Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 30 Adar 1, 5784
Parsha Pekudei: (Exodus 38:21 – 40:38)
First Portion: Exodus 38:21 – 39:1

Good morning! Wow! We are coming to the END of Exodus! Today we start the FINAL parsha of the book of Exodus. It has been an interesting journey as we study being led out of our Egypts. The word “Pekudei” means “accounts.”

As we leave this stage of the journey to freedom and liberation? We are called to be honest with ourselves and take into account who we are – versus who we want to be. We get to explore HOW MUCH progress we’ve made on our journey – and instead of looking at the DISTANCE between where we are and where we want to be (which can be quite overwhelming), we can explore where we WERE and how far we’ve traveled.  That is the choice.

That is the free choice we have in any given moment.  And there is BEAUTY in this.  Let’s dig into the final parsha!

21These are the numbers of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the Testimony, which were counted at Moses’ command; [this was] the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the Kohen.

22Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, had made all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

23With him was Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, a craftsman and master weaver, and an embroiderer in blue, purple, and crimson wool and in linen.

24All the gold that had been used for the work in all the work of the Holy the gold of the waving was twenty nine talents, seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the holy shekel.

25The silver of the community numbers was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy five shekels, according to the holy shekel.

26One bekka per head; [that is,] half a shekel according to the holy shekel for each one who goes through the counting, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred three thousand, five hundred and fifty [people].

27One hundred talents of the silver were used for casting the sockets of the Holy and the sockets of the dividing curtain; one hundred sockets out of one hundred talents, one talent for each socket.

28And out of the one thousand seven hundred and seventy five [shekels] he made hooks for the pillars, and he covered their tops and banded them.

29The copper of the waving was seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels.

30From that he made the sockets of the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the copper altar, the copper grating upon it, and all the implements of the altar,

31and the sockets of the courtyard all around and the sockets of the gate to the courtyard, all the pegs of the Mishkan and all the pegs of the courtyard all around.

39:1And out of the blue, purple, and crimson wool they made the meshwork garments to serve in the Holy, and they made Aaron’s holy garments, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

So interesting. What I am getting from this? Moses gave an accounting of the materials provided by the people. AND where the donations went. It was an accounting of an idea becoming reality.

I am now reflecting on – what is the point of spiritual liberation and freedom? Why are we wanting to be on this journey?

I think when I started this journey? I was so disillusioned with my life and this reality around us? I wanted to escape. I wanted to run away from the reality upon which I found myself living.  And as I reflect in Genesis? I can see that theme throughout.  Escape. Escape this reality – ascend higher with Hashem to avoid what is real and concrete in front of us.

I have met people on this journey who are so focused on spiritual freedom and liberation who want to fully live in this higher “dimension” and in the promised land, without navigating the reality that exists in front of us. No judgment here. I think this is an option and freedom we have. Escaping this reality – and the trauma that comes with it.

I have ALSO met people who are on this journey who want spiritual liberation and freedom to FIGHT this reality – to gain power from a higher source because they feel helpless in this reality. They see their ascension process as a way to gain power and control over the reality we find our souls exploring and experiencing.

I have met people on this journey who are working towards spiritual freedom and liberation because they want to embrace and LOVE this reality fully – and understand this reality more. They ascend higher for the purpose of better understanding this world, and being able to fall more in love with the reality around us.

And. Finally, I have met people who are on this journey because it is home. It is a re-union with themselves (ourselves) and a way to feel at home in ANY reality – not becoming to attached to anything – and really just remaining and navigating and exploring in curiosity where we are in any given moment.  It is about fully EXPERIENCING reality.

So today, we can ask ourselves – why are we on this journey? Knowing we are free to answer this question in any way we’d like in any given moment – and our answer can change from moment to moment.

Why are we on this spiritual journey of liberation and freedom? Let’s take an account for ourselves:

I am on this journey because…

• I want to escape my reality
• I want to fight my reality
• I want to love my reality
• I want to be in my reality with curiosity

Our answers will impact how we navigate our reality in any given moment. No judgement. Just exploration.

