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Pekudei 5763 (2003)

Blood TypeJessica lost her life, and two other critically illpeople will not be receiving the organs used inthe attempt to cure her. What can we learn fromthis devastating mishap?

G-d’s Treasure ChestIn a few days, when my daughter wouldn't notice,I will unobtrusively discard it -- who has room forso much clutter? But at that moment, the crumpledpiece of paper was the most precious thing in theworld

Pekudei — Exodus 38:21-40:384,386 pounds of gold, plus equally impressivequantities of silver and copper... eight garmentsand seven days of initiation... as the book ofExodus concludes and the Divine Presence find ahome

new materialadded daily!

Just Act NaturallyDoing mitzvahs is the most

natural thing for a Jew. After allthese millennia, it has becomeinborn behavior. To such adegree that it takes much moreeffort and psychological strainfor us to act otherwise.

This magazine contains sacredTorah material. Please do not discard.

Therefore man was created asingle individual: to teach usthat whoever destroys a singlelife, it is as if he destroyed theentire world; and whoever sus-tains a single life, it is as if hesustained the entire world.

(Talmud)How Scientific is Torah?For millennia we were ridiculed for believing thatthe world began, cause and effect are not inherentlylinked, a whole is greater than the sum of its parts,the human psyche is multi-layered...

Question

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Comment

Israel GoyHow could a Jew be so indifferent to the needs ofhis brothers and sisters? People started referringto the rich miser in their midst as "Israel Goy"and the epithet stuck

Story

Parsha

A drama unfolded last week which captured thenation’s attention. Seventeen year old JessicaSantillan underwent heart and lung transplant sur-gery at Duke University Medical Center on February7th. Towards the end of the surgery a horrific mis-take was discovered. The donated organs were of adifferent blood-type from Jessica’s O negative. Herbody naturally rejected the new organs.Miraculously, a matching set was found and anothersurgery was immediately performed in a desperateattempt to save Jessica’s life.

Before the first transplant, Jessica’s family paid asmuggler to get them into the US from Guadalajara,Mexico. The family waited some three years beforethe first organs were found. The fact that a second,and this time matching set, was found so quickly isextraordinary.

Unfortunately this story did not seem to have ahappy ending. The trauma of having the wrongorgans implanted at first, coupled with the radicalsurgical procedures, caused irreversible damage toJessica’s brain, and she was pronounced dead at 1:25pm on Saturday, February 22, 2003.

The list of tragic occurrences in this story is long.Not only did Jessica lose her life, but two other crit-ically ill people will not be receiving the organs thatwere used for Jessica. This devastating mishapoccurred because somehow the compatibility ofJessica and the donated organs was not confirmedbefore the operation. Somewhere, someone must belosing sleep over this terrible oversight. The anguishin Jessica’s family, other families with waiting recip-ients, and the Duke Medical community must be pro-found. Thankfully, they have immediately put inplace new procedures to preclude another incident ofthis sort taking place.

The advance in medical technology that this sortof case brings to our attention also raises numerousethical questions. The policy is that once someone is

in our country they are placed on the same waitinglist as anyone else. On the other hand, only 5% ofdonated organs are allowed to benefit recent immi-grants. But then again, inmates in prisons are put onthe same list — conceivably a convicted murderermight have gotten those organs before the innocentyoung Jessica.

This question opens up a virtual Pandora’s Box ofpossibilities and dilemmas. If we are to prioritizeone life over another who is to decide the criteria?Will someone who is obese be denied donatedorgans because of a life of self-abuse? What if theoverweight person has a genetic predisposition toobesity? Perhaps in that case it is not really his fault?Once we have crossed the line and decided that pri-orities will be established, are we any better than theancient Greeks who would leave sick babies on hill-tops to die? They did this so that the general societywould not be depleted caring for the sick.

Cases precisely like this help us appreciate theTorah and its creed of ethics. The Torah states thathuman life is sanctified and holy. Every humanbeing is created in the image of G-d. The decision on“Who is to live, and who is to die,” is G-d’s to make.We simply apply the appropriate laws of the Torah tothe situation at hand.

Jessica’s case teaches us something else as well.Each human is unique. One person’s life blood willbe another person’s death. This shows us that we allhave our own special role to play within creation. Noone is superfluous; no one can take another’s placein the cosmic scheme of things. Our differencesmake us stronger as the distinct strands of rope makeit stronger.

When humankind finally appreciates the absolutesanctity of life, recognizing that we all have certainunalienable rights, and at the same time recognizingthat we each have a specific and unique role to play,the world will be ready for redemption. Let us hopeand pray that this occurs speedily in our days!

Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort, chabad@la-costa.org, is direc-tor of Chabad at La Costa, California, and welcomes read-

ers’ comments and questions

Comment

Blood Typeby: Yeruchem Eilfort

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Question:

So we hear all the time about how Torah and sciencedon’t really contradict. But can you give me at least oneor two examples where they actually coincide?

Answer:

The most outstanding example: For millennia, wewere ridiculed for believing . Only in the latter half ofthe 20th century did the evidence come out over-whelmingly on our side. As Dr. Arno Penzias (one ofthe three who received a Nobel Prize for identifying the“background radiation” that became one of the pillarsof the current Big Bang cosmology) writes, “sciencehas finally vindicated Moses and Maimonides overAristotle.”

Abraham was a maverick for believing that all theforces of the cosmos are really a single force. This isthe contention of science for the past 100 years and thedriving force behind the search for the Unified FieldTheory.

The Torah’s account of Creation and of events thatdefy the laws of physics — and even defy logic —implies that the laws of logic are not absolute — i.e. itis not impossible for those laws to have been createdotherwise, and even now, the Creator could adjust themor supersede them at whim. An inkling of this kind ofthinking opened the way for modern mathematics,breaking away from the Euclidian view that the axiomsof geometry are absolute “self evident truths,” and lay-ing the ground for Einstein’s relativity. Indeed, laterattempts to demonstrate that mathematics is based onlogic have all failed. Thinkers today question theabsoluteness of logic itself.

