The sadness we feel at Rabbi Feldman's z"l passing is still with us, as it will be for a long time. And yet this Shabbat the Torah reading schedule inexorably brings us to Shirat Hayam, the Song of the Sea.

Every so often we read in the Torah a verse or two that grabs us and won't let go. This week I was moved anew by Exodus 19:4-6, "I lifted you up on eagle's wings and I brought you to me...and you will be a treasure for Me from among all nations, for all the earth is Mine. And you will be for Me a nation of priests and a holy people..."

I am often asked "What do you think is the essence of Judaism?" Usually my response is based squarely on a quote from this week's Torah portion. In Exodus 24:5-8 we readers are given front-row seats at the ritual that Moses performed to confirm the Israelites in the covenant that God had proposed to them on the mountain.

"Build me a sanctuary," said God. It was the culmination of God's creation that God would have a pied-a-terre in the finite realm. Designed for human operation, the sanctuary would be a sophisticated piece of spirituaI tech ware that would initiate a easy, user-friendly interface between humans and the divine.