Dvar Torah Parashat Pekudei - Parashat HaChodesh

Dedicated Leilui Nishmat Margalit bat Victoria A’h

By her son, Sam J Kassin

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Parashat Pekudei / Parashat HaChodesh

A Redeeming End

In Parashat Pekudei, we complete the reading of the book of Shemot with the completion of the Mishkan. As we learned in the beginning of the chapter, it seems unusual that the book of Shemot, a book filled with a dramatic story of exile, miracles, and deliverances, should end with an almost anticlimactic conclusion of building the Mishkan. Shouldn’t the sefer end with a bang, at Yetziat Mitzrayim where Bnei Yisrael are officially redeemed?

As we learned previously, the Ramban teaches that, “The galut is not over until they [Bnei Yisrael] return to the level of their forefathers... and even once they achieve their freedom from Egypt, they are not considered redeemed yet, for they still wander in the desert. But once they arrive at Har Sinai to receive the Torah and build the Mishkan, and G-d's Shechina dwells upon them - then they return to the level of their forefathers and are then considered totally redeemed.”

Supporters of Torah Scholars

Rabbi Mansour brings down the Gemara of Masechet Berachot (55a), which tells of the conversation Moshe had with Bezalel, the man appointed by G-d to lead the construction of the Mishkan. Moshe told him to first build the ark and the other furnishings of the Mishkan and then construct the Mishkan in which these items would be kept. Bezalel replied by pointing out that first one builds a house, and then he brings in the furniture. If the furniture were to be purchased first, there would be nowhere to keep it while the house is being built. As such, it would make more sense to first build the Mishkan before building the kelim. Moshe agreed with Bezalel’s wisdom and switched the order.

What is the significance of this exchange? Rabbi Mansour explains, the holy furnishings, like the aron which held the tablets, represent the Torah scholars of the world. The Mishkan, which holds all the furnishings, represents those who hold, or support, those who study Torah.

Moshe mentioned the aron and other sacred articles first to indicate that the scholars of Torah are greater than those who support them. However, Bezalel expressed the other perspective, the viewpoint which sees the supporters as even greater than the scholars. They are the ‘houses,’ providing the framework that holds the ‘furniture.’ If the scholars have no source of material support, they would not be able to study. And so in this sense, the supporters are even greater, as Torah study could not take place without them.

Held Accountable

In this week’s parasha the passuk give a detailed account of every dollar Moshe used for the Mishkan. How much silver was used in the silver sockets, which wools went for which clothes of the Kohen and the curtains… In the end, Moshe discovered he did not have an account for 1,775 silver coins. He feared Bnei Yisroel would judge him and think he stole from the donations. A voice from heaven came out and declared that the 1,775 silver coins missing were used for the hooks of the curtains.

Rabbi Shapiro adds that when Moshe was building the Mishkan, Bnei Yisroel demanded a full account for every penny he used and how much of was spent on each vessel. However, when Bnei Yisroel gave an enormous amount of money and jewelry for the golden calf, they never asked how much was used. This is a lesson for life. When it comes to spiritual items, people are critical and stingy. On the other hand, when it comes to physical items, they don’t care as much. A man once came to his Rabbi and said, “I received a huge honor to raise money for my Yeshiva, but I don’t want to do it because of ayin hara.” His Rabbi laughed and said, “Now you’re worried about ayin hara?! What about when you made that fancy wedding, that fancy car you drive, and that new extension to your house you just made? How you treat your physical life, you should treat your spiritual life.

How often do we spend time shopping for the perfect outfit and comparing the differences to different meats while planning a simcha? That is why each mitzvah has so many details. Make sure you are not being a hypocrite, and you invest the time and effort you use your physical life for your spiritual life. After 120 that’s all you will have with you.

Good Intentions

The Torah says, “Now they brought the Mishkan to Moshe (39:33).” Rabbi Frand reviews an interesting Midrash from Parashat Pekudei. According to the Midrash, the boards of the Mishkan were so heavy that the people could not hold them up next to each other long enough for them to assemble the Mishkan. They kept toppling over. In frustration, the people brought all the boards and poles to Moshe, and he assembled it with miraculous strength that Hashem granted him especially for this purpose.

The passuk in the parasha, however, states that the Jewish people “brought the Mishkan to Moshe.” This would seem to imply that they brought him a completely assembled Mishkan. What does that mean?

Regarding this same verse, the Midrash tells a story concerning Rabbi Abahu's departure from this world. On the threshold of Olam Habah, he was shown all the reward that awaited him, and he remarked with astonishment, “All of this is for Abahu? I thought I had been toiling in vain, and now I see I have a great portion in the World to Come!”