Torah, by presenting the concept of DivineProvidence within nature, requires a universe that isonly loosely linear, rejecting the determinist concept

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How Scientific isTorah?by Tzvi Freeman

Question that cause and effect are inherently linked. This is anoutcome of the Principle of Uncertainty, first enunciat-ed by Heisenberg in 1928. Over the past 30 years,experimentation has repeatedly affirmed this concept.

Torah does not talk in terms of matter as a self-con-tained substance, but as an event, a ‘word’. Today weunderstand matter as simply a dynamic of concentratedenergy, as in the familiar formula E=mc2. Or, in physi-cist David Bohm’s definition, “That which unfolds,whatever the medium.”

Torah relies on witnesses and observation over intu-ition. Today we call this objective empiricism. It iswhat distinguishes the scientist from the Hellenist ormedieval philosopher.

Torah recognizes the role of human consciousness asan active, rather than passive, participant in formingreality. This outcome of the standard model of quantummechanics was first enunciated by John von Neumannin 1932.

Torah consistently relies on the concept of synergy:The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This hasbecome an essential principle in many modern disci-plines, from sociology to chemistry.

Torah, in many halachic applications, relies on“quantum” — smallest possible increments of changewithin space and time. This was the postulate of MaxPlanck that opened the field of quantum mechanics.

The Torah describes all of humankind as descendingfrom a single man and — earlier — a single woman.The overwhelming genetic evidence concurs, althoughthe dating is still somewhat skewed. They’re still catch-ing up.

Torah understands the human psyche as being multi-layered and multifaceted — there isn’t just one personinside. Welcome to modern psychology.

Torah describes planet earth and the entire cosmos inholistic terms. Science today is moving sharply in thisdirection, in life sciences and in physics and cosmolo-gy.

Torah provides inference to many of the customs,beliefs, politics, technologies, etc. of ancient times atwhich historians once balked and archeologists haveonly recently confirmed.

Torah presents and rigorously develops the chaza-

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kah: An event must occur repeatedly under identicalconditions to be considered the most likely outcomein the future (such as the case of the consistently gor-ing ox). This is the basis of the scientific method.

Torah prescribes public education, popularinvolvement and constitutional governance.Sociologists describe how these elements generatestability and productivity in a society.

Torah prescribes a responsible stewardship of ourenvironment. Today we have demonstrated that suchan approach is the only one possible for sustainablelife on the planet.

Many of these examples may seem obvious andtrite, however none of them were accepted as suchuntil recently. I’m sure there are more — if you thinkof some, please fire them over.

Acknowledgement is due to Dr. Moshe Genuth forhis valuable suggestions and assistance with this arti-cle.

By Tzvi Freeman, tfreeman@chabadonline.com

FOOTNOTES

1. See his Creation is Supported by All the Data SoFar, page 78 in Margenau and Varghese, Cosmos, Bios,Theos, Open Court, 1992.

2. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe once put it to a group ofscientists, “So let’s just say we already know there is aUnified Field Theory and we’ll call it G-d.”

3. See Tzvi Saks, On the Nature of Truth inMathematics, in B’Or HaTorah vol 9, pp. 95-103. In theinimitable style of George Burns (playing G-d),“Mathematics! Another one of my mistakes!”

4. For an intelligent exposition of this concept for therest of us, see John Gribbin, In Search of Schrodinger’sCat, Bantam, 1979. Gribbin dismisses the commonmisconception that Heisenberg et al are talking aboutour inability to measure precisely. Rather this is an

inherent characteristic of the universe, that there are noperfectly knowable (“discrete”) states. As Heisenberg him-self put it to the philosophers of his time: Without discretecauses, there are no pre-determined effects — and deter-minism is out the window.

5. In Wholeness and the Implicate Order, Routledge &Kegan Paul, 1980

6. See Tzvi Freeman, Knowledge and Wisdom,www.chabad.org, 2001

7. In Mathematical Foundations of QuantumMechanics. Eugene Wigner later became the major propo-nent of this idea, the only coherent competition being the“Multiple Worlds Model”. That’s not so original, either.

8. Men (y chromosone) from Noah. Women (mitochon-drial DNA) from Eve. The women on the ark were fromvarious families, while the men were from a single fatherand mother.

9. See responsum of Rabenu Asher (“the Rosh” 1250-1328 ) 68:23 for a very modern exposition of this concept.

How Scientific is Torah?Question

Comment | Question | Voices | Story | Parshah | Week at Glance 22 8 4

I’m not sure what spurred it, but this morning, duringmy prayers, my mind wandered.

Maybe it was because I was in the midst of teachinga five-part series on prayer. Or maybe it was simply thehope of stretching out the prayers because of the list oftasks and chores that awaited me once I concluded.

Whatever the case, my contemplation led me to someserious questioning about prayer. My mind wondered:Do You, G-d, really hear my prayers? Do my prayershave any significance or meaning to You? How couldthey? If You are truly the Master and Creator of all, asI had just mouthed from the prayer book, why wouldYou care for or need my humble expressions of my feel-ings toward You? How could the stream of words exit-ing my mouth, some with deliberation, some just stum-bling carelessly out amidst thoughts of deadlines atwork, an appointment I need to arrange, or the buttonthat I need to sew on my daughter’s blouse, possibly beof worth to You?

With these thoughts, I concluded my prayers andbegan my work day. Soon I was working busily at mycomputer preparing a report that was due by the day’send.

Though an integral part of my life, I admit that I amno fan of computers. As much as computers help me,they never fail to frustrate me. And today was no excep-tion.

I tried my best, but for some reason the internet con-nection was down. If I got lucky, I was able to get con-nected only to lose the connection moments later as thewhole system crashed. I soon realized that, with mylack of computer savvy, I was simply incapable of solv-ing the problem on my own.

