Reading Exodus with Leon Kass: The Place Where God Dwells

This week, we learn that God wants to be known not only as the Israelites' deliverer from bondage but also as an immediate and permanent presence in their lives.

Once a week, Mosaic has taken to publishing brief excerpts of Leon R. Kass’s new book on Exodus, Founding God’s Nation. Curious about one of the foundational texts of the Jewish tradition? Read along with us. To read earlier excerpts, go here.

This week, Jewish communities all over the world begin their study of Exodus 27:20-30:10, a portion of the text named T’tsaveh. Having instructed Moses in the construction of the Tabernacle, the Lord now begins to discuss the officials and priests who will minister there. Much of this week’s passage is concerned with an elaborate description of priestly vestments, and with various sacrifices that priests will perform. Then, God reveals the purpose of the Tabernacle, the subject of this week’s excerpt from Leon Kass.

The point [concerning God’s presence in relation to the Israelites] is made more explicit in the immediate sequel, which provides a ringing conclusion to the instructions for the Tabernacle. It offers a surprising revelation about the purpose of the Tabernacle and of the whole story that we have been reading from the beginning of Exodus—even of the entire Torah:

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