The Ikea on Community Building

IKEA. The name alone triggers a range of emotions and reactions. For some, it gets them excited about the prospect of finding lower-priced furniture and awakens the dormant handyman within them. For others, IKEA is just a four-letter word. They are not excited about assembling their toddler's new dresser and would rather pay a little extra for a finished product. The much-touted Swedish meatballs (they are kosher at the locations in Israel) in the cafeteria don’t move the needle. Indeed, many psychologists have noted the marital discord that accompanies visits to Ikea. They note the maze-like store layout, overwhelming choices, and complex, self-assembled furniture create a "perfect storm" for relationship stress. These situations fuel power struggles over money and design, test communication under pressure, and often reveal deeper, underlying issues about trust, division of labor, and shared, long-term goals. There is a strange choice of verb in the opening of our Parsha. G-d tells Moshe to speak to the Israelites so that they will “take for Me a contribution.” The Hebrew verb is veyikchu, literally “and they shall take,” though some English translations smooth this to “bring.” The choice of verb is precisely what catches the commentators’ attention, because we would expect veyitnu, “to give.” Why would the Torah describe giving as taking? Our Rabbis taught that this linguistic reversal reveals an essential aspect of generosity. When we contribute to something larger than ourselves, we expand. The act of giving creates ownership in a way that passive receiving never can. By releasing our resources into a shared project, we acquire a stake in what that project becomes. G-d created a home for humanity in the world; in our Parsha, humanity creates a home for G-d in the Mishkan. The parallel is deliberate. God does not need a physical dwelling any more than the Infinite needs furniture. But building on behalf of another creates a relationship. The Mishkan allowed Israel to reciprocate God’s creative generosity, and in that reciprocal act of making, they became bound to what they made. Since the Mishkan, there have been 3,300 years of Jewish community building following the original formula. As in those times, there are roughly three categories of people who interact with kehila building. There are builders, detractors, and spectators. Interestingly, my observations indicate that the builders and detractors represent a minority of the demographic pie. It is the spectators who occupy most of the seats. However one feels about the Ikea model, when it comes to the Jewish community, it is most important to evolve from a spectator to a builder. ​ Have a Peaceful Shabbos, ​ Rabbi Yaakov Fisch