As frustration set in, I recalled once again my morn-ing dilemma. To me, this was yet another proof, sub-stantiating my point. If getting connected to just anoth-er computer over a phone line required such expertiseand even the smallest problem — a virus, a line of codethat needed updating or a small glitch on the system —could ruin the connection, all the more so a connectionwith You, who is so infinitely apart and distant fromme! Maybe a “prayer expert” could create a connectionwithout any interference problems, but what could Ipossibly accomplish?

Late that evening, I wearily dragged myself off to

bed after a full day. My early morning question returned asI was about to recite the Shema prayers, which are saidbefore retiring. That was when I noticed something on mypillow.

Lying haphazardly was a small crumpled white sheet ofpaper with colorful markings. In the center was a huge, mis-shapen orange-crayoned heart. Inside the heart, in my sevenyear old daughter’s inimitable, partially legible handwritingwere purple letters forming this message: DEAR MOM, ILUV U. THANKS FOR BENG MY MOM.

As I read those ten crayoned words, the question thatgnawed at me all day dissolved.

Did I need this card? Of course not. Why, I had bought thepaper and crayons myself and given them to my daughter.After several days, when my daughter wouldn’t notice, Iwill unobtrusively discard it, just like I had with so many ofher and her siblings’ cards from the past. I try to keep someof their cards in a small treasure chest on my dresser, buteventually they reach their final resting place in the trashbecause no one has room for so much clutter.

But at that moment, this card was more beautiful than themost precious painting. It didn’t bother me that the wordswere misshapen and spelled incorrectly. I didn’t care that thepurple and orange color co-ordination was a clashing eye-sore. Nor did I consider how much thought or care she putinto it, or whether her behavior tomorrow would be in accor-dance with her fond message of love. Because, to me, noneof those things mattered.

It meant the world to me that a seven year old girl wholoves to draw took out a minute of her day to scribble sometender words on a paper. Gazing at the little scrap of paperlying on my pillow filled me with a warmth that was beyondexplanation. My daughter’s small note forged a bond of con-nection, appreciation and love that was stronger than anyglitches and interference could possibly disrupt — despiteher lack of expertise, foresight and artistry.

The next time I pray, I will picture my words forming anoffering of awkwardly crayoned words and forms on a pieceof crumpled paper expressing my deep love and longing tobe connected with You. I will picture the large treasure chestthat I am sure You must keep overflowing with all ourprayers — even our most simple verbal scribbles. I willimagine You taking the time to tenderly read through ourcards, made up from our tears, our innermost thoughts,hopeful wishes and gratitude.

I have no doubt that You keep and treasure each of ourtiniest offerings. After all, I’m sure You aren’t worried aboutthe clutter.

Chana Weisberg is the author of two books — on the lives of Biblical women andon the feminine soul — and is currently working on two more. She is the dean of theJRCC Institute of Torah Study in Toronto and lectures worldwide on issues relating towomen, relationships and mysticism. She welcomes your comments or inquiries about

her speaking tours and books, and can be contacted at cwesiberg@chabad.org

Voices

G-d’s TreasureChestby: Chana Weisberg

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In the city of Krakow there lived a rich Jew by thename of Israel who was famous for his stinginess. Thelocal beggars had long since given up trying to knockat his door. All attempts by the trustees of the commu-nity’s various charity funds to elicit at least a tokencontribution from him were met with polite butadamant refusals.

Israel’s utter heartlessness outraged and mystifiedthe Jews of Krakow. From the days of Abraham, char-ity had been the hallmark of the Jew; in 17th-centuryEurope, where Jews were subject to frequent confisca-tions of their property and expulsions from theirhomes, it was essential to the community’s very sur-vival that those of means should aid their impoverishfellows. How could a Jew be so indifferent to the needsof his brothers and sisters? People started referring tothe rich miser in their midst as “Israel Goy” and theepithet stuck.

Years passed and the rich man grew old and frail.One day, the Krakow Burial Society received a sum-mons to Israel’s home. “I feel that my days are num-bered,” he told them when they came, “and I would liketo discuss with you my burial arrangements. I havealready had shrouds sewn for me and I’ve hired a manto recite the kaddish for my soul. There is just one thingremaining: I need to purchase a plot for my grave.”

The members of the Burial Society decided that thiswas their opportunity to collect the debt owed by Israelto the community. “As you know,” they said to him,“there is no set price for a cemetery plot. Each Jewpays according to their ability, and the money is usedfor charitable purposes. Since you are a wealthy man,and since — if you will excuse our bluntness — youhave not been very forthcoming over the years in shar-ing the burdens of the community, we think it appro-priate to charge you 1000 guldens.”

The rich man calmly replied: “For my deeds I shallbe judged in the heavenly court. It is not for you to

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Israel Goyby Menachem Brod

Question judge what I did or did not do in the course of my life.I had planned to pay 100 guldens for my plot — quitea respectable sum — and that is what I shall pay, not apenny more. I’m not asking for any special location ora fancy gravestone. Bury me where you see fit. I havejust one request: on my gravestone, I want it to beinscribed ‘Here lies Israel Goy.’”

The members of the society exchanged glances: wasthe old man out of his mind? They spent a few moreminutes at his bedside hoping to secure at least a mod-est sum for the community poor, but finally left hishouse in exasperation.

The entire town was abuzz with this latest show ofmiserliness by “Israel Goy.” How low can a man sink!Even at death’s door, he’s hording his wealth, refusingto share his blessings with the needy.

Israel’s funeral was a sorry affair. It was difficult toeven scrape together the needed quorum of ten to con-duct a proper Jewish burial. He was buried off to a side,on the outskirts of the cemetery. No eulogies were held,for what could be said of such a man?

