Vayakel and Pekudai

B'SD

 

Insights Parasha Vayakel and Pekudai

Our sedra Exodus 35 v 1 states

And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the L-RD hath commanded, that ye should do them.

We see from the above a unity, a gathering together, we had just been forgiven, Moses was glowing, spirits were high, we need to hold onto the inspiration the momentum, as it is with the inspiration we draw from Shabbos,

For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the L-RD.

Rabbi Aurbach taught us that we learn from here, i.e. the Vayakel (gathering) followed by the law of keeping the Sabbath is a principle that coming together as a community on Shabbos unified is the correct way.

Extract from Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein

http://www.chiefrabbi.co.za/2013/03/shabbos-part-xx-time-and-space-edited-transcript/

The sanctity of time and space

Friday afternoon, just before the sun sets, is a regular weekday; yet when the sun drops below the horizon, physical time is transformed from mundane to holy, as we enter a new dimension – Shabbat. Shabbat uplifts and infuses the physical property of time with holiness.

In addition to the holiness of time, there is also the concept of sanctity of space. For example, the Torah tells us that the Land of Israel is holy, and the Talmud elaborates on what this holiness means and its practical ramifications. The city of Jerusalem is the holiest city of the Holy Land, and the Temple Mount is the holiest place within Jerusalem. We have a similar concept of holiness of space within our shuls: A shul is holy ground, a sanctified space, which the Prophets and the Talmud refer to as a “mikdash m’at” – a minature tabernacle.

In the same way that Shabbat is the source of the sanctity of time, the Temple is the source of the sanctity of space. The Mishkan, the Tabernacle in the desert, and subsequently the Holy Temple in Jerusalem where we served G-d, was the holiest place and the embodiment of the concept of the sanctity of space.

 

Shabbat is intertwined with the Temple. In the Chumash, Shabbat is often mentioned in the context of the building of the Mishkan, and even more significantly, all the laws of Shabbat are learned from the Mishkan: the Torah commands us not to do any melacha – “work” – on Shabbat, which, The Oral Torah teaches, is defined as the thirty-nine categories of work done in the construction and service of the holy Tabernacle, and later on in the Holy Temple. In other words, Shabbat is the combination of the sanctity of time and the sanctity of space in this world. It is the basis for the sanctity of time and is also bound with the sanctity of space in being linked with the Tabernacle, because all the laws of Shabbat are drawn from the Tabernacle itself.

http://ohr.edu/3049

Shabbat “Upgrade”

“But the seventh day shall be holy for you, a day of complete rest for G-d…” (35:2)

No one ever complained about the hotel that lets you check in to your room at eight in the morning and lets you stay there until nine at night on the day you leave.

No one ever complained about the tailwind that reduced the four and a half hour flight from London to Tel Aviv by half an hour.

Or what about the audience with the Queen of England that starts ten minutes before schedule and goes on half an hour longer than you were told? No one ever said, “Excuse me your Maj., I’m sorry but I’ve got to pop out and do a little shopping. See ya!”

When something is special and important we want it to go on forever, and when it’s a burden, it can never be too brief.

There are two places where the Torah lists the Ten Commandments: in Parshat Yitro and in Parshat Vaetchanan. In Parshat Yitro, the Torah says, “Remember the Shabbat day to make it holy…” whereas in Parshat Va’etchanan, it says, “Guard the Shabbat day to keep it holy…” The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Yitro 295) explains, “’Remember’ it beforehand, and ‘Guard it’ afterwards…” — meaning that Shabbat is so special and important that we should begin it early and finish late.

We find the same idea in this week’s Parsha.

“But the seventh day shall be holy for you, a day of complete rest for G-d…”

In this verse, the word “holy”, kodesh, precedes the word Shabbat; however in Parshat Beshalach (16:23) in a virtually identical expression, the word Shabbat precedes kodesh. In other words, in our Parsha the Torah says the kodesh should come before the Shabbat — the holiness of Shabbat should begin early, whereas in Parshat Beshalach the kodesh comes after the Shabbat, meaning that we should extend our Shabbat well into Saturday night.

It all depends on how you look at Shabbat. Is your Shabbat a 25-hour airline flight in Economy, or is it an uninterrupted audience with the Shabbat Queen?

