Congregation
Kneseth Israel
...proudly serving the Jewish community of Anne Arundel County since 1906
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...proudly serving the Jewish community of Anne Arundel County since 1906
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Parsha of the Week:Vayachel-Pekudei (Exodus 35:1 - 38:20, 38:21-40:38; Exodus 12:1-20)Parsha Hachodesh - Haftorah: Ezekiel 45:16-46:18 Synopsis for Vayachel: The Commandments to keep the Sabbath; collecting contributions for the Tabernacle; the building of the Tabernacle; the construction of the Altar, table, menorah, sink, screen, and courtyard for the Tabernacle. Q: When did Moses assemble the Children of Israel and give them the command to construct the Tabernacle? A: It was the day after Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), when he came down from receiving the Torah for the second time. He had just spent eighty days and nights learning the Torah with the Almighty. Moses also learned that G-d forgave the Israelites for the incident with the Golden Calf. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he brought with him the second set of tablets. Now, the Children of Israel were deserving and ready to fulfill G-d's commandment to build the Tabernacle. Q: The Children of Israel were commanded to build the Tabernacle immediately. Was it permissible for them to build on the Sabbath? A: It is prohibited to violate the Sabbath even to build the Tabernacle to the Almighty (Mechilla 35:2). Q: Why did the women play a more important role than the men in building of the Tabernacle (Exodus 35:22)? A: The women played the more important role because upon hearing that precious metals were needed to build the Tabernacle, they immediately contributed all their jewelry. The majority of women also did not participate in the creation of the Golden Calf. The women refused to hand over their jewelry for that purpose (Ohr Hachayim; Ramban). Q: How do we know that G-d did not like the fact that the princes of the Children of Israel were the last to contribute materials for the building of the Tabernacle? A: The princes felt they should let every person contribute what they wanted. At the end, the princes agreed to contribute whatever was missing. They thought that there would be a substantial amount lacking, and their contributions would be the greatest. To the contrary, all the individual contributions were so great that there was no need for the leaders to contribute. According to Rashi, the Torah's description of the event has the Hebrew word for "leaders" spelled with two missing letters. This was their punishment which indicated G-d's displeasure to the leaders, who were so late and misguided in their contributions (Rashi). Q: How do we know that the leaders learned from the mistake of hesitating to contribute to the building of the Tabernacle (Exodus 35:27)? A: When they built the Altar, the leaders were the first to bring their offerings (Rashi, Exodus 35:27). Q: What is the family relationship between Moses and Bezalel? A: Bezalel was the son of Uri, son of Hur. This means that Bezalel was the son of Miriam. Moses was his uncle (Rashi, Exodus 35:30; Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 11b). Q: How do we know that there was equality among the people who worked together on the construction of the Tabernacle? A: The sages teach us that "and the nobleman is not recognized ahead of the pauper" (Tachuma 13). G-d chose two wise men to manage the construction of the Tabernacle; Bezalel and Oholiav. Bezalel came from the tribe of Judah, recognized as the most aristocratic of the tribes. Oholiav came from the tribe of Dan, a less prestigious tribe. He was the son of a maidservant. G-d put them together as equals in the construction of the Tabernacle (Rashi, Exodus 34:34). Q: What kind of wood was used in the planks of the Tabernacle? A: Acacia wood was used to build the Tabernacle. Q: In what material were the planks coated? A: The planks were coated in gold. Q: In this parsha the Torah describes how the Ark was constructed. Why was Bezalel's name the only one mentioned among the builders? A: Bezalel devoted himself totally, more than the other workers, which is why his name was the only one mentioned (Rashi, Exodus 37:1). Q: There were large basins, used only by the priests (kohanim) before performing the service in the Tabernacle. What was their source? A: The Israelite women had mirrors whne they were still slaves in Egypt. They used their mirrors in order to adorn themselves and make themselves attractive to their husbands. Making themselves attractive to their husbands would foster intimacy bringing about more Jewish children (Exodus 38:8). G-d rewarded