The Torah Portion of "Vayakheil Pekudei Para"
Excerpted and Translated from the the Teachings of Rabbi Gershon Steinberg ztz"l
L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben Chaim ztz"l
L'ilui Neshamat R' Yochanan Yitzchak Ben Nachum z"l
L'ilui Neshamat Yaakov Ben Matisyahu HaLevi z"l
L'ilui Neshamat Michael Ben Nachman z"l
L'ilui Neshamat Zehava Bat Shlomo z"l
L'ilui Neshamat Esther Mushka Bat Yaakov HaLevi z"l
L'ilui Neshamat Esther Bat Natan z"l
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Malka Bat Rivkah Zlata
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Deena Bat Tzion Bat Zehava
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Chaya Basha Bat Esther
L'refuat Hanefesh V'lrefuat Haguf L'Etan Naphtali Ben Zehava
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Rivkah Goldah Bat Chaya Basha
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Shimon Ben Rivkah Goldah
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Simcha Pearl Bat Rivkah Goldah
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Ahuva Nechama Bat Simcha Pearl
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Moshe Shlomo Ben Rivkah Goldah
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Chaim Sh'muel Ben Rivkah Goldah
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Avital Bat Rut
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Eliezer Yitzchak Ben Bracha Devorah
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Michael Itzhak Nesshael Ben Avital
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Naomi Chana Bat Chaya Basha
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Refael Ben Masha Etel
L'refuat Hanefesh V'lrefuat Haguf L'Fruma Freidel Bat Esther
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Rav Daniel Reuven Ben Esther
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Simcha Alice Allegra Bat Miriam
L'refuat Hanefesh V'lrefuat Haguf L'Nachum Natan Ben Chana and
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Kol Am Yisrael V'l'geulah Hashleima Bekarov
The Torah Portion of Vayahkeil
"And Moshe assembled... and on the seventh day it shall be to you holy..." (Shemot 35:1-2)
Our Rabbis who were learned in Aggadatta have said, that from the beginning of the Torah until its end, there is not within it a portion that states at its beginning "Yayahkeil" ("and he assembled") except for this one. The Holy One Blessed Be He said, make for yourself large assemblies of people and explain before them in public the halachic laws of Shabbat, so that they will learn from you in future generations to gather together assemblies of people every Shabbat and to meet in the Batei Midrash to learn and instruct Israel about words of Torah regarding what is forbidden and what is permitted, in order for my great name to be glorified among my children. (from Yalkut)
"And Moshe assembled... and on the seventh day it shall be to you holy...(Shemot 35:1-2)
In addition, there is a Midrash: the Torah said before the Holy One Blessed Be He, "Master of the Universe, when Israel enters into the Land, this one will run to his vineyard and that one will run to his field, and I, what will happen to me?" He (the Holy One Blessed Be He) said to her (i.e., the Torah), I have a marriage-partner that I will marry you to and Shabbat is her name; when they will be resting from their work and able to occupy themselves with you.
"And Moshe assembled..." (Shemot 35:1)
Rashi says that this occurred on the day after Yom Kippur. It is customary for people to appease their friends on the day before Yom Kippur, but also on the day after Yom Kippur we should take care to continue to assemble together and to live in peace and brotherhood. And that was the intention of what Rashi says "And Moshe assembled - on the day after Yom Kippur".
"You shall not light fire in any of your dwellings on the day of Shabbat" (Shemot 35:3)
It is brought in the holy books that even though the fire of Gehinnom is extinguished on Shabbat, for someone who desecrates Shabbat the fires of Gehinnom are kindled especially for him to punish him. And this is what the Torah is warning us, that one should be careful not to desecrate Shabbat since that would cause the fires of Gehinnom to be lit up for him. Also, the Sages said that the sin of desecrating Shabbat causes fires, G-d forbid. And this is what the Torah is hinting to us, that you shouldn't cause fires to flare up in your dwelling places, because of desecration of Shabbat, G-d forbid. Similarly, if we are careful not to desecrate Shabbat, then as a result there will not be any fires in our houses. In addition, it is hinted in the holy books, that on the holy Sabbath, one needs to be especially careful to prevent the kindling of the fire of divisive argumentation (Machloket). On Shabbat people are present in the Bait Knesset and are not busy with their weekday work, so the evil inclination finds an opportunity precisely on this holy day to incite people to have disagreements and arguments. And that is why the Torah says "You shall not light fire...on the day of Shabbat".
