Sondra Baras: This week, we read a double portion, VaYakhel and Pikudei!
Sondra Baras: This week, we read a double portion, VaYakhel and Pikudei!
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Vayakhel/Pikudei
(Gathered/Accounts) Exodus 35:1 – 40:38. Everyone
Can Give Something
In reading the verses in chapter 35,
however, there is something very special that is conveyed through the details
mentioned here. Like the previous instruction, Moses asks for those “of a
generous heart” but he details the actual items needed for each vessel or
structure: Oil for the light, spices for the
anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and stones for
setting, for the ephod and for the breast piece. (Exodus 35:8-9) Moses is
inspiring the people, enabling them to understand that their donation will
contribute in a very direct way to a specific purpose. In the same vein,
he asks for skilled craftsmen to construct very specific items: “The
Tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its frames, its bars, its
pillars, and its bases; the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil of
the screen” (Exodus
35:11-12). But the
most moving part is the description of the actual donations brought by the
people. Again, the phrase “everyone whose heart stirred him”
(Exodus 35:21) is repeated. “So they came, both men and women. All
who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and
armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to
the Lord. And every one who possessed blue or purple or scarlet yarns or fine
linen or goats’ hair or tanned rams’ skins or goatskins brought them. Everyone
who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the Lord’s
contribution. And every one who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work
brought it. And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought
what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.
All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats’
hair. And the leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod
and for the breast piece, and spices and oil for the light, and for the
anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. All the men and women, the people
of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord
had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord” (Exodus
35:22-29). Each man
and woman did what he or she could to help. Those who could spin the
yarns did so. Those who had precious gems and gold and silver to donate,
did so. Those who had skins or fabrics donated them. The detail
presented here, of each type of donation and each person who took the time to
determine how he or she could help, all as moved by their hearts, teaches a
very important lesson indeed. Often, it
is the success of a project that history records. When great kings of
antiquity built monuments to celebrate victories or to worship a pagan god, we
know nothing of the ordinary people who participated in the construction.
In fact, it is likely that these temples and monuments were built by slaves who
were forced to labor with great suffering to build a magnificent structure at
the whim of their master. Not so the
Tabernacle. It is a simple structure constructed of items easily found in
ordinary households – fabrics and skins and jewelry. And Scripture
stresses that it is built through donations, simple items brought by ordinary
people, as their hearts and spirits moved them, voluntarily, to take part in
the building of a structure that would serve as their center of worship, their
vehicle to reach God. It is a structure that represents the very essence
of human freedom and equality, even as it sets strict limits on the access of
ordinary people to its innermost sanctum. But the restricted access does
not reflect upon the status of the individual, for each individual is equal
before God, as reflected in his ability to participate in this great national
project. Restricted access is an expression of great holiness and
sanctity, not of inequality and oppression. The high priest who enters
the Holy of Holies represents the people and enables atonement for their sins –
he serves them who have enabled this vehicle for serving God to come into
existence. And here is a thought from the second
portion. Pikudei (Accounts) Exodus 38:21
– 40:38 The closing chapters of the Book of
Exodus complete the section that deals with the construction of the
Tabernacle. The last verses are particularly interesting. Then the cloud covered the Tent of
Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. And Moses was not
able to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the
glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. (Exodus 40:34-35) Twice,
Scripture tells us that the glory of God has filled the Tabernacle, which, in
essence is what the Tabernacle was for. When God first instructed Moses
on this issue, He said: “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I
may dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:8). Clearly, in having His
glory fill the Tabernacle, He is dwelling among His people. But it is
this filling of the Tabernacle that prevents Moses from entering. This
would seem to contradict another statement that God makes earlier regarding the
purpose of the Tabernacle: “There I will meet with you, and from
above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the
testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment
for the people of Israel.” (Exodus
25:22). If, indeed, the Tabernacle is meant for Moses to meet God and to
receive His instructions there for the Children of Israel, how is it that Moses
is unable to enter the Tabernacle? There are
commentaries who position Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle or, at least,
at the entrance of the inner sanctum of the Tabernacle, and that this is where
God speaks to Moses. Since the word “tabernacle” refers interchangeably
to the entire complex and to the inner-most sanctum, this commentary is
reasonable. The
Midrash, however, provides a different perspective. Moses is a righteous
man and has done exactly what God has asked him to do. God asked him to
build a tabernacle and he did so, as quickly as possible. And when the
Tabernacle was completed, he stood outside, in awe of God’s presence, hesitant
to enter the Tent of Meeting. The Midrash then quotes God as saying to
Himself: “it
is not right for Moses who constructed the Tabernacle to remain outside while I
am inside. I will call to him to enter.” Therefore, the Bible
continues: “The Lord called Moses and spoke to him
from the Tent of Meeting, saying” (Leviticus 1:1). The
Midrash weaves together the end of Exodus with the beginning of Leviticus into
one cohesive story. In so doing, it portrays God as a gracious host, who
recognizes Moses’ important role in constructing a house for Him. And it
portrays Moses as the humble and righteous servant of God who, despite having
completed the building of the Tabernacle and knowing its purpose as a meeting
place between God and himself, hesitates to enter the sanctuary because of his
awe of God’s presence. It is God, therefore, who calls to Moses and
beckons to him to enter. The
essence of the Tabernacle, then, is God’s calling out to man, creating an
environment in which man can come close to God. The place is created, not
out of man’s need, or his initiative, but out of God’s understanding of our
need to feel His presence among us. And, like Moses, when we hesitate to
enter, He beckons to us. Shabbat
Shalom From Samaria, n  Sondra
Baras I hope
you enjoyed my most recent Torah Portion teaching. Each week Jews read and
study the Torah Portion, around the world, in Israel and especially in the
communities of Judea and Samaria. As you study Bible with us, I hope you will
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Free to study all Jewish Scripture:
Our Prayer and hope: All the gates to the Har ha-Bait have to be opened for Jews and non-Jews seven days in the week 24 hours a day. The Jews need to have the freedom to go with Tefillin, Tallit and Torah Scroll up on the Mountain to serve Hashem. And do קידה ('Kidah' prostate, laying down, before Hashem) Everyone showing his/her respect for the Jewish and all other religions. But NOT for the words/deeds/sins spoken against any word of the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu and the 'real' teachings of the Jewish Rabbis. The Jews must be the guardians of the Har ha-Bait.
תפילתנו ותקוותנו: כל שערי הר הבית צריכים להיפתח עבור יהודים ולא-יהודים שבעה ימים בשבוע 24 שעות ביממה. ליהודים צריך להיות חופש ללכת עם תפילין, טלית וספר תורה במעלה ההר כדי לשרת את ה' ולקוד קידה .מתוך הפגנת כבוד ליהודים ולכל הדתות האחרות, אבל לא למילים/למעשים/לחטאים הנאמרים נגד תורת משה רבנו. מלמודי רבנים, היהודים חייבים להיות שומרי הר הבית.
Let's pray for a death sentence for the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Hezbollah and for the continuation of the Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria. The Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Hezbollah must disappear. Enough of the hatred from the world (the USA, the European Union, and the UN!) against the Jewish people.
בואו נתפלל לגזר דין מוות לרשות הפלסטינית, חמאס, חיזבאללה ולהתיישבות יהודית ביהודה ושומרון. הרשות הפלסטינית, חמאס וחיזבאללה חייבים להעלם. די לשנאה מהעולם (ארה"ב, האיחוד האירופי והאו"ם!) נגד העם היהודי!
The Jews have the mission to change the Har HaBait, from her situation now, into a Prayer House for all peoples based on the Torah Law of Moshe Rabbeinu.
על היהודים מוטלת המשימה לשנות את הר הבית, ממצבו הקיים, לבית תפילה לכל העמים על פי חוק התורה של משה רבנו.
Ariel, hopefully your Representee
אריאל, מקווה שהנציג שלך
Our Prayer and hope: All the gates to the Har ha-Bait have to be opened for Jews and non-Jews seven days in the week 24 hours a day. The Jews need to have the freedom to go with Tefillin, Tallit and Torah Scroll up on the Mountain to serve Hashem. And do קידה ('Kidah' prostate, laying down, before Hashem) Everyone showing his/her respect for the Jewish and all other religions. But NOT for the words/deeds/sins spoken against any word of the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu and the 'real' teachings of the Jewish Rabbis. The Jews must be the guardians of the Har ha-Bait. | תפילתנו ותקוותנו: כל שערי הר הבית צריכים להיפתח עבור יהודים ולא-יהודים שבעה ימים בשבוע 24 שעות ביממה. ליהודים צריך להיות חופש ללכת עם תפילין, טלית וספר תורה במעלה ההר כדי לשרת את ה' ולקוד קידה .מתוך הפגנת כבוד ליהודים ולכל הדתות האחרות, אבל לא למילים/למעשים/לחטאים הנאמרים נגד תורת משה רבנו. מלמודי רבנים, היהודים חייבים להיות שומרי הר הבית. |
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Ariel, hopefully your Representee | אריאל, מקווה שהנציג שלך |
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