This week's parasha focuses on describing the holy sanctuary (Mishkan/Tabernacle) that the Israelites would build for the worship of God. Beyond descriptions of the sanctuary tent itself, the Torah includes details about the Ark of the Covenant and its golden cover with the two cherubim. It also describes the seven branched golden menorah, the bread table, the brass alter, and the various implements used by the high priest along with his vestments.

The level of detail used in the portion is quite amazing, painting a vivid picture for the reader. But the most often referenced sections are the opening few lines, which describe how people were asked to donate building materials for the sanctuary. Gold, silver and copper were required along with various fabrics, animal skins, acacia wood, oil, lapis lazuli stones and more. For God to "dwell amongst them" (Exodus 25:8) the Israelite people had to make a sacrifice and donate their goods to the sanctuary. All great efforts require sacrifice and the building of the sanctuary was no different.

The idea of sacrifice in order for a society to achieve its shared vision is central to this week's portion. Today, you only need to turn on the news to see this story playing out again in the Middle East. In Egypt and other Arab nations we witness people rising up to demand liberty and freedom from their governments. People wonder what this means for the Israeli peace process and for the future of the state of Israel, both questions this NY Times Op-Ed attempts to answer. And there are certainly anti-Semitic undertones to some of the protests. But then again, the Egyptian government is also using anti-Semitism to try to label journalists as Israeli spies and blame Jews for the protests. So what should Jews think about all of this?

As the Egyptian people make their joint sacrifice in the hopes of building a democratic society, Jews around the world and in Israel must make it clear that we support the Egyptian people, despite our fears. This was summed up beautifully in an article in HaAretz, the Israeli newspaper. Of course we want Egypt to emerge as a democratic society that values peace with Israel and will continue to be a partner in building a stable Middle East. If we fail at this critical moment to voice our support for the Egyptian people because of our fears of an uncertain future, we will only alienate the Egyptian people and push them further away from a shared vision of peace. As our Torah portion reminds us, building something great and beautiful - like a free democratic state in Egypt - requires sacrifice. The contribution of the Jewish people around the world must be our unequivocal support for the protesters risking their lives for liberty, despite what that may mean for our own future.

Image Credit: Getty Images/Khaled Desouki

Did you know that a UFO visited Jerusalem last Friday? Neither did I. Yet this is one of the top Israel-related news stories that came across my desk as I was searching for interesting blog topics this week. According to witnesses, a bright light descended on the Dome of the Rock, traveling rapidly downward before hovering for a moment and then shooting into the sky.

As the Forward reports, the internet is abuzz with theories. Was it a spaceship? Alien visitors? An Israeli drone? Or was it, as some suggest, evidence of a galactic governance council? Click here to view video footage on YouTube. This video in particular shows two separate videos that have been spliced together. AOL has attempted to debunk at least one of them, but as you can see in comments on the Forward's article - not everyone is convinced.

What do you think is going on in these videos?

The Arty Semite recently published a fantastic article about an American journalist and photographer who spent the last decade collecting the life stories and photographs of elderly Jews living in Central Europe. Named Edward Serotta, his collection is now on display at the Beth Tfiloh School in Baltimore and contains 1,200 transcribed interviews and 22,000 family photographs. The exhibition has been on display in Atlanta, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Los Angeles as well. When it opened in October at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, CA, Serotta said something that I think rings true:

"We need to redress the fact that American and Israeli Jewish teenagers go on trips to Europe and come away knowing more about Hitler, Himmler and Goebbels than they do about Freud, Mahler and Kafka... We need to reclaim Jewish greatness in this part of the world."

Serotta's work inspired him to create Centropa, a "Vienna and Budapest-based non-profit NGO that uses advanced technologies to preserve Jewish memory." In addition to creating exhibitions, Centropa staff write curricula, teach workshops and put together short biographical films made with photos and interviews collected over the years. The Arty Semite's post included one video about Vienna resident Herbert Lewin. Called "Stories From My Life," it is definitely worth watching.

Click here to see all of Centropa's films on YouTube.

Image via Centropa.

This week's Torah portion contains much of the legal code governing ancient Israelite society. The laws given cover everything from criminal matters like murder and kidnapping to civil matters such as property damages and how strangers, orphans and widows are to be treated. The portion concludes with God detailing how the Israelites will come to possess the land of Canaan. Then Moses performs a sacrifice and is instructed to ascend the mountain where he will remain for forty days and nights while he receives the tablets containing the commandments.

One of the laws contained in the parashah is probably familiar to all of us from our grade school days. I still remember the first and only time I was ever called to the principal's office growing up (in the first grade) for playing a practical joke on a classmate. Being six years old at the time, I of course gave the excuse "everyone else was doing it."  To which the principal sagely replied, "If all of your friends were jumping off a bridge would you do that to?"

The Torah was familiar with this moral principle, Exodus 23:2 reads, "Do not follow after the many in doing evil." It is always easy to follow along with the majority when they are misbehaving and doing wrong. When the flow of traffic is 10 MPH above the speed limit most of us speed. When we hear a juicy rumor, how often do we pass it on figuring the person we tell it to probably already heard it from someone else anyway?  But this kind of thinking conditions us to follow the crowd and hinders our ability to thoughtfully respond to each moral/ethical question as it arises. As Mark Twain once famously wrote, "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." Parashah Mishpatim reminds us of this as well. As good people, it is our responsibility to stand up to the majority when they are in the wrong and defend our beliefs even when it is inconvenient.

Image Credit: Getty Images/Jose Luis Pelaez