Articles with the tag: pikudei

To Build and to Build Again

On this subject the Midrash Tanchuma quotes two opinions: (1) Moses dismantled and reassembled the Tabernacle twice each day during the induction. This is deduced from the repetition of the word “to erect” - takim (Exodus 40:2) and hukam (40:17). “ (2) Moses took apart and rebuilt the Mishkan three times a day for - as you might have guessed - there is a third verse that utilizes the exact same verb “ “vayakem” “ (40:18). Poor Moses! That couldn’t have been fun. Could he not have set it up just once and be done with it?

The Slonimer Rebbe uses this Midrash to teach us a vital lesson. Although we spend our lives toiling and struggling to remake ourselves…

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Lessons From Adar, Elephants and Monkeys:

Week #1 ,
1.  Jews united; working together is critical.
2.  They prayed for a miracle; appreciating Who’s really in charge.
3.  They followed Mordechai; we need strong leadership.
4.  Esther put a pragmatic plan in motion.
HINT #1: Joy comes from proactive participation, not armchair grumbling.

Talmud:  On Purim a Jew is required to drink until one cannot distinguish between Cursed is Haman and Blessed is Mordechai.” 
We must put our trust in G-d and avoid the anxiety that dominates the “in-between” state of the problem (Cursed is Haman) and the solution state (Blessed is Mordechai).
HINT #2: Joy comes from trust in G-d that in the end everything follows a plan and that He knows best.

All other…

Continue reading Lessons From Adar, Elephants and Monkeys:

The Journey (40:38)

Textual nuances so slight, that they are easy to miss, should not contain fundamental clues as to the unique challenge of being a Jew. But this one does. First, the background: Exactly one year after the Jews had begun their preparations for the Exodus, the House of G-d was ready. There is an unmistakable parallel between Moses’ completion of the Mishkan (Sanctuary) and G-d finalizing His creation: “Moses finished (vayechal) the work (hamelachah)” vs. “G-d finished (vayechal) on the seventh day the work (melachto).”

The symbolism here expresses a revolution. In Genesis, G-d created a home for man. In Exodus, man created a home for G-d.  This is G-d’s way of conferring dignity on mankind. Thus the entire narrative of…

Continue reading The Journey (40:38)

The New Tree of Life (40:34)

With the words,  “And the glory of G-d filled the Tabernacle…throughout their journeys,”  the building of the Sanctuary and the book of Exodus reach closure. In truth, the much larger narrative, the story of Adam’s fall from Grace in Genesis, is now also completed.

A key literary device in Torah is the chiasmus, a unit (verse, paragraph, or entire section) in which the second half is the mirror image of the first. The Biblical chiasmus should not be mistaken for mere creativity in storytelling. Instead, it is a supreme example of how substance dictates style. In this case, a chiasmus contains the basic principle of Biblical retributive justice: the rule of measure for measure (middah k’neged middah), or “As you…

Continue reading The New Tree of Life (40:34)

What’s New? and What’s News? (38:30)

Here’s some good news. If you happen to find that reading about the construction of the Tabernacle, an event that is more than 3300 years old just a trifle boring and irrelevant, you are perfectly normal. And if listing each and every single item in three dimensional detail along with the instructions on how to construct them makes you doze a little now and then, don’t rush off to see the Rabbi about scheduling those Bible Appreciation classes just yet. And if the exact repetition of all of the above is making you wonder not about your sanity, but the Divine Author’s…you’re still a good Jew…one that could use some more in-depth Jewish education, but a good Jew nonetheless. 

In…

Continue reading What’s New? and What’s News? (38:30)

Spiritual Accounting (38:24)

There are fifty chapters in the Book of Genesis. Of these, only one is devoted to the story of G-d creating the universe.

There are forty /chapters in the Book of Exodus. Only three of them deal with the Revelation at Sinai where a group of slaves metamorphosed into the Chosen Nation. In contrast, thirteen chapters, almost one third of the Torah’s second book, are dedicated to discussing the donations, design, and construction of the desert Sanctuary.

From the dimensions of the acacia wood to the specific colors of the tapestry, every detail is elaborated upon in full. Perhaps the reason is because the Sanctuary was more than a “House of worship,” it was the seat of G-d’s manifest presence…

Continue reading Spiritual Accounting (38:24)

More Than a Faucet (38:22)

MORE THAN A FAUCET (38:22)
Once upon a time, there lived a people with no land, though their need for a home was no less than those of other nations. Thus it came to pass that their leader, Moses, received instructions from on High to build a Sanctuary that would accompany the Jews on their desert wanderings. The chief architect of this travelling Temple was amazingly enough a young lad named Betzalel Ben Uri, who himself had just become Bar Mitzvah. The Torah itself attests to the professional capability and integrity of this child/man when it states that the son of Uri,  “did everything that Hashem commanded Moses.” Our Sages however wonder why the phrase commending the architect does not…

Continue reading More Than a Faucet (38:22)

Jewish Blood Is Vital (38:21)

All around the world, Jewish communities in Europe, South America, Australia and in our very own Sunshine State will be heading to their synagogues this Shabbat…and shake their heads in puzzlement about the situation in Israel. Questions such as, “What can we do?” to “What should we do?” are heard in between the Aliyos to the Torah.