What point is the Midrash making by bringing this story in connection to the erection of the Mishkan? And how do we understand Rabbi Abahu's surprise? Did he really expect that having spent his life learning Torah and doing mitzvot he would not be rewarded in Olam Habah?

Rav Shlomo Breuer explains that Judaism is a deed-oriented religion. It is not enough to say, “I am a Jew at heart.” Deeds count: learning Torah, performing mitzvot, doing chessed. Being a Jew is about doing, from the moment we rise in the morning until the moment we go to bed. At the same time, however, intent also plays a great role in Judaism. If someone is prevented by circumstances beyond his control from doing a mitzvah, the Torah considers it as if he had done it. Judaism demands deeds, but not necessarily results. If a Jew puts in the honest and sincere effort, he is rewarded even if he is not successful. Hashem, in His infinite kindness, considers good intentions as deeds.

Rabbi Abahu was saying, “There were so many times in my life when I made the effort, but I was not successful. I had assumed that on these occasions my efforts had been futile. Now I see that I have been rewarded even for my intentions even when they were unsuccessful.”

When the time came to assemble the Mishkan, the Jewish people made every effort to do it by themselves. Sweat poured from their brows; veins bulged on their foreheads; they strained, and they pushed those heavy boards with all their might, but they could not erect the Mishkan. It was simply beyond them, and they had no choice but to turn to Moshe for help.

Nonetheless, the Torah reports that they “brought the Mishkan to Moshe,” because that is what they intended to do and what they tried to do with all their hearts. Hashem considered it as if they had erected the Mishkan themselves, and He rewarded them!

Never Give Up

There is not an extra word in the Torah. In this week’s parasha, Michael Kaplan elaborates as to why the passuk describes Betzalel as “Betzalel Ben Uri Ben Chur (Shemot 38:22).”

Chazal explain that the Torah traces Betzalel’s lineage to Chur because of Chur’s sacrifice. Chur, the son of Miriam stood against Bnei Yisrael during their moment of panic by chet haegel—sin of the golden calf and was killed in the chaos. One learning the Torah may assume Chur’s bravery was futile, as Bnei Yisrael still sinned. Hashem however remembers and treasures every act of righteousness a person does. To reward Chur, Hashem grants Chur the ultimate privilege of building the mishkan and its vessels, which were a kapara—atonement for the chet haegel!

Michael Kaplan tells of a story that happened to two good friends of his. He starts of by introducing his good friend Banish that was about to undergo a grueling bone marrow transplant in Los Angeles. Whilst in recovery, two close friends came to visit him. Banish told them of a Yerushalmi man that did not speak English that was getting a bone marrow transplant as well, and they decided to visit him.

They wandered around, until they found the room. As they were about to walk in, the head of the nursing department stepped out and said that the man had just had the surgery, and he is not going to be up for visitors any time soon.

Disappointed the men turned to leave, and then the nurse noticing their Jewish clothing asked them if they spoke Hebrew. They said yes. The nurse began to explain how this man had a wife in the waiting room that didn’t speak English. He asked if they could explain to her what they tell every patient before the surgery that he won’t have the strength to move. He will be more tired than you ever were before, and it will take 24-48 hours before he will be able to sit up. We just don’t want the wife to panic when she sees him.

While the nurse was talking, something astonishing happened. While the nurse was talking, the three men saw the Yerushalmi man stirred. Noticing the men’s reaction the nurse turned as well. Thirty minutes after a bone marrow transplant, the patient who should have been completely incapacitated sat up, swung his legs over the bed and stood up. This all was done casually as if he hadn’t had the surgery at all. The man calmly walked across the room, opened the cabinet, put on his hat and with complete composure he washed netilat yadayim with the beracha. Just as calmly as he had risen, he went back into bed.

The room was frozen. After what seemed an eternity of silence the nurse found his voice. “It’s not possible! It’s not possible. Nobody moves after the surgery. Nobody!”

Banish turned to the nurse with an astounding insight. “Either we just witnessed a medical miracle, or maybe he moved because no one told him he couldn’t. Every patient is explained what to expect after the surgery, and they believe you because you are a nurse. They don’t get up because they don’t believe it’s possible. They don’t even try. But no one spoke Hebrew to explain to this man that he couldn’t get up. No one placed that limitation in his mind!”

We should never tell ourselves what is possible, and what isn’t. Going out of our comfort zone may seem meaningless now. We should remember that just like Chur’s sacrifice was able to bring the atonement for Bnei Yisrael, we never know what Hashem has planned for us.