Torah Portion  Vayakel http://www.shortvort.com/vayakhel-parasha/11779-2-ideas-about-shabbos Written by d fine 1)Fire! The Zohar has a novel understanding/reading of the third pasuk in Vayakhel. The pasuk reads (35:3) ‘do not ignite a fire in your dwellings on the day of Shabbos. But the Zohar understands ‘fire’ here to mean arguments and bickering. This is partly because fire represents passion. Whereas water symbolises a degree of calmness and serenity; water merely takes the shape of its container, fire, on the other hand, is more destructive, it moves, and can consume its container. Thus, according to the Zohar, the pasuk is warning us not to have destructive arguments with each other on Shabbos. In fact, Chazal (see Gemara Gittin 52a) reveal that the yetzer hara/sattan makes a special effort to push us to argue on Erev Shabbos - presumably he realises that an argument on Shabbos eve can spoil the sanctity and serenity of Shabbos. 2)Fire, Fire! The only act singled out by the Torah explicitly as forbidden to do on Shabbos is igniting a fire. The other prohibited activities are learnt via non-explicit references or rules of extrapolation of the Torah. Why is fire-ignition singled out? There is a halachic dispute in the Gemara (Shabbos 70a) as to whether this singling out of fire is to tell us that fire is the exception or the norm in terms of punishment for violation of Shabbos. However, the Da’as Zekeinim here (35:3) gives us another answer. Lighting a fire is singled out as a forbidden activity because it does not seem like such a big act (compare the act of building or weaving), so one might (mistakenly) think that the Torah never prohibited such a thing. So the Torah specifically mentions that even the small act of lighting a fire forms part of the prohibited acts of Shabbos. Indeed, the fact that such ‘minor’ acts are forbidden on Shabbos (and can carry the death penalty) show how spiritually important Shabbos is. For the more important an event is, the less leeway for error there is. Take a heart operation, for example. The smallest act can have the most grave consequences. So too on Shabbos, seemingly ‘small/insignificant’ acts are forbidden as a result of the day’s immense holiness and importance.

 

http://ohr.edu/5101

Insights

Wisdom of the Heart

“Every wise-hearted person among you shall come and make everything that G-d has commanded …” (35:10)

There are two ways a religious person can look at an airplane flight: a series of tiring inconveniences punctuated by the occasional real bummer, or an opportunity to be an ambassador for the Jewish People and G-d.

Assuming that we all want to be in the latter category, here are some “Guidelines for the Ambassador”:

1. When you arrive at the check-in, make sure that you do not push in line. Better, offer to let someone who seems to be in a rush go in front of you. (It always amazes me how people want to jump ahead to get on the plane – but the plane leaves at the same time for everyone.)
2. Smile. You're on Candid Camera!
3. Make sure you say "Have a nice day!" to people with whom you speak: the check-in person; the flight attendants; the security and the immigration personnel.
4. When you board the flight, look for a short non-religious lady/gentleman (elderly is better) struggling to put his/her bag into the overhead locker. Bound over and say, "Excuse me, can I help?" You have sanctified the name of G-d in front of a couple of hundred people.
5. Before reclining your seat, always make sure to ask the person behind if they mind.
6. Usually the "strictly kosher" food arrives before the rest of the plane is served. Better to wait till everyone else is served before starting.
7. In the arrival hall try to help a lady or elderly person remove their heavy case from the carousel.
8. Say "Thanks for looking after us!" to the police who usually supervise the luggage carousel when flights come in from Israel.
9. Never smuggle anything.

When the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem there was a revelation of the Divine Presence in the world that is impossible for us to imagine; it's like trying to describe a sunrise to someone who was born blind.

We live in a world of spiritual blindness where little light reaches our eyes; however, the Jewish People still have the power to reveal the Divine in our midst. The verse says, "And I will dwell in them." G-d says that His Divine Presence will dwell eternally in the Jewish People, even when the wood and stones of the Beit Hamikdash have lain in ruins for millennia.

Just as it took a wise-hearted person to build the Mishkan that revealed G-d's presence on Earth, so each of us can reveal the Divine Name with a little wisdom of the heart.

Parsha Pekudai

http://www.shortvort.com/purim/10160-united-together

Written by Marc Zemmel

It says in Parasha Pekudai the words "vayasu bnei yisrael" which means the "Bnei Yisrael made/built" (the mishkan). Hold on a second we know that isn't true. We know that Betzalel and the chachmey Leyve built it what’s going on here? The or Hachayim asks. He answers saying the Torah teaches us that it is physically impossible for one person to be able to keep all the 613 mitzvot. There are some just for cohanim, leviim, nashim etc. He continues by saying that yes, betzalel and the chachmey leyve PHYSICALLY built the mishkan but this could not have been achieved without some the following 1. the donations of half a shekel given by the other people of bnei yisrael 2. Providing of the raw materials 3. Providing Food 4. Looking after the families of Betzalel and the Chachmey Leyve. This shows that in order for the Mishkan to be built, the whole of Bnei Yisrael were needed which is why the passuk says "Vayasu BNEI YISRAEL" It was recently Parashat Shekalim and the question is asked why half a shekel? There are many answers to this one being as follows. Each person was obligated to give half. This shows that by ourselves we are only half. In order to be complete we need the whole of the jewish people together. On Purim we read Megilat Esther. When Haman demands from Achashverosh that the jews should be wiped out he uses the words (sorry only in english)the jews are "Scattered and dispersed". Why does he say both? To show that even though we are all scattered around the world some in Israel, some america etc. We are dispersed within that as a nation. There are arguments between these sects about that thing. That is a massive weakness. Before Esther comes to the king to plead our innocence. she says to Mordechai gather ALL the jews.......they should fast and I will fast as well. You could ask why does she need to fast being so nervous going to the king...they should fast and she will ask..or you could say why do they have to ask..she is the one asking. They all did both her and them to show in order to be saved we have to be UNITED TOGETHER as a nation and not "DISPERSED" as Haman picked up on.   My concluding words   The first redemption was a gift from Hashem, the final one may come when we unite in righteousness thereby earning it ourselves, this I heard from the Late Rabbi Goldfein of blessed memory!   Have a good week Michael.