The following Thursday evening, the was a knockon the door of the chief rabbi of Krakow, the famedRabbi Yomtov Lipman Heller (1579-1654; known asthe author of Tosophot Yom Tov). In the doorway stooda man who explained that he had nothing with which topurchase wine, candles, challah and food for theShabbat. The rabbi gave him a few coins from his pri-vate charity fund and wished him a “Good Shabbat”.

A few minutes later there was another knock on thedoor, heralding a similar request. A third petitioner fol-lowed, and then a forth and a fifth. Within the hour, noless than twenty families came to ask for the rabbi’s aidto meet their Shabbat expenses. The rabbi was mysti-fied: nothing like this had happened before in all hisyears in Krakow. Why this sudden plague of poverty?

Rabbi Heller called an emergency meeting of thetrustees of the community’s charity founds, but theycould not explain the phenomenon. They, too, had beendeluged with hundreds of requests for aid in the lastfew hours. The communal coffers had been virtuallyemptied!

As if on cue, there was another knock on the door.“Tell me,” asked the rabbi after handing a few coins tothe latest petitioner, “how did you manage until now?What did you do last week?”

“We bought on credit at the grocer’s,” replied thepauper. “Whenever we needed food and did not have

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with what to pay, the merchant said it was not a prob-lem — he just wrote it down in his ledger. He didn’teven bother us about payment. But now he says thatthat arrangement is over.”

Investigation revealed that hundreds of families inKrakow had subsisted this way — up to now. Forsome reason, none of the grocers, fishmongers andbutchers were willing to extend credit any longer tothe town’s poor.

The rabbi called the town’s food merchants to hisstudy and demanded to know what was going on. Atfirst they refused to tell him. But Rabbi Heller wasadamant. “You’re not leaving this room,” he insisted,“until you tell me what this is all about.”

Finally, the truth came out. For years, Israel hadsupported hundreds of the poorest families inKrakow. Every week the town’s merchants wouldpresent the bill to him, and he paid in full. His onlycondition was that not a soul, not even their closestfamily members, should know. “If any one of youbreathes a word of this to anyone,” he threatened,“you won’t see another copper from me ever again.”

Rabbi Yomtov Lipman was shattered. Such a spe-cial person had lived in their midst, and they, in theirhaste to judge him, had insulted him and reviled him.

The rabbi announced that the shloshim (30th dayanniversary of the passing) of Israel shall be a publicfastday. All adults will neither eat nor drink frommorning to evening, and all will gather at the ceme-tery to beg forgiveness from the deceased.

The rabbi himself eulogized Israel. “You,” hecried, “fulfilled the mitzvah of tzedakah (charity) inits most perfect form — without taking any credit forthe deed, and ensuring that no recipient of your gen-erosity should ever stand ashamed before his bene-factor or feel indebted to him. And we repaid youwith derision and scorn...” The rabbi expressed thewish that when his own time came, he should be laidto rest next to Israel. “We buried you near the fence,like an outcast, but I shall consider it a great honor

and privilege to be buried near you!”The rabbi also instructed that the rich man’s last wish

be fulfilled. On the marker raised above the grave wereetched the words “Here lies Israel Goy”. However, oneword was added to the inscription — the word kadosh,“holy one”. And so the inscription reads to this day onthe gravestone adjoining that of the famed RabbiYomtov Lipman Heller in the old Jewish cemetery ofKrakow: “Here lies Israel Goy Kadosh.”

From the Hebrew by Yanki Tauber,editor@chabadonline.com

FOOTNOTESGoy literally means “nation”; in common Yiddish

usage, the term is used to designate one “of the nations”— i.e., a non-Jew. Literally, “The holy nation Israel.”

Israel GoyStory

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PARSHAH in a nutshell

PekudeiExodus 38:21-40:38Torah Reading for Week of March 2-8, 2003

Moses makes an accounting of the gold, silver andcopper donated by the people for the making of theMishkan. Betzalel, Ahaliav and their assistants makethe Eight Priestly Garments--the Efod, Breastplate,Cloak, Crown, Turban, Tunic, Sash and Breeches --according to the specifications communicated to Mosesin the Parshah of Tetzaveh.

The Mishkan is completed and all its components arebrought to Moses, who erects it and anoints it with theholy Anointing Oil, and initiates Aaron and his foursons into the priesthood. A cloud appears over theMishkan, signifying the Divine Presence that has cometo dwell within it.

This being the Shabbat before the 1st of Nissan, wealso read the section of Hachodesh (Exodus 12:1-20)which relates G-d's words to Moses in Egypt twoweeks before the Exodus, instructing us to set theJewish calendar by the monthly new moon and toregard Nissan as the "head of months." G-d alsoinstructs to bring the Passover offering, to eat it withmatzot and bitter herbs, and to abstain from leaven forseven days.

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Pekudei: The Audit

Pekudei (“Accounts”) is the closing Parshah of the Book ofExodus and last in a series of five Parshiot describing the makingof the Mishkan. The Parshah includes: 1) an audit of the gold,silver and copper used in the Mishkan’s construction; b) the mak-ing of the priestly garments; c) the erection and consecration ofthe Mishkan.

These are the accounts of the Mishkan, the Mishkan ofthe Testimony, as they were counted by the commandof Moses...

The Menorah and the Kaporet (Ark cover) were of solid gold; theArk, Table, Golden Altar, and the Mishkan’s wall panels and postswere gold-plated; gold thread was added to the fibers in the roofcoverings, the Veil (Parochet), screens and the High Priest’s gar-ments. Altogether,

The gold of the offering was twenty nine talents, and seven

hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekels of the sanctu-ary.

The silver for the Mishkan was supplied by the half-shekelscontributed by each of those who “went to be numbered”:603,550 men of draftable age, each giving half a shekel, made100 talents plus 1,775 shekels of silver (a “talent” is approximate-ly 150 lbs.). The 100 talents were used to make the 100 founda-tion sockets that held up the Mishkan’s wall panels and posts; the1,775 shekels were used for the hooks and trimmings on the 60posts that held up the wall-hangings which enclosed theCourtyard.

