Parsha Vayakhel/Pekudei
March 14, 2026/25 Adar 5786
This week is essentially a triple parsha, Vayakhel and Pekudei out of one scroll, and the fourth of or four special parshaot, Parshat HaChodesh, before Rosh Chodesh Nissan. As we approach Pesach and my wife goes into high gear cleaning and getting everything ready, I wanted to use this special edition of Parsha Power to recognize the everyday contributions of all Jewish women everywhere. We all recognize the big stuff. For example, we all know how Rebecca saw through Esau’s deceit and got Jacob the blessing, or how Deborah led the Jewish people to victory over Sisera, but history at large seems to record events through a male lens. What about the regular Jewish women as they trekked through the desert? What about their experience?
This week’s parsha of Vayakhel gives us some insight into the hearts and minds of the Jewish women. Verse 25:22 states the men came with the women to contribute gifts to the building of the Tabernacle. They brought bracelets, rings, etc., usually the purview of the women. In last week’s parsha, we learned how the men took those items against the will of the women to make the golden calf. Now the women are ready to willingly donate those items since this time it is to serve G-d (Ramban). In fact, the verse states (25:29) that every man and woman whose heart motivated them to bring gifts did so, not simply referring to them as the people. The women also participated in the actual construction of the Tabernacle. Women whose hearts were inspired with wisdom spun the goat hair for the curtains.
I find it no coincidence that this section is adjacent to that commanding observance of the Shabbat. We are to work six days, then rest on the seventh. But as my wife always reminds me, the Shabbat itself is still work! Serving guests, feeding the kids, getting everyone ready for shul, there is no rest for the women! The difference is the spiritual nature of the work. The physical work is the 39 forms of work outlined in the construction of the Tabernacle, the work of Shabbat is to introduce spiritual life into the physical actions we do, making the food and clothes an act of honoring G-d.
Women bring life into the world, both physically and spiritually. In this week’s Parshat HaChodesh we are commanded regarded the Jewish calendar with Nissan as the new year, and Passover which follows on the eve of the fourteenth. The new year and new months are set by observing the moon, with the sun only serving to keep the months in seasons. It follows that Rosh Chodesh, recognizing the new moon, is mythologically and kabbalistically associated with femininity, as it represents the cycle of life and pulls the world’s water, also associated with life. Note Miriam’s well, a Prophetess in whose merit the life sustaining water was given to the Jewish people in the desert.
It is with the everyday spirituality in mind that I want to recognize, not only the big things like my wife’s amazing Rosh Chodesh book club, but also the little things – dressing up the kids for Shabbat, editing these newsletters, and caring for others at her work, home, and beyond. I want to recognize my mother, my grandmothers, and all the women of the community who bring our Shabbat to life, by participating in the services, helping with our Shabbat kiddush, or doing all the work that has been bringing to life our recent successful events (and the Passover Seders to come).
Shabbat Shalom ladies (and to the men who support them),
Rabbi Josh
This week’s parsha of Vayakhel gives us some insight into the hearts and minds of the Jewish women. Verse 25:22 states the men came with the women to contribute gifts to the building of the Tabernacle. They brought bracelets, rings, etc., usually the purview of the women. In last week’s parsha, we learned how the men took those items against the will of the women to make the golden calf. Now the women are ready to willingly donate those items since this time it is to serve G-d (Ramban). In fact, the verse states (25:29) that every man and woman whose heart motivated them to bring gifts did so, not simply referring to them as the people. The women also participated in the actual construction of the Tabernacle. Women whose hearts were inspired with wisdom spun the goat hair for the curtains.
I find it no coincidence that this section is adjacent to that commanding observance of the Shabbat. We are to work six days, then rest on the seventh. But as my wife always reminds me, the Shabbat itself is still work! Serving guests, feeding the kids, getting everyone ready for shul, there is no rest for the women! The difference is the spiritual nature of the work. The physical work is the 39 forms of work outlined in the construction of the Tabernacle, the work of Shabbat is to introduce spiritual life into the physical actions we do, making the food and clothes an act of honoring G-d.
Women bring life into the world, both physically and spiritually. In this week’s Parshat HaChodesh we are commanded regarded the Jewish calendar with Nissan as the new year, and Passover which follows on the eve of the fourteenth. The new year and new months are set by observing the moon, with the sun only serving to keep the months in seasons. It follows that Rosh Chodesh, recognizing the new moon, is mythologically and kabbalistically associated with femininity, as it represents the cycle of life and pulls the world’s water, also associated with life. Note Miriam’s well, a Prophetess in whose merit the life sustaining water was given to the Jewish people in the desert.
It is with the everyday spirituality in mind that I want to recognize, not only the big things like my wife’s amazing Rosh Chodesh book club, but also the little things – dressing up the kids for Shabbat, editing these newsletters, and caring for others at her work, home, and beyond. I want to recognize my mother, my grandmothers, and all the women of the community who bring our Shabbat to life, by participating in the services, helping with our Shabbat kiddush, or doing all the work that has been bringing to life our recent successful events (and the Passover Seders to come).
Shabbat Shalom ladies (and to the men who support them),
Rabbi Josh
