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    PARSHAS VAYAKHEL-PEKUDEI| 27 ADAR5770 | 13 MARCH 2010

    In his introduction to the Book of Exodus,

    Nachmanides explains that prior to theconstruction of the Tabernacle, there was avoid among the Jewish people. G-ds Divinepresence, which existed to such a highdegree during the time of the Patriarchs,was no longer present. A primary goal ofbuilding the Tabernacle, he explains, was torestore this lofty level that had existedduring the time of the Patriarchs. ThePatriarchs, through selfless devotion to G-dand uncompromising beliefs, merited tohaving the Divine Presence resting on theirtents. The Torah therefore repeats many ofthe details of the Tabernacles construction

    to reinforce the idea that the Tabernaclewas meant to be exact to the last detail that theres no such thing as, its just adetail.

    Rabbi Yitzchok Levi Horowitz (otherwiseknown as the The Bostoner Rebbe), ofblessed memory, recalled an incident withReb Mendel, a chassid from Jerusalem,who came to America and worked as aritual slaughterer in New York. His job wasparticularly hard during the freezing winters,

    as the slaughterhouse where he worked

    was open and unheated. However, theslaughterhouse had a small cubicle whereone or two people could sit and warmthemselves by a small stove. Theslaughterers would go out to work, but theywould hurry back as soon as they could toavoid frostbite.

    One cold winter evening, while he waswaiting in the cubicle for the truck to comein, Reb Mendel dozed off. When it finallyarrived, the air was filled with the wake-upcall for the slaughterer. Reb Mendel jumpedup and ran to his place. The boss and six or

    seven workers were already there andready to start.

    Reb Mendel quickly recited the blessing andbegan to slaughter the chickens, one... two...three. He then checked his knife to makesure that it was still perfectly sharp and freefrom nicks. As he was getting ready for thenext batch of chickens, he happened to runhis hand across his head and was stunnedto discover that he was not wearing ayarmulke!

    Apparently, while he was dozing in the

    cubicle, his yarmulke had fallen off hishead. Oh no! he thought to himself.What did I do? I made a blessing andslaughtered without a yarmulke, and I didnteven know it.

    The hallmark of a professional slaughterer isthat he has the requisite sensitivity andfocus that allow him to detect even theslightest jerk in the chickens neck duringthe slaughtering process. One who doesnot wear a yarmulke while slaughtering hasnot invalidated the act of slaughtering.Nonetheless, the lack of proper sensitivitycould render the chicken not kosher.

    Reb Mendel said to himself, If I couldntfeel whether or not I was wearing ayarmulke, how could I tell if I hadslaughtered the chickens properly?

    A lesser man may have hesitated, but RebMendel was a chassid through and through.He walked straight back to the cubicle, laiddown his knife, and told his startled bossthat he was resigning from his position.When his boss questioned him regardinghis plan for earning a livelihood, RebMendel responded that he would find adifferent way to earn a living. Reb Mendel

    ultimately found a job which paid himhandsomely.

    The construction of the Tabernacle was amicrocosm for the life of a devout Jew.Uncompromising attention to the littledetails is what sets the standard for truedevotion and is what allows the DivinePresence to rest on our homes.

    Rabbi Adler can be reached at:[email protected]

    '

    All the work of the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, was completed, and the Children ofIsrael had done everything that G-d commanded Moses , so did they do. (Exodus 39:32)

    In this weeks parshas, Vayakhel and Pekudei, the Torah repeats the entire processmentioned earlier in Parashas Terumah and Tetzaveh, detailing the construction ofthe Mishkan, the Tabernacle, and the fashioning of the vestments of the KohenGadol, the High Priest. Surprisingly enough, the Midrash and the commentators do notaddress why it was necessary for the Torah to expend numerous verses in what appears atfirst glance to be unnecessary repetition. What could be the reason for this redundancy?

