Parshat Vayakhel - Pekudei
Moshe Rabbeinu exhorts Bnei Yisrael to keep Shabbat, and requests donations for the materials for making the Mishkan. He collects gold, silver, precious stones, skins and yarn, as well as incense and olive oil for themenorah and for anointing. The princes of each tribe bring the precious stones for the Kohen Gadol's breastplate and ephod.
The Book of Shmot concludes with this Parsha. After finishing all the different parts, vessels and garments used in the Mishkan, Moshe gives a complete accounting and enumeration of all the contributions and of the various clothing and vessels which had been fashioned. Bnei Yisrael bring everything to Moshe. He inspects the handiwork and notes that everything was made according to
Vayakhel: From the Mundane to the Sublime
“…and the seventh day shall be holy to you…” (35:2)
Rashi: “The Torah places the exhortation of Shabbat before the commanding of the labors of the Mishkan.”
The list of skilled labors necessary for the construction of the Mishkan and the observance of Shabbat appear both in this week’s Parsha and in last week’s Torah portion. But with an interesting difference: In last week’s parsha the skilled labors of the Mishkan precede the observance of Shabbat, whereas in this week’s parsha the order is reversed.
The Golden Calf was a defining moment in Jewish history. Before the Golden Calf, even mundane labor was suffused with holiness so that those labors could act as preparations to the holiness of Shabbat. After the Golden Calf, however, those labors lost their innate holiness and became worldly and non-spiritual. Thus, in this week’s parsha Shabbat is mentioned first because through Shabbat the potential still exists to raise mundane labor to the level of the Mishkan, the level of the sublime.
Pekudei: A World of Blessing
“A hundred sockets for a hundred kikar…” (38:27)
There’s an elderly lady who sits in a nursing home in New York. Every day, this is what she says, “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift of
How does a person sensitize himself to the present that is the here-and-now?
Our Sages mandated that we recite at least one hundred blessings every day. Making blessings helps to remind us constantly of all the blessings that surround us: The ability to see, to think, to enjoy the smell of fruit and flowers, the sight of the sea or great mountains, the sight of royalty, eating a new season fruit, or seeing an old friend for the first time in years. We have blessings when a baby is born, when a loved one dies.
When we surround ourselves with blessings we surround ourselves with blessing.
The Hebrew word beracha (blessing) is linked to the word bereicha, which means a pool of water.
Amongst other things a beracha must include is the Hebrew word which means “L-rd”, which comes from the root adon. In the construction of the Mishkan (the portable Temple on which
Just as the adanim were the foundation of the Mishkan through which
- Source: Chidushei HaRim