The copper totaled 70 talents and 2,400 shekels, and was usedto make “the foundation sockets to the entrance of the Tent ofMeeting; the copper brazen altar and its copper grate and all thevessels of the altar; the foundation sockets of the court roundabout and the sockets of the court gate; and all the pegs of thetabernacle and all the pegs of the court round about.”

The Priestly Garments

Although the priestly garments have already been described indetail in G-d’s instruction to Moses related in the Parshah ofTetzaveh the Torah now devotes 30 verses (39:2-31) to repeatthese details in describing the actual making of the garments:

And he made the Efod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet,and fine twined linen...

PekudeiExodus 38:21-40:38Torah Reading for Week of March 2-8, 2003

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THESE ARE THE ACCOUNTS OF THE TABERNACLE... BY COMMAND OF MOSES... BY

THE HAND OF ITAMAR THE SON OF AARON (38:21)

The Sages taught: Always appoint at least two people together astrustees over public funds. Even Moses, who enjoyed the full trust of G-d—as it is written (Numbers 12:7), “In all My house, he is trusted”—figured the accounts of the Sanctuary together with others, as it says:“By the hand of Itamar the son of Aaron.”

Thus the Sages taught: the one who made the appropriation [of themonies donated to the Holy Temple] did not enter the chamber wearingeither a hemmed cloak or shoes or sandals or tefillin or an amulet (i.e.,nothing in which money can be hidden); lest if he became poor peoplemight say that he became poor because of an iniquity committed in thechamber, or if he became rich people might say that he became richfrom the appropriation in the chamber. For it is a man’s duty to be freeof blame before men as before G-d, as it is said (ibid., 32:22): “And beguiltless towards G-d and towards Israel.”

(Midrash Tanchuma; Mishnah, Shekalim 3:2)

AND THE SILVER... WAS A HUNDRED TALENTS, AND A THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED

AND SEVENTY FIVE SHEKELS, AFTER THE SHEKEL OF THE SANCTUARY (38:25)

The Roman general Controcos questioned Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai:If each gave half a shekel, there should have been 201 talents and 11maneh of silver.... Was Moses your teacher either a thief or a swindler orelse a bad arithmetician? He gave a half, took a half, and did not [even]return a complete half? Replied Rabbi Yochanan: Moses our teacher wasa trustworthy treasurer and a good arithmetician; these talents were

measured in “the shekel of the Sanctuary,” which is double the commonmeasure.

(Talmud, Bechorot 5a)

AND IT CAME TO PASS... THAT THE TABERNACLE WAS ERECTED (40:17)

Whenever the Torah uses the word vayehi (“and it came to pass”), thisconnotes a woeful event. What woe was there in the Mishkan’s comple-tion? This is comparable to a king who had a contentious wife. So hesaid to her: “Make me a purple cloak.” As long as she was preoccupiedwith it, she did not quarrel. When her work was completed, she broughtit to the king. The king saw it and was pleased with it, and began to cryout, “Woe! Woe!” Said his wife: “What is this, my lord? I have laboredto do your will, and you cry, ‘woe, woe’?” Said he to her: “The work isbeautiful and favorable in my eye. But as long as you were preoccupiedwith it, you did not anger or provoke me; now that you are free of it, Ifear that you will again anger me.”

So, too, said G-d: “As long as my children were occupied with theMishkan, they did not grumble against Me. Now they will again beginto provoke Me.” Therefore it says vayehi—vy hii, “woe is it.”

(Midrash Tanchuma)

IN THE FIRST MONTH... ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH, THE TABERNACLE

WAS ERECTED (40:17)

On the 25th of Kislev the work of Mishkan was completed, and its com-ponents sat folded up [for three months] until the 1st of Nissan, becauseG-d wanted that the Mishkan should be erected in the month that Isaacwas born... The month of Kislev was thus deprived. Said G-d: “I must

Commentary

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And he made the Breastplate... And they set in it four rowsof stones ... inclosed in fixtures of gold in their settings. Andthe stones were according to the names of the children ofIsrael, twelve, according to their names

And he made the Cloak of the Efod of woven work, all ofblue... And they made upon the hems of the Cloak pome-granates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bellsbetween the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe...

And they made tunics of fine linen of woven work forAharon, and for his sons; and the turban of fine linen... andlinen breeches of fine twined linen; and a sash of finetwined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, the work ofan embroiderer; as G-d commanded Moses.

And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, andwrote upon it a writing, like the engravings of a signet, “Holy

to G-d.” And they tied to it a lace of blue, to fasten it on theturban above; as G-d commanded to Moses.

“Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meetingfinished; and the children of Israel did according to all that G-dcommanded Moses, so they did.”

The Dwelling Assembled

And they brought the Tabernacle to Moses... And Moses sawall the work, and, behold, they had done it as G-d had com-manded, even so had they done it; and Moses blessedthem....

And it came to pass in the first month (Nissan) in the secondyear (from the Exodus), on the first day of the month, thatthe Tabernacle was erected.

And Moses erected the Tabernacle, and fastened its sockets,and set up its wall panels, and put in its bars, and reared upits pillars.

And he spread the tent over the Mishkan, and put the cover-ing of the tent above upon it; as G-d commanded Moses.

And he took and put the [Tablets of] Testimony into the Ark,and set the carrying poles on the Ark, and put the Kaporetabove upon the Ark. And he brought the Ark into theTabernacle, and set up the Veil of the screen, and screenedthe Ark of the Testimony; as G-d commanded Moses.

compensate it.” How did G-d compensate the month of Kislev? With thededication of the Temple by the Hashmoneans (on Chanukah).