"Betzalel the son of Uri the son of Chur" (Shemot 35:30)
Why does the Torah, when it is telling the ancestry of Betzalel, also mention his connection to his grandfather Chur? Rashi explains, because Chur was the son of Miriam the Prophetess, and therefore Betzalel merited to make the Mishkan (Tabernacle). And there are those that say, that the reason Betzalel merited to do this, was because of his grandfather Chur who gave up his life during the episode of the Golden Calf, when he refused to make the Golden Calf, and they (the rabble-rousers) killed him. And also, this is to teach us, that by means of the act of the setting up of the Mishkan which was made by the grandson of Chur, that was a sign that Israel was granted atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf. For if that was not the case, Betzalel could not have made the Mishkan, since he was the grandson of Chur who was killed in the episode of the Golden Calf, and someone who is a Katigor (acting, as it were, as attorney on the side of the prosecution in the Heavenly Courts) cannot be a Sanigor (an attorney of the side of the defense in the Heavenly Courts). And also, Mesirut Nefesh (the devotion of one's soul) needs to be done without investigations and over-intellectualization, since the hesitance involved in such investigations will delay one's internal will to give up his life for the sanctification of Hashem Yitbarach, as the Chassid Yavetz states, and Nachshon Ben Aminadav who was the Prince of the tribe of Yehudah, devoted himself at the Sea with Mesirut Nefesh, and also Chur devoted himself at the episode of the Golden Calf. And therefore, he (the Chassid Yavetz) said that since they didn't investigate or over-intellectualize too much, therefore Betzalel was filled with the spirit of G-d with wisdom and knowledge, etc., and that is why it is written "son of Chur of the tribe of Yehuda" (Shemot 35:30) (from the Meshech Chachma)
The Torah Portion of Pekudei
"These are the accountings of the Mishkan...which were counted at the word of Moshe." (Shemot 38:21)
The Holy Zohar asks, isn't it so that the blessing is not to be found except in something which is hidden from the eye, so why did they count all the silver? And the answer is that regarding the silver which was counted by Moshe Rabbeinu, that the blessing rests upon it even if it is counted and not hidden from the eye. And that is the explanation of the verse "these are the accountings of the Mishkan...which were counted at the word of Moshe" -- because they were counted by Moshe there was no damage or lack caused by the counting of the sum of the donations for the Mishkan, and on the contrary because of the power of Moshe's greatness and righteousness, there was no reason to prevent the blessing.
"...a hundred sockets (in Hebrew: "Adanim") for a hundred kikar..." (Shemot 38:27)
The Baal HaTurim wrote that in parallel to the hundred sockets they established to say a hundred blessings every day. And the Chidushei HaRim says that just as the sockets are the basis of the Mishkan, so also the blessings are the basis of the holiness of every man of Israel, and by means of the blessings he testifies that Hashem, may He be blessed, is the Master of all of Creation. The Kli Yakar says that a Socket (in Hebrew: Aden) is from the same root as Master (in Hebrew: Adon), and he says that someone holds himself to be lowly like a Socket, is a Master, and as in the language of the Zohar, someone who regards himself as lowly, is great.
"...and Moshe blessed them." (Shemot 39:43)
Rashi states that Moshe said to them "May it be Hashem's will that the Shechina (the Divine Presence) should dwell within the work of your hands". And the explanation of this is, that in all the activities that a person is occupied with, also in matters of physicality and earning a livelihood, it needs to be recognizable within that activity that he is serving the Creator and that the Shechina is present. And that is the meaning of saying that "the Shechina should dwell within the work of your hands."
"...as Hashem had commanded Moshe." (Shemot 40:19 and other places)
There are 18 times in this Torah Portion that it is mentioned "as Hashem had commanded Moshe", and it is brought in the Talmud Yerushalmi that in parallel to this there were 18 blessings established in the Shemoneh Esrei prayer. And this is also to show us that in every act that a person does, he needs to know if that is in accord with the commandment of Hashem.
Why is the Torah repetitive?
Why did the Torah repeat separately the service in the Mishkan, and the commandments about the Mishkan, and the making of the Mishkan, and the setting up of the Mishkan, with all the details each and every time? It is because the Holy One Blessed Be He desires very much to have His Shechina dwell within Israel.
The Mishkan was finished on the 25th of Kislev.
