Vayakhel-Pekudei 5770 - March 12, 2010
About Frogs, the Moon, and Us
A story about frogs:
When a thriving community of yellow spotted bell frogs, a species thought to be extinct since 1973, was spotted in remote Australian farmland, batrachiologists (a.k.a frog experts) were called in. Some of these experts have now confirmed that this is indeed the missing species.
A story about the moon:
Every month, the moon appears to get smaller and smaller until it cannot be seen at all. Then it reappears and grows from a silver sliver to a round glowing disc.
3,322 years ago, G‑d spoke to Moses in Egypt. He gave him the very first mitzvah: the mitzvah to establish a Jewish calendar—a calendar that is determined by the cycle of the moon. This Shabbat, in the synagogue, we will listen to a special Torah reading, called "Parshat Hachodesh," that discusses this mitzvah.
A story about the Jewish people:
We are compared to the moon. We are not extinct, and we are not gone. Despite all predictions to the contrary, we are still here.
And when Moshiach comes, we will appear for the first time in our fullest glory, shining as bright as the sun.
Disappointedly, the world we hoped for is not the world which I gift to you. What I can give you is a faith that there is a purpose to it all, a desire to strive for it, and a confidence that we will achieve it
“Just what my daughter would say if she could,” said one mother. “How I wish I had read this five years ago. It took my husband and I such a long time to ‘learn’ these things...”
When you cultivate a "we" sensibility in the family, your child will feel less competition and more identification with siblings
Betzalel, the prototype architect, objected to the order. "A person first builds a residence," he argued, "and then makes its furniture..."
Building the Tabernacle, G-d’s terrestrial residence, must have been a most sought-after contract. What was it about Bezalel and Oholiab that caused them to land this coveted assignment?
Men, women and children all lined up to contribute to the cause. One would hardly imagine that the children's gift made much of a difference to a project as grand as that of the Tabernacle...
Vayak'hel and Pekudei: why they are joined (some years), why they are separated (other years), why Vayak'hel comes first, why Vayak'hel took Pekudei's name and Pekudei took Vayak'hel's, not to mention the fact that both Parshahs appear to be almost entirely superfluous
The Israelites donate abundant materials for the construction of the Tabernacle. The holy vessels, tapestries and walls are completed and the priestly clothes are sewn. Moses initiates Aron's family into the priesthood, errects the Tabernacle and the Divine Presence rests upon it.
The door creaked on its hinges as Rabbi Lippman hurried to open it for the band of strangers. The men were dressed in rags and tatters, their beards had grown wild...
It had been on Independence Day, when I was nine or ten years old, that she whispered an odd warning, borne of a distant Russian wisdom, which ruled and guided my life for the next four decades...
Democracy and human rights are cornerstones of our moral vision in the modern era. Where do we Jews fit--historically and ideologically--into this picture?
If G-d is perfect, why did He create us? A perfect being isn't missing anything, so why would He need us?
In our dual quests for the security of routine on the one hand and the excitement of change on the other, we've been quite successful in the former, but have failed miserably in the latter. Why is it so hard for us to have fun?
"Creation" (beriah, in the Hebrew), which means bringing something into being out of a prior state of non-existence, implies a "before" and "after"; so to say that G-d created anything is also to say that He first (or simultaneously) created time...
The nature of any two-way relationship is that each person brings his or her strengths and weaknesses, and that is exactly why it works so well...
Like many men and women of my generation, I was caught up in proving myself. One successful academic publication begot more. A teaching award necessitated that I earn the next higher honor . . .
At times they would just wobble, catching themselves and recorrecting. Other times they flat out fell, skidding across the ice until they could stabilize. But no matter how hard the fall, the same thing would always happen. They would get right back up...
What others think of us is relevant only if it reflects what we stand for and the way we honor their dignity. The secret is that we attain the favor of others precisely when we free ourselves of kowtowing to public opinion . . .
“Why are you asking forgiveness?” the Rebbetzin exclaimed. “My husband and I were sent to this world to serve people in need twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week...”
Due to the limitations of your reality, some of your best friends can enter only incognito.
In fact, the really big ones sometimes sneak in disguised as ugly monsters and vicious enemies. Otherwise, the guards at the gate would never permit them entry.
These are the events optimists call “blessings in disguise.”
Here’...