(Pesikta Rabbati)

When did the consecration of the Sanctuary begin? On the twenty-thirdof Adar. And on the first of Nissan the days of consecration were com-pleted. During each of the seven days of consecration Moses set up theTabernacle and offered his sacrifices in it every morning and then pulledit down. On the eighth day he put it up but did not dismantle it again.

(Midrash Rabbah)

Seven times Moses erected the Mishkan and then dismantled it, presag-ing the seven Sanctuaries that would serve the Jewish people: theTabernacle in the desert, those at Gilgal, Shiloh, Nov and Givon, and theFirst and Second Temples in Jerusalem. Seven times Moses dismantledthe Tabernacle and then set it up again, so that the future falls of theseSanctuaries should not be permanent, but be followed by a rebuilding.Thus we are guaranteed that the destruction of the seventh Sanctuarywill be followed by the building of the Third Temple, which shall neverbe destroyed.

(Rabbi Avraham Mordechai of Gur)

AND THE GLORY OF G-D FILLED THE TABERNACLE (40:34)

What is the meaning of the verse (Song of Songs ), “I have come intoMy garden, My sister, My bride”? This means [G-d says, “I havereturned] to My bridal chamber, to the place which has been My princi-pal abode from the very beginning.” For was not the principal abode ofthe Shechinah (Divine Presence) in the terrestrial regions? For so it is

written (Genesis 3:8), “And they heard the voice of the L-rd G-d walk-ing in the garden”...

But when Adam sinned, the Shechinah betook itself to the first heaven.When Cain sinned, it betook itself to the second heaven; when the gen-eration of Enosh sinned, it ascended to the third heaven; when the gen-eration of the Flood sinned it rose to the fourth heaven: when the gener-ation of the Tower of Babel sinned, it moved up into the fifth heaven;when the people of Sodom sinned, it rose into the sixth heaven; andwhen the Egyptians sinned, it ascended into the seventh heaven.

Then arose seven righteous people who brought the Shechinah downfrom the celestial to the terrestrial regions: Abraham brought it downfrom the seventh heaven to the sixth, Isaac brought it down from thesixth to the fifth, Jacob brought it down from the fifth to the fourth, Levibrought it down from the fourth to the third, Kehat brought it downfrom the third to the second, Amram brought it down from the second tothe first and Moses brought it down from the celestial to the terrestrialregion... When did the Shechinah come to dwell on earth? On the daywhen the Tabernacle was erected, as it says, “And the cloud covered theTent of Meeting, and the glory of G-d filled the Tabernacle.”

(Midrash Rabbah)

AND MOSES WAS NOT ABLE TO ENTER THE TENT OF MEETING, BECAUSE THE

CLOUD RESTED ON IT, AND THE GLORY OF G-D FILLED THE TABERNACLE (40:35)

Rav Zerika raised the following contradiction: One verse reads, “AndMoses was not able to enter into the tent of meeting because the cloudrested on it,” whereas another verse (Exodus 24:18) says: “And Mosesentered into the midst of the cloud”? This is to tell us that G-d took hold

Commentary

PekudeiExodus 38:21-40:38Torah Reading for Week of March 2-8, 2003

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And be put the Table in the Tent of Meeting, upon thenorthward side of the Tabernacle, outside the Veil. And heset the bread in order upon it before G-d; as G-d had com-manded Moses

And he put the Menorah in the Tent of Meeting, over againstthe table, on the southward side of the tabernacle. And helighted the lamps before G-d; as G-d commanded Moses.

And he put the Golden Altar in the Tent of Meeting beforethe Veil: and he burnt sweet incense upon it as G-d com-manded Moses.

And he set up the Screen at the door of the tabernacle. Andhe put the Altar of Burnt Offering before the door of theTabernacle... and offered upon it the burnt offering and themeal offering; as G-d commanded Moses.

And he set the Basin between the Tent of Meeting and the

altar, and put water there, for washing...

And he erected the Court round about the Tabernacle andthe Altar, and set up the screen of the court gate. AndMoses finished the work.

The Dwelling Inhabited

And the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and theglory of G-d filled the Tabernacle...

When the cloud was taken up from over theTabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in alltheir journeys: but if the cloud were not taken up, thenthey journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.

For the cloud of G-d was upon the Tabernacle by day,and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the houseof Israel, throughout all their journeys.

of Moses and brought him into the cloud.

(Talmud, Yoma 4b)

Said Rabbi Chama bar Chaninah: Can it be that Moses feared the cloud?Is it not already written, “And Moses entered into the midst of thecloud”? ... In what sense was he “not able”? Because Moses accordedhonor to the Shechinah, and did not enter until he was summoned inside.

(Midrash HaGadol)

Commentary

PekudeiExodus 38:21-40:38Torah Reading for Week of March 2-8, 2003

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PekudeiFrom the Chassidic Masters

GOOD MORNING

Why are we here?

This, the mother of all questions, is addressed inturn by the various streams of Torah thought, eachafter its own style.

The Talmud states, simply and succinctly, “I wascreated to serve my Creator.” The moralistic-orient-ed works of Mussar describe the purpose of life asthe refinement of one’s character traits. The Zoharsays that G-d created us “in order that His creationsshould know Him.” Master Kabbalist Rabbi IsaacLuria offered the following reason for creation: G-dis the essence of good, and the nature of good is tobestow goodness. But goodness cannot be bestowedwhen there is no one to receive it. To this end, G-dcreated our world — so that there should be recipi-ents of His goodness.

Chassidic teaching explains that these reasons, aswell as the reasons given by other kabbalistic andphilosophical works, are but the various faces of asingular divine desire for creation, as expressed inthe various “worlds” or realms of G-d’s creation.Chassidism also offers its own formulation of thisdivine desire: that we “Make a home for G-d in thematerial world.”

A Home For G-d

What does it mean to make our world a home forG-d?