An Effort to Succeed

Rabbi Joey Haber told a story about a man whose effort proved to be invaluable. The man was asked to fly a Sefer Torah from one country to another. He got to the security line and was immediately confronted. “Sir, what is this?” the TSA agent asked. “It’s a very holy religious object.” The agent said, “Well it’s going to have to go underneath the plane with the luggage. You can’t carry that with you.” The man replied, “Absolutely not, please just let me through. This needs to stay with me at all times.” She saw it was important to him and answered, “Okay. You can try to go to the gate with it, but there’s no way they’ll let it on the plane.” And she cleared him through security.

When he approached the gate, the man at the gate stopped him. “Sir, what is that?” “This is my Torah,” he answered. The man at the gate shook his head. “I was cleared through security, and it has to fly with me. I can’t separate from it; it’s really important.” The man at the gate called his supervisor and after some deliberating, he said to passenger, “If you want you can try to get on the plane but they’re going to stop you at the door again. I’m telling you there is no way they’re going to let you on that plane with that.” The man happily went through and waited for his next hurdle.

As he stepped on the plane with the Sefer Torah, the head flight attendant said, “Uh sir, no you can’t bring that on this plane. You have to gate-check that, otherwise we won’t be able to take off.” The man stressed how important this holy article was and begged them to let him keep it with him for the flight. The flight attendant went to get the pilot to ask special permission, and the man braced himself waiting for the final answer.

The pilot came out and said, “What’s going on here?” The man started rambling, “This is my Torah and it’s extremely important, and I need it to fly with me so I could make sure nothing happens to it.” The pilot said, “Well you can’t keep it here, but no problem, you can keep it up in the cockpit with me, because that’s where I keep my tefillin.”

When we want to achieve something, we can’t just sit back. We have to do everything in our power to succeed, just as Bnei Yisrael put their blood, sweat, and tears into trying to build the Mishkan. May we see many berachot and successes from our efforts, and may we always be the backbone of Torah, whether we are the learners or supporters of those who study. Amen!

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Amram Sananes, written by Jack Rahmey

Discussion Point:

When we’ve put in effort to succeed in the past, did we benefit from trying hard, whether or not we saw results?

This book is a compilation of Divre Torah from the weekly parasha classes from Rabbi Sananes’ teachings over the last 10 years along with my own experiences in those classes which has stimulated my Torah growth. I’ve included many pertinent stories and life lessons to grow from at your Shabbat table. There’s also questions and discussion points at the end of each Parasha to stimulate a Torah conversation at your Shabbat table for the whole family to participate in. Also, included is a holidays section at the end of the book to use for all of our special holidays and Yomiim Toviim.



Now available in all Jewish bookstores and Amazon!

I and Rabbi Sananes look forward to hearing your feedback.

Sincerely, Jack E. Rahmey and Rabbi Amram Sananes jrahmey@rahmeyfinancial.com (917-226-6276) and AmramSanases@me.com

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Le’ilui Nishmat…

Eliyahu Ben Rachel

Rabbi Shimon Chay Ben Yaasher

Avraham Ben Garaz

Sarah Bat Chanah

Esther Bat Sarah

Avraham Ben Mazal

Shulamit Bat Helaina

Rabbi Meyer Ben Chana

Rahamim Ben Mazal

Batsheva Bat Sarah Esther

Rafael Ben Miriam

Ovadia Ben Esther

Rav Haim Ben Rivka

Moshe Ben Mazal

Moshe Ben Yael

Yitzchak Ben Adele

Avraham Ben Mazal

Meir Ben Latifa

Chanah Bat Esther

Yaakov Ben Rachel

Malka Bat Garaz

Moshe Ben Garaz

Avraham Ben Kami

Yaakov Ben Leah

Mordechai Ben Rachel

Chacham Shaul Rachamim Ben Mazal

Natan Ben Rachel

Saadia Ben Miriam

Eliyah Ben Latifa Simhon

Margalit Bat Mazal

Ovadia Haim Ben Malaky

Rabbi Aharon Chaim Ben Ruchama

Luratte Bat Masouda

Esther Bat Menucha

Uri Ben Rahel

Rivka Bat Dona

Shalom Ben Zahra

Rachel Bat Sarah

Shalom Ben Zahra

Chava Yvette Bat Jamile

Refuah Shelemah…

Rachel Bat Devorah

Anyone interested in dedicating this Divre Torah Le'ilui Nishmat or Refuah Shelemah or In Honor of someone, can email me at jrahmey@rahmeyfinancial.com. Checks can be made out to “A Life of Torah” for $101 and mailed to 2387 Ocean Ave Suite 1G, Brooklyn, NY 11229 (please put in the memo “Divre Torah”). Anyone interested in past parshiot please go to the website ParashaPerspective.org