in the cloud. by night, in the view of all the house of Israel throughout their journeys.

Another story, elsewhere in our tradition, builds on the notion of the fragility of our faith, while also adding a new layer of theology. In the biblical story, acts of emunah lead to renewed and strengthened faith of the people in their God. In the Rabbinic imagination, we learn that acts of faith also renew God's presence in this world. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the first-century mystic credited with writing the Zohar, taught [in Sifrei Devarim 346:2 below]:
-Rabbi Cheryl Rosenstein

ספרי דברים שמ״ו:ב׳

(ב)... וכן הוא אומר (שמות טו ב) זה אלי ואנוהו כשאני מודה לו הוא נאה וכשאין אני מודה לו כביכול בשמו הוא נאה. כיוצא בו (דברים לב ג) כי שם ה' אקרא כשאני קורא בשמו הוא גדול ואם לאו כביכול וכו' כיוצא בו (ישעיה מג יב) ואתם עדי נאם ה' ואני אל כשאתם עדיי אני אל וכשאין אתם עדיי כביכול איני אל כיוצא בו (תהלים קכג א) אליך נשאתי את עיני היושבי בשמים אילמלא אני כביכול לא היית יושב בשמים ואף כאן אתה אומר יחד שבטי ישראל כשהם עשוים אגודה אחת ולא כשהם עשוים אגודות אגודות סליק פיסקא

Sifrei Devarim 346:2

(2) It is written (Exodus 15:2): "This is my G-d and I will enshrine Him ("ve'anvehu"): When I acknowledge God, God is glorified, but when I do not acknowledge God, God is glorified onle in name." It is written: "For the name of the Eternal I proclaim; give glory to our God" (Deuteronomy 32:3). [This means:] "When I call God's name, God is great, but when I don't...it is as if God is not great]." It is written: "You are My witnesses, said the Eternal... and I am the One" (Isaiah 43:10). This means: "When you are My witnesses, I am God, but when you are not My witnesses, it is as if I am not God." It is written: "To You, enthroned in heaven, I turn my eyes" (Psalm 123:1). This means: "If it weren't for me, it is as if You would not be sitting in the heavens."

No wonder, then, that the words of the Sh'ma, affirming our faith, are embedded in our daily prayers: "Hear, O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is One!" (Deuteronomy 6:4). And no wonder that, by scribal tradition, the last letters of the first and last words of the Sh'ma שמע (ֿthe ayin (ע) of shma and the dalet (ד) of echad (אחד)-are written larger than all the other letters, those two oversized letter spelling the word eid (עד-"witness").
The paragraph that follows Deuteronomy 6:4, popularly referred to as V'ahavta, asserts that it is by our deeds, our adherence to the mitzvot, that we bear witness to God's Being. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai might say that by proclaiming our faith with our recitation of these sacred words and by evidencing our faith by fulfilling God's commandments, it is as if we unify and enthrone God in our world.
Faith appears to be both tender and transitory, while doubt and critical thinking seem to be built into the human genome.
-Rabbi Cheryl Rosenstein

It is only due to an inner conviction in our hearts, shared by every human being, that there is a Judge, that there is right and there is wrong. And so, when we see wrong, we demand an explanation: Why is this not the way it is supposed to be? That itself is belief in God.
-Lubavitcher Rebbe via Alan Morinis

God's emunah in us is manifest when God empowers us to build God's "house." Our ancestors' emunah was strengthened by the act of building that house, the physical space that reminded them that the Divine would reside in their midst. The narrative of the Mishkan teaches us that we build our faith not by means of spiritual encounters, but through the works of our own hands.
Perhaps emunah is built through acts of faith. Our faith grows when we work to make space for God in our lives. Whether we do this through prayer or meditation, or by performing acts of tzedakah or chesed, each of us has the ability to construct a space in which faith can be nurtured.
-Rabbi Cheryl Rosenstein

Questions to Ask

What tools do you have in hand to build, grow, or strengthen your own emunah?
Have you ever felt a deep connection with a "Greater Whole"? When was that?
How might you create, or re-create, that sense of connection?
Martin Buber taught that "God is between us." Is it possible to experience emunah in the mundane—for example, in (but not only in) nature?