A basic tenet of our faith is that “the entire worldis filled with His presence” and “there is no placevoid of Him.” So it’s not that we have to bring G-dinto the material world — He is already there. But G-d can be in the world without being at home in it.

Being “at home” means being in a place that isreceptive to your presence, a place devoted to serv-ing your needs and desires. It means being in a placewhere you are your true, private self, as opposed tothe public self you assume in other environments.

The material world, in its natural state, is not anenvironment hospitable to G-d. If there is one com-mon feature to all things material, it is their intrinsicegocentrism, their placement of the self as the foun-dation and purpose of existence. With every iota ofits mass, the stone proclaims: “I am.” In the tree andin the animal, the preservation and propagation ofthe self is the focus of every instinct and the aim ofevery achievement. And who more than the humanbeing has elevated ambition to an art and self-advancement to an all-consuming ideal?

The only thing wrong with all this selfishness isthat it blurs the truth of what lies behind it: the truththat creation is not an end in itself, but a product ofand vehicle for its Creator. And this selfishness is notan incidental or secondary characteristic of ourworld, but its most basic feature. So to make ourworld a “home” for G-d we must transform its verynature. We must recast the very foundations of itsidentity from a self-oriented entity into somethingthat exists for a purpose that is greater than itself.

Every time we take a material object or resourceand enlist it in the service of G-d, we are effectingsuch a transformation. When we take a piece ofleather and make a pair of tefillin out of it, when wetake a dollar bill and give it to charity, when weemploy our minds to study a chapter of Torah — weare effecting such a transformation. In its initial state,the piece of leather proclaimed, “I exist”; now itsays, “I exist to serve my Creator.” A dollar in pock-et says, “Greed is good”; in the charity box it says,“The purpose of life is not to receive, but to give.”The human brain says, “Enrich thyself”; the brainstudying Torah says, “Know thy G-d.”

The Frontier of Self

There are two basic steps to the endeavor of mak-ing our world a home for G-d. The first step involvespriming the material resource as a “vessel for G-dli-ness”: shaping the leather into tefillin, donating themoney to charity, scheduling time for Torah study.The second step is the actual employment of these“vessels” to serve the divine will: binding the tefillinon the arm and head, using the donated money tofeed the hungry, studying Torah, etc.

At first glance, it would seem that the second stepis the more significant one, while the first step ismerely an enabler of the second, a means to its end.But the Torah’s account of the first home for G-d

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built in our world places the greater emphasis on theconstruction of the “home,” rather than its actualemployment as a divine dwelling.

A sizable portion of the book of Exodus is devot-ed to the construction of the Sanctuary built by thechildren of Israel in the desert. The Torah, which isusually so sparing with words that many of its lawsare contained within a single word or letter, isuncharacteristically elaborate. The fifteen materialsused in the Sanctuary’s construction are listed no lessthan three times; the components and furnishings ofthe Sanctuary are listed eight times; and everyminute detail of the Sanctuary’s construction, downto the dimensions of every wall-panel and pillar andthe colors in every tapestry, is spelled out not once,but twice — in the account of G-d’s instructions toMoses, and again in the account of the Sanctuary’sconstruction.

All in all, thirteen chapters are devoted to describ-ing how certain physical materials were fashionedinto an edifice dedicated to the service of G-d and thetraining of the Kohanim (priests) who were to offici-ate there. (In contrast, the Torah devotes one chapterto its account of the creation of the universe, threechapters to its description of the revelation at MountSinai, and eleven chapters to the story of theExodus).

The Sanctuary is the model and prototype for allsubsequent homes for G-d constructed on physicalearth. So the overwhelming emphasis on its “con-struction” stage (as opposed to the “implementation”stage) implies that in our lives, too, there is some-thing very special about forging our personalresources into things that have the potential to serveG-d. Making ourselves “vessels” for G-dliness is, ina certain sense, a greater feat than actually bringingG-dliness into our lives.

For this is where the true point of transformationlies — the transformation from a self-oriented objectto a thing committed to something greater than itself.

If G-d had merely desired a hospitable environment,He need not have bothered with a material world; aspiritual world could just as easily have been enlist-ed to serve Him. What G-d desired was the transfor-mation itself: the challenge and achievement of self-hood transcended and materiality redefined. Thistransformation and redefinition occurs in the firststage, when something material is forged into aninstrument of the divine. The second stage is only amatter of actualizing an already established poten-tial, of putting a thing to its now natural use.

Making Vessels

You meet a person who has yet to invite G-d intohis or her life. A person whose endeavors and accom-plishments — no matter how successful and laudable— have yet to transcend the self and self-orientedgoals.

You wish to expand her horizons — to show hima life beyond the strictures of self. You wish to put ontefillin with him, to share with her the divine wisdomof Torah.

But he’s not ready yet. You know that the conceptof serving G-d is still alien to a life trained and con-ditioned to view everything through the lens of self.You know that before you can introduce her to theworld of Torah and mitzvot, you must first make herreceptive to G-dliness, receptive to a life of intimacywith the divine.

So when you meet him on the street, you simplysmile and say, “Good morning!” You invite her toyour home for a cup of coffee or a Shabbat dinner.You make small talk. You don’t, at this point, suggestany changes in his lifestyle. You just want her tobecome open to you and what you represent.

Ostensibly, you haven’t “done” anything. But inessence, a most profound and radical transformationhas taken place. The person has become a vessel forG-dliness.