The Mishkan was finished on the 25th of Kislev, but Hashem said to set it up on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, since that is the month in which Yitzchak Avinu was born, and he was a Korban (sacrificial offering), and the Mishkan was the place to bring sacrificial offerings. The month of Kislev came with a complaint, "why are they waiting till the month of Nissan?" So Hashem said, it is incumbent upon me to "pay" Kislev with the holiday of Chanukah. (from the Sages)
The Siman (Mnemonic Sign) at the end of every Torah Portion.
At the end of every Torah Portion appears the sum of the number of verses in the Torah Portion, together with a corresponding mnemonic sign, except for the Torah Portion of Pekudei. There is no mnemonic sign for the sum of the number of verses. And it has been explained in the name of one of the Tzaddikim (Righteous Men), that in his opinion, that was just an omission of the printer. And it is possible that it was written "Bli Kol Siman" (In English: "without any mnemonic sign") --- that is to say, the "Siman" (in Engish: "mnemomic sign" ) was "Bli Kol" (in English: "without any") which has the Gematia (numerical value of the letters) of 92, which is the number of verses in the Torah Portion. And the printer came and understood it in a simple manner, that there was no mnemomic sign, and therefore left it out...(from Otzar HaChaim, as brought in the book "Torat HaParshah"). )
We bless "Chazak" at the end of the Torah Portion of Pekudei, which is the end of the book of Shemot.
THE TORAH PORTION OF PARA
The reason for the reading of the Torah Portion of Para (the Red Heifer) is that at the time when the Temple existed and they could sacrifice the Passover offering, someone who was impure because of contact with a dead person was not able to bring the offering unless he became purified beforehand by means of the ashes of the red heifer. It was necessary to remind and announce to everyone who had become impure from contact with a dead person to purify himself from that impurity, so that he could bring the Passover offering at the right time.
Therefore they began early to encourage people about it before the month of Nissan, so that those who lived far away from Jerusalem would already start to leave their cities on Rosh Chodesh Nissan in order to go up to Jerusalem, and while the people were still at home in their cities, they would remind them that if someone had become impure from contact with a dead person, he first needed to purify himself. And even though, in our many sins, the Temple has been destroyed and we don't have the bringing of the Passover offering and don't have impurity from a dead person which we need to be purified from beforehand, in any event we learn about these commandments and laws and pray before Hashem, may His name be blessed, that also upon us will be cast the purifying waters, in the near future. And by means of learning these laws may it be considered as if we have purified ourselves from our impurity.
There are those that say that also the reading of the Torah Portion of Para is a Mitzvah D'Oraita (a commandment from the Torah), but the opinion of most of the Halachic authorities is that this reading is a Mitzvah D'Rabanan (a commandment from the Rabbis). In the Sefer Aruch HaShulchan, and in the Sefer Dovev Meisharim, there are sources brought about this. And it is written in the Mishna Brura (Section 685, small section 15) that even for a Mitzvah D'Rabanan (a commandment from the Rabbis), it is also necessary to have intention to fulfill the Mitzvah.
"...And they shall take to you..." (Bamidbar 19:2)
The Holy One Blessed Be He said to Moshe that only "to you" I am revealing the reason for the Para Adumah (Red Heifer), and not to anyone else. And even Shlomo HaMelech that Scriptures says about him that he was wiser than all the people, and he was expert in all kinds of wisdom, did not grasp the secret of the Para Adumah, and that is why he said: "I said that I would become wise, but it is distant from me" (Kohelet Chapter 7). That is to say, I thought in my heart that I would become wise and succeed to understand the secret of the Para Adumah, and behold, it is distant from me. The words "it is distant" in Hebrew have the same Gematria (numerical value) as "Para Adumah".
The Torah Portion of "Vayakheil" has 122 verses. It has 1 negative commandment. The Torah Portion of "Pekudei" has 92 verses.
Two Torah Scrolls are taken out: 1) for the weekly Torah portion and 2) the Torah portion of Para, from the beginning of the Torah Portion of Chukat until the words "ad haerev" (in English: until the evening).The Haftorah is "Vayehi Devar Hashem" (Yechezkel 36)
This week is Shabbat Mevorchim for the month of Nissan. Rosh Chodesh Nisan is on Shabbat Kodesh. The Molad is Lail Shabbat Kodesh at the hour 3:53 with 4 Chalakim.
The 1 Mitzvah in the Torah Portion of Vayakheil is:
The negative commandment, that the Beit Din should not carry out the death penalty on Shabbat. (Shemot 35:3)We say Borchi Nafshi
May you have a light-filled and happy Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom
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