    Parsha Perspectives RABBI BINYOMIN ADLER

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    V A Y A K H E L - P E K U D E I Talking Points RABBI ELAZAR MEISELS1. PERFECTLY GENEROUSAnd the entire congregation of Israel went out frombefore Moses. And every man whose heart uplifted himcame, and all whose generous spirit impelled him todonate, brought their donations for the work on theTabernacle And they came, the men together with thewomen, all who were generous of heart broughtbracelets, nose rings, finger rings, and buckles35:20-22

    And the entire congregation of Israel wentout What is the point of telling us that theywent out from before him if we already knewthat they were gathered before to hear himimplore them to donate? How else would theydonate if they didnt go out from before him?Moses feared that the people who had beenoverworked and underpaid slaves up to thispoint were unused to giving, and he thereforegathered them together en masse in the hopesthat peer pressure would inspire them to givegenerously. The verse tells us however that the people did not need that added pressure. Instead, they disbanded and each man

    brought his own donation without seekinghonor from others who would not be aware ofhis generosity. Sifsei Kohen

    And the entire congregation of Israel wentout This indicates that they didnt justdonate, but they did so enthusiastically andwith great haste. Rabbeinu Bachya

    The men together with the women Thisterm implies that the women were first todonate and the men followed their lead. This isparticularly noteworthy because during the sinof the Golden Calf, the same items were requested for use in creating it, and in that instance, the women refused to donate or

    partake in its construction in any manner. One reason was because women are generally loathe to part with their jewelry, but theiractions when it came to constructing aTabernacle lay that claim to rest, since in that instance, they were the first to do so. Rabbeinu Bachya

    Rabbeinu Bachya adds that the womenwere highly praised for their righteousnessin both situations and were richly rewardedboth in this world and in the World to

    Come. The holiday of Rosh Chodesh wasgranted to them as a holiday which theywould celebrate even more so than men, apractice that continues in modern times aswell.

    2. SCOFFERS AND MOCKERSHe made the Menorah out of pure gold, by hammering

    its form out (of a solid piece of gold), its base, its shaft,its cups, its knobs, and its flowers were of it. 37:17

    Menorah out of pure gold Generally, whendescribing how they fulfilled their instructions,the Torah uses identical terms to describe the instructions and their fulfillment. The onlyexception is in the discrepancy between the instructions of the Menorahs construction(And you shall make a golden Menorah)and their fulfillment (the Menorah). Whatdoes the deviation intend to teach us? The lawis that the Menorah need not be made of gold,as it may also be made of other metals too.Calling it a golden Menorah initially limitedthis dispensation only for future generations.The Menorah of the Tabernacle, however, hadto be made of gold. Therefore, in one place itspeaks of it as the golden Menorah, whereas in the other it only refers to it as theMenorah. Ohr HaChaim

    3. STONED TO LIFEThe amount of gold donated as a wave offering was 29talents and 730 shekelsThe silver census moneycollected from the community came out to 100 talentsand 1775 shekelsThe 100 talents were used to castthe bases for the sanctuary and the cloth partitionThe1775 shekels were used for the hooks, caps and inlaidhoops for the pillars were made.. 38:24-28

    The 1775 shekels Why does it refer to these shekels in the definitive form? When Moseswas giving an accounting for the gold donatedby the community, he found himself unable to recall how the 1,775 shekels had been used.This caused him great anguish, as he fearedthat the people would grow suspicious of hishandling of the communal funds. A heavenlyvoice then emerged and declared, The 1775 shekels were used for the hooks, caps and inlaid hoops for the pillars were made etc.This is the reason it is spoken of in the

    definitive form. Midrash Rabbah

    R Meir Shapiro ztl was wont to remark inregard to this Midrash that it is amazing tocomprehend how human beings act underdifferent situations. When creating theGolden Calf, the people donated immenseamounts of gold and received only aminiature calf in return. Yet, no one thoughtto demand an accounting of how the fundswere used. Yet when it came to building aholy sanctuary, where numerous rich andimpressive objects were fashioned,everything had to be accounted for andonly a heavenly voice could silence therumor mongers among them. Such ishuman nature that when money is donatedfor a holy cause, every penny had better beaccounted for, yet when spent on frivolouscauses, huge sums can be frittered awaywithout thought given to the bottom line.

