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Home -> Pekudei -> 5782

אלה פקודי המשכן

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Pekudei

These are the reckonings of the Mishkan. (38:21)

Building a “home” for the Shechinah, Divine Presence, here on earth was apparently top priority for the nascent Jewish nation. They had received the Torah at Sinai amid a Revelation unparalleled in history. The Mishkan was to be the continuum of that Revelation, a place where Jews could relate to Hashem “dwelling” in their midst. Hashem commands us to make a Sanctuary for Him, after which He will reside within us. If our lives outside the Temple environs are consecrated by the understanding, purity and devotion taught within the Sanctuary, then the Mishkan serves as the source for the Mishkan…

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Home -> Pekudei -> 5782

אלה פקודי המשכן משכן העדות

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Pekudei

These are the reckonings of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of Testimony. (38:21)

Rashi notes the double use of the word Mishkan. He explains that it alludes to the two Mishkanos which were taken as a mashkon, collateral, until that day in which we repent and become deserving of having our collateral returned to us, with the building of the Bais Hamikdash Ha’Shilishi, Third Temple. Horav Yosef Chaim Sonenfeld, zl, asks a powerful question. The Torah provides for a lender to take collateral from someone to whom he lends money. Otherwise, he has little to no assurance that his money will be returned. The Torah, however, presents one stipulation: If the debtor is…

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Home -> Pekudei -> 5782

ויכס הענן את אהל מועד... ולא יכל משה לבא אל אהל מועד כי שכן עליו הענן וכבוד ד' מלא את המשכן

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Pekudei

And the cloud covered the Ohel Moed… and Moshe was unable to enter the Ohel Moed because the cloud resided there, and the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan. (40:34,35)

Sefer Shemos concludes with a description of Hashem’s Shechinah, Divine Presence, entering the Mishkan. All of the work of Klal Yisrael in planning, gathering the materials and building the Mishkan achieved fruition at that moment. They had succeeded in building a “home/Sanctuary” for Hashem in this world. The first pasuk of Sefer Vayikra begins with Hashem calling/summoning Moshe Rabbeinu from within the Ohel Moed. Our quintessential leader, who was involved in every aspect of the creation of the Mishkan, remained outside its environs. He would not yet enter. Chazal (Vayikra Rabbah 1:15) explain that juxtaposition of the closing words of…

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Home -> Vayakhel -> 5782

ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Vayakhel

On six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be holy for you. (35:2)

Shabbos is much more than one of the 613 mitzvos. It attests to Hashem as the Creator of the world. We rest in recognition of Hashem’s “resting” from Creation. We tend to gloss over another element of Shabbos. Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 2) relate: “The Shabbos came before Hashem and said, ‘Everyone has a partner, but I do not.’ Hashem replied, ‘Knesses Yisrael is your partner.’ When Klal Yisrael stood at Har Sinai, Hashem said to them, ‘Remember the Shabbos to keep it holy.’” Each of the six days of the work week is considered a “work day,” a day of…

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Home -> Vayakhel -> 5782

ויבאו האנשים על הנשים

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Vayakhel

The men came with the women. (35:22)

The Ramban interprets al ha’nashim, with the women, as indicating that the men were ancillary, secondary to the women. The jewelry detailed in this pasuk was primarily women’s jewelry. As soon as they heard the call for donations, the women came to donate. Targum Onkeles translates al ha’nashim as, on the women, implying that the women came bedecked in their expensive jewelry, removed it there, and donated it to the Mishkan. Why did they remove their jewelry only after they arrived at the area designated for donations? Horav Moshe Feinstein, zl, explains that the women sought to convey the message…

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Home -> Vayakhel -> 5782

ראו קרא ד' בשם בצלאל בן אורי בן חור למטה יהודה

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Vayakhel

See, Hashem has called by name, Betzalel ben Uri ben Chur from the tribe of Yehudah. (35:30)

The Midrash Tanchuma (Vayakhel 1) teaches: “Every time a man increases his good deeds (and mitzvos), he adds to his good name. You find that a man is known by three names: the name which his father and mother call him; the name by which other men call him; and the name he earns for himself. Proof of this is Betzalel, who was granted the privilege of building the Mishkan because he had earned a good name. What is the source of this idea? From the name He called him: ‘See, Hashem has called by name, Betzalel.’ (Which can be…

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Home -> Vayakhel -> 5782

ראו קרא ד' בשם בצלאל בן אורי בן חור

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Vayakhel

See, Hashem has proclaimed by name, Betzalel ben Uri ben Chur. (25:30)

As the result of his attempt to prevent the nation from their treasonous act of creating and worshipping the Golden Calf, Chur, son of Miriam and grandfather of Betzalel, the worshippers of the Golden Calf murdered him. For his unequivocal act of mesiras nefesh, self-sacrifice, Chur received a posthumous reward to see his grandson be chosen as the architect of the Mishkan – which incidentally atoned for the sin of the Golden Calf. This explains why Hashem selected Chur, but why was Moshe Rabbeinu not selected to oversee the building of the Mishkan? Moshe had toiled for forty days and…

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Home -> Vayakhel -> 5782

ויעש בצלאל את הארון

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Vayakhel

Betzalel made the Aron. (37:1)

Rashi makes an insightful comment which gives us pause, “Because Betzalel put himself out for this task more than the others, it bears his name.” Chazal teach that the origins of Betzalel’s devotion, his mesiras nefesh, self-sacrifice, were in his character, in his DNA, transmitted from his grandfather, Chur. The acts of Betzalel and Chur appear to be token varied expressions of mesiras nefesh: Chur giving up his life to prevent the Golden Calf from achieving fruition; Betzalel’s punctilious devotion to the building of the Sanctuary in which the Divine Presence would repose. These acts qualified each of them for…

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Home -> Ki Sisa -> 5782

ונתנו איש כפר נפשו

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Ki Sisa

Every man shall give Hashem an atonement for his soul. (30:12)

The Baal HaTurim observes that the word, v’nasnu: vov, nun, saf, nun, vov, is a palindrome (in this instance, a word which reads the same backward as forward). This prompts him to posit that one who gives to tzedakah, charity, does not lose his contribution; rather, he receives it back. Hashem sees to it that one’s good deeds are not forgotten. What he gives to others will eventually be returned to him. Horav Mordechai Ilan, zl, notes another palindrome in the Torah: V’hikeihu, “And he will strike him” (Bereishis 32:9), which refers to Eisav’s striking one of Yaakov Avinu’s camps….

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Home -> Ki Sisa -> 5782

ואתה קח לך בשמים ראש

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Ki Sisa

Now you, take for yourself choice spices. (30:23)

The Ohr HaChaim observes that the command to Moshe Rabbeinu regarding the Shemen HaMishchah, anointing oil, is different from the other commands concerning the construction of the Mishkan. Regarding the other aspects of the Mishkan, Hashem spoke to Moshe in second person. His intention, however, was that Moshe convey His instructions to a surrogate to perform the actual work. Not so concerning the anointing oil which, in this case, Hashem wanted Moshe to produce from ingredients which Moshe himself would donate. While the original call to donate the various items needed for the construction of the Mishkan included Moshe as…

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