Working together is not only pragmatic in order to accomplish a monumental task, it is a necessary state of mind if we are to achieve the purpose of why G-d placed us on this world. Responsibility is a basic human need, just like food or oxygen.

We may choose to ignore our inner call. Three or four generations ago, our grandparents could not…

Continue reading Jewish Blood Is Vital (38:21)

Counting and Accounting (38:21)

I know it seems like only yesterday that we were dancing the Hakafos on Simchas Torah and beginning afresh the story of Genesis. Nevertheless, here we are already completing the second book of Exodus. The opening two Biblical volumes differ in that the first deals with the creation of a universe, while the second charts the creation of a nation.
“Shmos,”  as the second book is referred to by Jews, begins and ends with a counting. Concerning its opening passage,  “These are the names…” the commentary Rashi states, “Even though G-d had already counted the Jews during their lifetime by their names, He counted them again to make known his love for them.”

Turning to the final pages of Exodus,...

Continue reading Counting and Accounting (38:21)

The Journey (40:38)

Textual nuances so slight, that they are easy to miss, should not contain fundamental clues as to the unique challenge of being a Jew. But this one does. First, the background: Exactly one year after the Jews had begun their preparations for the Exodus, the House of G-d was ready. There is an unmistakable parallel between Moses’ completion of the Mishkan (Sanctuary) and G-d finalizing His creation: “Moses finished (vayechal) the work (hamelachah)” vs. “G-d finished (vayechal) on the seventh day the work (melachto).”
The symbolism here expresses a revolution. In Genesis, G-d created a home for man. In Exodus, man created a home for G-d. This is G-d’s way of conferring dignity on mankind. Thus the entire narrative of…

Continue reading The Journey (40:38)

The New Tree of Life (40:34)

With the words, “And the glory of G-d filled the Tabernacle…throughout their journeys,” the building of the Sanctuary and the book of Exodus reach closure. In truth, the much larger narrative, the story of Adam’s fall from Grace in Genesis, is now also completed.
A key literary device in Torah is the chiasmus, a unit (verse, paragraph, or entire section) in which the second half is the mirror image of the first. The Biblical chiasmus should not be mistaken for mere creativity in storytelling. Instead, it is a supreme example of how substance dictates style. In this case, a chiasmus contains the basic principle of biblical retributive justice: the rule of measure for measure (middah k’neged middah), or “As you…

Continue reading The New Tree of Life (40:34)

What’s New? and What’s News? (38:30)

Here’s some good news. If you happen to find that reading about the construction of the Tabernacle, an event that is more than 3300 years old just a trifle boring and irrelevant, you are perfectly normal. And if listing each and every single item in three dimensional detail along with the instructions on how to construct them makes you doze a little now and then, don’t rush off to see the Rabbi about scheduling those Bible Appreciation classes just yet. And if the exact repetition of all of the above is making you wonder not about your sanity, but the Divine Author’s…you’re still a good Jew…one that could use some more in-depth Jewish education, but a good Jew nonetheless. 
In…

Continue reading What’s New? and What’s News? (38:30)

Spiritual Accounting (38:24)

There are fifty chapters in the Book of Genesis. Of these, only one is devoted to the story of G-d creating the universe.
There are forty chapters in the Book of Exodus. Only three of them deal with the Revelation at Sinai where a group of slaves metamorphosed into the Chosen Nation. In contrast, thirteen chapters, almost one third of the Torah’s second book, are dedicated to discussing the donations, design, and construction of the desert Sanctuary.
From the dimensions of the acacia wood to the specific colors of the tapestry, every detail is elaborated upon in full. Perhaps the reason is because the Sanctuary was more than a “House of worship”, it was the seat of G-d’s manifest presence…

Continue reading Spiritual Accounting (38:24)

Jewish Blood Is Vital (38:21)

All around the world, Jewish communities in Europe, South America, Australia and in our very own Sunshine State will be heading to their synagogues this Shabbat…and shake their heads in puzzlement about the situation in Israel. Questions such as, “What can we do” to “What should we do” are heard in between the Aliyos to the Torah.
Working together is not only pragmatic in order to accomplish a monumental task it is a necessary state of mind if we are to achieve the purpose of why G-d placed us on this world. Responsibility is a basic human need, just like food or oxygen.
We may choose to ignore our inner call. Three or four generations ago, our grandparents could not…

Continue reading Jewish Blood Is Vital (38:21)

Counting and Accounting (38:21)

I know it seems like only yesterday that we were dancing the Hakafos on Simchas Torah and beginning afresh the story of Genesis. Nevertheless, here we are already completing the second book of Exodus. The opening two Biblical volumes differ in that the first deals with the creation of a universe, while the second charts the creation of a nation.
“Shmos,” as the second book is referred to by Jews, begins and ends with a counting. Concerning its opening passage, “These are the names…” the commentary Rashi states, “Even though G-d had already counted the Jews during their lifetime by their names, He counted them again to make known his love for them.”
Turning to the final pages of Exodus,...

Continue reading Counting and Accounting (38:21)