If you want to dig deeper? Check out my thoughts from two years ago:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 26 Adar I, 5782

We start a new Parsha this week; Pekudei which means “Accounts.” One summary in the Chumash I’m reading says this;

“Pekudei teaches us the advantage of the practical and this-worldly over the theoretical and heavenly. God prefers the earthly Tabernacle, built by imperfect people such as ourselves, to a heavenly palace of angels. We are NEVER inadequate in the eyes of Hashem.”

That’s a great thought as we head into this week!

Todays portion starts with framing what is coming up as the accounts of the tabernacle, which was counted at Moses command.

Here’s the first verse (Exodus 38:21): “These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Testimony, which were counted at Moses’ command. (All these items) were serviced by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron the Priest.”

The idea here is financial accountability. Moses gave a complete report to the people about where their donations went to building the tabernacle. The idea of financial transparency is a Torah concept and is something all businesses should find essential if they are looking to have Hashem bless their efforts! Especially those that are supported by the community.

A lot has been written about this first verse:

Rabbi Meir Loeb Weissner writes;

The Devine Presence resting in the Tabernacle testified that all the donations had been allocated correctly and that no funds had been misappropriated. Had there been any dishonesty, the Divine Presence would not have rested there. As the verse states, “I am God… who hates theft in a burnt-offering.” (Isaiah 61:8)

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel writes;

“Judaism praises the virtues of private accomplishments that are not broadcast for all to see- ‘A blessing does not rest on something unless it is hidden from the eyes (Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 8b).

Why, then, did Moses make the details of the Tabernacle so public?

The discouragement of public attention is based on a fear of ‘ayin ha-ra’, the “evil eye.” What does this mean? If a person looks at an item in a very physical, lustful way it can cause damage by severing the item’s tie with its spiritual source. If the desirous look is very strong, only the physical portion of the item will remain and its inner essence will be severed from its roots.

But with the Tabernacle, this was not a concern. The Tabernacle was so deeply connected to God, through Moses, that nothing could disconnect it from its source.”

Rabbi Judah Aryeh Leib Alter of Gur wrote about the Torah calling this the “Tabernacle of Testimony”:

“This was a testimony to the Jewish people that God had genuinely forgiven them for worshiping the Golden Calf, since now He was making His presence dwell among them (Rashi, 11th century).

Why did they need this? Because the people had been so shamed by sin they needed a clear indication-a “testimony” – to strengthen their hearts that the damage caused by their sin had been repaired. They needed to be free of guilt so that they could worship God properly.

Every year, after the Day of Atonement, we do the same thing. We build a miniature Tabernacle – a sukkah (booth)-where God’s presence dwells, to strengthen our resolve that He has forgiven us for our sins and that we are now worthy for Him to rest in our midst.

Finally, Rabbi Jacob Joseph of Polonnoye writes about the phrase “At Moses command;”

Throughout this entire portion of the Torah, why it is written repeatedly, “as God had commanded Moses,” after each detail of the Tabernacle’s construction? Could this fact not have been mentioned once, at the conclusion?

Every commandment we observe must be accompanied with the appropriate kavvanah (mystical intention), and constructing the Tabernacle was no exception. In this case, it was important for all the participants to be conscious that “as the Tabernacle was erected below, so it was erected Above” (Midrash Tanhuma; Zohar). But since not all the construction staff were mystics, and they lacked an understanding of the Heavenly Tabernacle, many simply fulfilled their obligation by saying, “Our kavvanah is whatever God commanded Moses.”

That is why we find this phrase repeated in every instance- the people were fulfilling their basic requirement to infuse each act with kavvanah.

So much here for this one verse that lays the foundation of what we are going to read.

The next verse repeats this theme. 38:22 tells us “Bezalel had made all that God had commanded Moses.”

Rashi writes about this:

“It does not say that Bezalel carried out “all that Moses had commanded him” but rather “all that God had commanded Moses. This teaches us that Bezalel correctly intuited what Moses had been told by God on Mount Sinai, even in those instances where Bezalel did not hear these instructions from his teacher.

For Moses had told Bezalel to make the apparatus first and the Tabernacle afterward, but Bezalel responded, “Isn’t the normal thing to build the house first and then place the items inside?”

Moses answered, “Actually, that’s exactly what I heard from God! Your name means In the shadow of God’ It is as if you were there when God commanded me.”