    Rabbi Meisels can be reached at:

    [email protected]

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    Vayakhel, this weeks first Torah portion, essentially reviewsmany of the instructions noted in the three previous Torahportions regarding the construction of the Tabernacle, atangible place for G-ds Divine Presence. Earlier on (Chapter26), we read that individual contributions were requestedtowards the construction of the Tabernacle and for its variouscomponents. In contrast to the mandatory half-shekelcontribution (Chapter 30:13-15), whose amount was fixedand whose funds were used for communal offerings, thedonation of materials requested for the Tabernacle were notfixed. Moses simply specified the materials that wereneeded, and the people gave, each according to thegenerosity of his own heart. In this weeks Torah portion, weread (36:2-7):All the wise people performing the sacred work camefrom the work they were doing, and said to Moses asfollows, The people are bringing more than enough for thelabor of the work that G-d has commanded to perform.Moses commanded Man and woman shall not do morework for the sacred contribution! And the people wererestrained from bringing. But the work had been enough forall the necessary work, and there w as extra.

    ( hat significance could there be in the fact that allthose doing the work gave the report that enoughdonations had been received? Also, what idea isbeing conveyed by the phrase that they came from the workthey were doing?

    ( t would seem from the wording of the verse (26:6)that the people wished to continue giving evenafter they were told that no more contributions wereneeded but they were restrained from giving any more. I fthey genuinely wanted to give, why were they restrained?Couldnt their donations be accepted and stored away forlater use?

    ( he verse (26:7) cryptically says that the work hadbeen enough and there was extra. How could therebe extra if there was (just) enough?Rabbi Lam can be reached at: [email protected]

    TABLE TALKFOR DISCUSSION AROUND THE SHABBAT TABLE

    RABBI LABEL LAM

    Parsha At-A-GlanceVAYAKHELMoses assembled the entire nation to reiteratethe sanctity of Shabbat. He announced thatthose whose hearts felt motivated couldcontribute materials (gold, silver, copper, woolsin red, purple and blue, linen, goats hair, wood,oil, spices, and precious stones) to the buildingof the Mishkan (Tabernacle). He invited themto involve themselves in the actual construction

    as well.The people immediately approached with thenecessary materials. The women (who hadrefused to bring gold for the golden calf) nowcame forward to donate their jewelry and theirweaving skills. The parsha singles out theleaders, who gave precious stones for theephod and the choshen mishpat (thebreastplate of judgment) worn by the KohenGadol (High Priest). The Torah details thematerials that the Jewish people contributed.

    Betzalel and Oholiav, both highly skilled andlearned, were designated as the overseers ofthe entire construction. After two days, so muchwealth and so many skills had been donatedthat Moses informed the people that there wasno longer any need for skilled craftsmen.

    The parsha details the construction. It specifiesthe measurements of the curtains and beams,which formed the inner and outer structures. Italso describes the material of the cover, theplanks, theparochet(partition), and the screen.Betzalel constructed the Ark, its cover, the table,the menorah, incense altar, elevation-offeringaltar, washing basin, courtyard, and screen ofthe gate of the courtyard.

    PEKUDEIIsamar, a son of Aaron the Kohen, oversaw theLevites work on theMishkan (Tabernacle). Theparsha then gives an accounting of thequantities of the materials gold, silver, andcopper donated by the Jewish people for theconstruction of the Mishkan. The parts of thestructure, the utensils, and the clothing of thekohanim are listed. After each description, the

    Torah states that the item was made accordingto the command of G-d to Moses. After thework of the Mishkan was completed, theJewish people consulted Moses, who inspectedand verified that everything was indeed madeaccording to G-ds command. Moses blessedthem.

    G-d told Moses that the dedication of theMishkan would take place on the first of themonth of Nissan, in the second year of theJewish peoples travels in the desert. He thengave him instructions in placement of theutensils and the order of the Mishkansestablishment.

    On the first of Nissan, Moses erected the entireMishkan himself. He did exactly as G-d hadcommanded.

    The Cloud of Glory covered the Tent ofMeeting, and His Glory filled the Mishkan.Whenever the Cloud lifted, Moses could enterto speak with G-d. The Cloud served during theyears in the desert as a signal for the Jewishpeople to travel to a new location. A fireindicated G-ds presence at night. The entireJewish people witnessed this miraclethroughout their journeys.