these women who devoted themselves to creating future generations under difficult circumstances by exclusively using these mirrors in the making of the basin (Rashi, Tanchuma; Unkeles; Ibn Ezra). Synopsis for Pekudei: The census of the nation; contributions of the Tabernacle; the commandment of the half shekel; the high priest's vestments; the completion of the temporary Tabernacle; Moses blessed the Children of Israel; the Glory of G-d appeared on the Tabernacle. Q: Why is the Tabernacle called the place of testimony? A: After the sin of the Golden Calf, the Almighty was furious with the Children of Israel, but forgave them. As a sign of G-d's forgiveness, He had them build the Tabernacle to clarify the relationship and the interaction between G-d and the Children of Israel. The Tabernacle was called "the place of testimony" because it was a confirmation that G-d forgave them. It was to be a "resting place" for G-d so that the Children of Israel would feel His Holy Spirit (Rashi). Q: What was the job of Itamar, the son of Aaron? A: He was responsible for assigning, to each family in the tribe of Levi, the different tasks that needed to be done in the building of the Tabernacle (Rashi). Q: What part did Moses take in the construction of the Tabernacle? A: Rashi comments in Exodus 39:33 that Moses did not do any work in the actual construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). But the people brought in the Tabernacle to Moses, meaning they brought to Moses the completed walls, which were lying down. Moses lifted the walls of the Tabernacle himself, which was miraculous because they were very heavy. The Almighty left the erecting (the standing up) of the Mishkan to Moses himself (Rashi; Mdrash Tanchuma). Q: In the building of the Tabernacle, how many times is the phrase "that G-d commands" written and what is the significance of this number? A: It is written eighteen times, parallel to the eighteen blessings found in the Amidah prayer (Yerushalmi Talmud). The Amidah is the silent prayer said during each of the three daily prayer services. Q: "Moses saw the excellent work done on the Tabernacle, so he blessed them" (Exodus 39:43). What blessing did Moses give them? A: Moses blessed the nation for the work that they had done in building the Tabernacle. He called upon the Almighty to rest in the work that they had just completed. He called upon the pleasantness of the Almighty to be with the people for all time (Rashi). Q: How was the work split between Moses, Aaron, and Aaron's sons on the eighth day of the service? A: On the eighth day of the inauguration of the Tabernacle, Moses, Aaron, and Aaron's sons were all equal for the priesthood (Rashi). Moses' tasks included the preparation of the showbreads, kindling of the Menorah, the offering of the incense, and the offering of the public sacrifice. Aaron and his sons offered the daily sacrifice, offered the calf, offered the deer, and offered the sheep and ox. Q: During the forty years of wandering the desert, how did the Children of Israel know in which direction to travel and when to make camp? A: G-d gave the Children of Israel the Pillar of Clouds and the Pillar of Fire to lead and protect them in the desert. They followed the direction of the pillars and set up camp where the pillars stopped (Exodus 13:21; 40:38). Q: What is the meaning of the phrase, "Be strong, be strong, and may we be strengthened", which is said at the end of each of the books of Moses? A: The sages teach us that the study of Torah needed encouragement. They draw upon the example set by Moses when the handed the leadership of Israel to Joshua. He told the Children of Israel and Joshua on three different occasions to be strong: Deuteronomy 3:28; Deuteronomy 31:6 and Deuteronomy 31:23. After the leadership was handed over, G-d said to Joshua three times, "Be strong"; in Joshua 1:6. Joshua 1:9, and Joshua 1:18. So to commemorate and encourage one another to continue the study of Torah as we complete one of the Five Books of Moses (The Bible), we stand up and say to one another: "Be strong, be strong, and may we be strengthened" (Abudraham; Bereishit Rabba Joshua 1:8; Ta'amei Dinim Uminhagim. Aarech Siyum page 157). It is a worldwide custom that when the Torah reader finishes the last sentence of each one of the five books of Moses, the entire congregation stands up and encourages one another with the following proclamation: "CHAZAK CHAZAK V'NITCHAZEK!" (STRENGTH, STRENGTH.. AND BECOME STRONG!) Shabbat Schedule for March 12-13, 2010/26-27 Adar 5770
Kabbalat Shabbos 5:45 PM Shacharit Shabbos 9:00 AM Shabbos Mincha After kiddush Shallos Seudahs 6:15 PM Shabbos ends 6:50 PM |
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