Of course, the purpose of a vessel is that it befilled with content; the purpose of a home is that itbe inhabited. The Sanctuary was built to house thepresence of G-d. But it is the making of vessels forG-dliness that is life’s greatest challenge and itsmost revolutionary achievement.Based on the teachings of Lubavitcher Rebbe, rendered by Yanki TaTauber

PekudeiFrom the Chassidic Masters

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T u e s d a y 30 Adar I | March 4ROSH CHODESH

Laws & Customs: Rosh Chodesh Today is the first of the two Rosh Chodesh ("Head of theMonth") days for the month of Adar II. (When a month has30 days, both the last day of the month and the first day ofthe following month serve as the following month's RoshChodesh). Special portions are added to the daily prayers:Hallel (Psalms 113-118) is recited -- in its "partial" form --following the Shacharit morning prayer, and the YaalehV'yavo prayer is added to the Amidah and to Grace AfterMeals; the additional Musaf prayer is said. Tachnun (con-fession of sins) and similar prayers are omitted. Many havethe custom to mark Rosh Chodesh with a festive meal andreduced work activity. The latter custom is prevalentamongst women, who have a special affinity with RoshChodesh -- the month being the feminine aspect of theJewish Calendar.Links: The 29th Day; The Lunar Files

w e d n e s d a y 1 Adar II | March 5ROSH CHODESH

On This Date: Plague of Darkness (1313 BCE)The 9th plague to strike the Egyptians for their refusal torelease the Children of Israel from slavery -- a thick dark-ness that blanketed the land so that "no man saw his fel-low, and no man could move from his place" (Exodus10:23) -- commenced on the 1st of Adar, six weeks beforethe Exodus.Ibn Ezra (1164) The highly regarded Biblical commentator,Rabbi Avraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (1089?-1164), passedaway on Adar 1.Shach (circa 1663) Adar 1 is also the yahrtzeit of the greatHalachist Rabbi Shabtai Hakohen Katz (1621-1663?),author of the Siftei Cohen commentary on Rabbi YosefCaro's Code of Jewish Law. He is known as "Shach" -- anacronym of the name of his work, which serves to this dayas a primary source of Halachah (Jewish law).Laws & Customs: Rosh Chodesh [see above]; Adar II

begins The Jewish "leap year", which occurs 7 times in a19-year cycle, has 13 months instead of the regular year's12; this is so that the lunar-based Jewish year shouldremain aligned with the solar seasons (12 lunar monthsmake up a total of 354 days -- slightly more than 11 daysshort of the 365.25 day solar cycle). The added month iscalled "Adar I" and is inserted before the month of Adar --termed "Adar II" in leap years -- which begins today.joy "When Adar enters, we increase in joy" (Talmud, Taanit29a). Our sages also advise that the month of Adar is anauspicious time for the Jewish people, so that if a Jew isfaced with a challenging event (i.e., a court case, a medicalprocedure, etc.) he should endeavor to schedule it on dur-ing Adar. The Lubavitcher Rebbe points out that on a yearwhen there are two Adars, there are 60 days of joy with thepower to "nullify" all negative and undesirable things. (InTorah law there is the concept of "nullification by sixty" -- anegative element is neutralized when it is less than

absorbed by something sixty times its quantity.)Links: The 19-Year Marriage; Jewish Time; Four Reasons to

be Happy t h u r s d a y 2 Adar II | March 6On This Date: Agadir eathquake (1960)

Hundreds of Jews, including some students of the ChabadYeshivah, were among the thousands of victims to perish in adevastating earthquake that struck Agadir, Morocco on the 2ndof Adar in 1960.f r i d a y 3 Adar II | March 7On This Date: 2nd Temple completed (349 BCE)

The joyous dedication of the 2nd Holy Temple (BeitHaMikdash), built by Ezra on the site of the 1st Temple inJerusalem, was celebrated on the 3rd of Adar of the year 3412from creation (349 BCE), after four years of work.The First Temple, built by King Solomon in 833 BCE, wasdestroyed by the Babylonians in -423. At that time, the prophetJeremiah prophesied: "Thus says the L-rd: After seventy yearsin Babylon will I visit you... and return you to this place." In -371the Persian emperor Cyrus permitted the Jews to return toJudah and rebuild the Temple, but the construction was haltedthe next year when the Samarians persuaded Cyrus to with-draw permission. Achashverosh II (of Purim fame) upheld themoratorium. Only in -353 -- exactly 70 years after the destruc-tion -- did the building of the Temple resume under Darius II.Link: The Holy Temple LIGHT SHABBAT CANDLES BEFORE SUNSET www.chabad.org/cal-

endar/candlelighting.asps h a b b a t 4 Adar II | March 8

Torah reading: Pekudei (Exodus 38:21-40:38) Haftarah:Vatishlam Kol Hamelachah (describing Solomon's dedica-tion of the Temple, I Kings 7:51-8:21) On This Date: Maharam's body ransomed (1307)

The tragic saga imprisonment of Rabbi Meir ben Baruch("Maharam") of Rothenburg came to a close when his bodywas ransomed, 14 years after his passing, by Alexander benShlomo (Susskind) Wimpen."Maharam" (1215?-1293) was the leading Torah authority inGermany, and authored thousands of Halachic responsa aswell as the Tosaphot commentary of the Talmudic tractateYoma. In 1283 he was imprisoned in the Ensisheim fortressand held for a huge ransom, but he forbade the Jewish com-munity to pay it (based on the Talmudic ruling that exorbitantsums should not be paid to free captives, as this would encour-age the taking of hostages for ransom). For many yearsMaharam's disciple, R. Shimon ben Tzadok, was allowed tovisit him in his cell and recorded his teachings in a work calledTashbetz. Even after the Maharam's passing in 1294, his bodywas not released for burial until it was ransomed by R.Alexander, who was subsequently laid to rest at his side.passing of R. Leib Sara's (1796)Adar 4 is the yahrtzeit (anniversary of the passing) of RabbiLeib Sarah's (1730-1796), a disciple of Rabbi Israel Baal ShemTov. One of the "hidden tzaddikim," he spent his life wanderingfrom place to place to raise money for the ransoming of impris-oned Jews and the support of other hidden tzaddikim.Laws & Customs: Shabbat Chazak [open] This week's Torah reading concludes the book of Exodus.

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