And that is what Bezalel did–first he made the Tabernacle and then the apparatus.”

That’s pretty fascinating because if you remember when God taught Moses how to build the tabernacle, he started with the items inside. However when it came time to construct, God changed the order.

The rest of todays portion goes over how much gold and materials were used;

– 29 Kikkar of Gold, 730 shekels,

– 100 Kikkar of silver, and 1775 shekels

This worked out to be one beka per head (a half shekel) for each person who went through the counting system – from the age of 20 and up; a total of 603,550 people.

I was confused about this since we only have 2505 shekels listed. But you also need to convert the Kikkar’s of gold and silver to shekels.

The Torah then gives us a break down if the silver.

The 100 Kikkar of silver was used to cast the sockets of the Tabernacle and the sockets of the partition. 100 sockets were made; each socket was 1 Kikkar.

The 1775 shekels of silver made hooks for the pillars.

We then learn there was 70 Kikkar and 2400 shekels of Copper. This was used to make the sockets for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the copper altar, it’s copper netting and the utensils of the altar. Also it was used for the documents of the courtyard, the sockets of the gate to the courtyard. All the pegs of the tabernacle and all the pegs of the courtyard.

The portion closes with the turquoise, purple and crimson wool being used for the mesh work cloths used to pack the tabernacle’s utensils during transport, to serve in the holy (Sanctuary), and they were used to make Aaron’s holy garments as God had commanded Moses.

This is how todays portion ends. I’m chewing on just how detailed the accounting process was. The accountability for the money spent.

I wrestle with how we may be asked to give an accounting of how we have spent the resources Hashem has given us. Are we using those resources to heal the world (Tikkun Olam)? Or are we using them for other reasons.

What are your thoughts?

Edit. This morning I read some things related to the tabernacle and building a tabernacle in our own hearts.

This is from the book “Your awesome self” by Shterna Ginsberg:

“In Otherness, I viewed happiness as a goal to strive for. I thought that a person who believes in Hashem is supposed to be happy at all times. I was a believer in Hashem, so I wouldn’t look at my less-than-happy emotions. I avoided them.

The way we deal (or don’t deal) with our emotions influences the way we engage with all the people in our lives. Back then, if my four-year-old’s tower tumbled down and he was howling in frustration, all I wanted was for him to stop crying. I would start fixing the tower, I would pull out a different set of toys to distract him, or I would simply order him to stop crying. (I’m giving you three minutes to cry…)

Today, I look back and cringe, but then, if I made the tears go away, I considered the matter successfully resolved. I acted as if my children’s unhappiness, even their temporary unhappiness, was a dangerous event and a parenting failure.

As I learned more of the Baal HaTanya’s teachings, I started embracing my unpleasant emotions as opportunities to build a Home for Hashem.

Hashem tells us; “Build a Mikdash, a Home for Me, and I will dwell within you.” The language begs for clarification. It would have been grammatically correct for Hashem to say, “Build a Home for Me, and I will dwell in it – in that home.” Instead, Hashem says, “I will dwell within you.” The Shaloh HaKodesh explains that Hashem’s instruction includes building a Home and inviting Hashem to dwell within our own selves.”

I’m really sitting with this today. How much of my worth and happiness was tied up into the happiness of others? How much do I avoid my less-than-happy emotions?

How often do I act as if others unhappiness, even their temporary unhappiness, was a “dangerous event” and a failure (as a husband, parent, supervisor, friend, etc).

These unpleasant emotions (I like this term better than negative emotions) can be opportunities to “build a Home for Hashem.” This relates to our Torah portion around building the tabernacle.

The book goes on to discuss that our minds and hearts are a construction zone where we are building this Home for Hashem. This is a place in our minds and hearts where we can take off our business attire and be our simplest, authentic selves. We accept Hashem for who he REALLY is; and not necessarily what we’ve been taught ABOUT HIM by others.

HOW we do this is relatively simple yet extremely difficult. By letting His Presence Matter. Letting His reality make a difference in how we think and how we feel.

AND. It is impossible to build a home without digging up dirt in the process!

So much here. Construction is messy. Super messy. This isn’t a clean process by any means.

I’m just sitting here in awe of this reality. It’s time to construct a new Home for Hashem in our minds and hearts!