Shabbat Shekalim: Vayakhel - Orthodox

Exodus 35:1–38:20

By Rabbi Aaron Cohen, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

The Tabernacle and Shabbat’s Shared Message

Holiness is not limited to one sphere.

Our sages note the juxtaposition of Shabbat and the Mishkan (Tabernacle) at the beginning of Parshat Vayakhel.

The Mishkan, the “resting place” of the Shechinah (divine presence), was built to serve as the focal point of religious life for the Jewish nation. But therein lay a latent danger — the possibility that the Jewish people would contrast the pristine spiritual world of the Mishkan with the mundane society at large and mistakenly perceive that any significant kedushah (sanctity), any closeness to God, could be achieved only within the confines of the Mishkan.

Such a perspective, however, undermines the very essence of the Mishkan’s message: “veshachanti betocham — and I [God] will dwell among them.” Ultimately, God desires not an oasis of kedushah (holiness), but a spiritual wellspring that quenches the thirst of a Jew for closeness to God, influencing, inspiring, and elevating all those encamped around it — not just inside it. God wishes to dwell among us.

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Ki Tissa - Orthodox

Exodus 30:11-34:35

By Rabbi Aaron D. Mehlman, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

Veiling And Unveiling

Moses was sensitive to the needs of the people, changing his appearance in order to enhance their ability to communicate with him.

When Moses returns from Mount Sinai after forty days and nights, he descends with more than just the second set of luchos (tablets). Moses brings the very Shechinah (divine presence) with him as well.

The Torah teaches that after receiving the Law, Moses’ face shone. The Daas Zekeinim Mibaalei Tosafos (collection of comments by the Tosafists of the 12th and 13th centuries in France and Germany) explains that the luminosity of Moses face was, in fact, the light of the Shechinah. Hashem transferred the splendor of His presence to Moses in order to assure a post-golden-calf Klal Yisrael (people of Israel) that no other leader was as worthy as Moses. Subsequently, they unanimously received him as their leader.

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Tetzaveh - Orthodox

Exodus 27:20-30:10

By Rabbi Avraham Fischer, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

Moses’s Absence

Parashat Tetzaveh foreshadows the connection the Children of Israel will have with God after the death of Moses.

Hashem [God] continues His instructions for the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), which will bring the people of Israel into intimate, uninterrupted conjunction with Him.

It is a well-known observation that, from the beginning of Exodus until the beginning of Deuteronomy, there is not a Parashah in which Moses is not mentioned, except for Parashat Tetzaveh, which is always read close to the seventh day of Adar, the anniversary of Moses’s death.

Avoiding His Name

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Terumah

Exodus 25:1-27:19

On The Way To Sanctity

The sanctification process of materials for the Tabernacle and Temple teaches us that everything has the potential to be used for holiness.

By Rabbi Avraham Fischer, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

The purpose of the Exodus was always more than the liberation of the Hebrew slaves; it was the establishment of a physical existence in which Hashem would reign. And, at the center of that existence, would be the Mishkan (Tabernacle), the portable sanctuary:

And they shall make Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell among them (Exodus 25:8).The establishment of the Mishkan will make it possible for Hashem’s Presence to dwell in the midst of the people.

Every aspect of the Mishkan teaches us how to serve Hashem.

How to Serve Hashem

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Mishpatim

Exodus 21:1−24:18

By Rabbi David Avigdor, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

Murder And Atheism

In claiming power over human lives, a murderer denies that God alone possesses that power.

"He who smites a man and [the man] dies shall surely be put to death."

A Houston, Texas newspaper published the story of a young Eastern lawyer who complained to an old Texas Judge about the Texas way with crime. "I don’t understand Texas justice," said the lawyer. "You will suspend the sentence of a convicted murderer, but you will hang a horse thief."

The old judge rang a spittoon with a stream of tobacco juice. "Sorry," he replied, "I reckon that’s cause we got men that need killin’, but we ain’t got no horses that need stealin’."

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