The Bibas family set the tombstone for their beloved family. Shiri and her two red headed sons, were interred in one coffin. Today, the orange hued slab which covers their grave was set.
In the Haftorah for our portion Pekudei, ( the Haftorah is a portion from the prophets we read in conjunction with the weekly Torah portion) it is written Hashem has said he would dwell in the thick cloud.
In this week’s Torah portion, the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary was completed, and a Cloud rested upon it. The cloud signifies the resting of Gds presence.
So too in the Haftorah there is a similar account of the conclusion of the building of the Temple and King Solomon said Gd would dwell in the thick cloud that would descend on the Tenple.
Rabbi Yaakov Bender explains the meaning of the thick cloud.
Such a cloud descended also when the Torah was given, a time of great joy and clarity. But there are many times when it is not easy to feel Gd’s presence.
The cloud is a symbol of those times when things feel very dark and “cloudy”. We do not feel Gd’s presence, but even though we may not feel it, we know Gd is with us.
Rabbi Bender shares a family story his mother often told of her Aunt Leah. When Leah was 12 years old, she was walking at the outskirts of her town in Belarus, when she heard crying. She saw a young peasant boy weeping. When she asked him why he was so distraught, the boy said he dreamed of learning and attending university, but his father was dead set against it, feeling he was reaching above his station. The father would not consider such a request. Little Leah wanted to help and she ran home to her father who was a very wealthy man. She shared the story with her father who was touched by his daughter’s compassion. He handed her a significant sum and told her to bring it to the young man so he could follow his dream to study.
When Leah handed the money to the peasant boy he was shocked by his good fortune. He thanked Leah from the bottom of his heart and left to follow his dream.
Years passed.
Leah married and had a family.
One Friday night, the people in her town heard terrible noises as a brigade of Russian soldiers descended.on their Shtetl.
The goal was to grab young boys who would be inducted against their will into the Czar’s army. This was unfortunately not an uncommon practice in those days as young boys would be spirited away, often for many years, or never to be heard from again. They were lost to their families. The soldiers announced they would be taking the boys after Shabbat.
That night the members of the community turned to a rabbi for guidance. He told them to appoint Leah as their ambassador. She was to travel to the governor of the region and attempt to free the boys from their decree.
Leah left at once in her fashionable clothing and elaborate buggy.
After a few hours travel Leah arrived at the Governor’s mansion. As she was well dressed and well appointed, she was granted immediate access.
When she entered the governor’s office, she was surprised as he stood for her with great respect.

You guessed it.
It was the peasant boy she had aided years before. The governor remembered Leah and was ready to do her bidding.
She asked him for a reprieve for the young boys of her town. He readily supplied her with the documents which would secure their release.
Leah returned home immediately and was able to avert the decree.
Rabbi Bender says his mother often repeated the story because there were so many life lessons to be gleaned from it. Lessons such as kindness and empathy, bravery and resilience, and how the good we do for others comes back to us.
Rabbi Bender sees another lesson as well.
He says that even in the best of times, times full of joy and clarity, times similar to the clarity of receiving the Torah, we also have to know there will be hard times. In all those moments, Gd is with us.
The rich man in the story saw an opportunity to help someone in need and he seized the chance to make a difference. Years later, when a situation emerged that seemed very dark and cloudy, it became clear that Divine intervention had already been at work to present a solution.
A dear friend of mine lost her son in law, a young man with a large family. His wife, my friend’s daughter, is an exceptionally wise woman and a bastion of strength.
She said that if a person is going through a challenge and can accept that Gd put them in that place at that moment, even though it’s not comfortable or actually very hard, that clarity will allow them to see blessings.
The acceptance of the growth opportunity allows the person to feel blessings in the cloud.
She gave the example of Joseph who was being sold by his brothers to Egypt. While the sale was taking place Joseph begged for a reprieve. But when he realized this was actually the hand of Gd directing the players, he suddenly noticed the beautiful scent of the spices around him. Joseph was bought by merchants who sell tar. Stinky stuff.
Gd knew that the story of exile and then redemption would be facilitated by Joseph. He needed to be sold to Egypt.
But the cloud could be mitigated by sweetness.
Months before the tar merchants took Joseph, they cleaned out the smelly tar and replaced their merchandise with heavenly smelling spices.
When Joseph was able to see through the “cloud” he was able to “smell the roses” the blessings that were actually surrounding him.
For the people of the town it seemed they were surrounded by a dark cloud, but the seed of a solution had been planted long before.
We certainly do not understand the Plans, but “in moments of clarity and moments of darkness…Gd is watching out”.
In that little town, the people felt only darkness, but the seeds of the solution had been seeded years before.
If we see it, or we don’t, if Gd is dwelling in a very dark cloud which makes us feel very alone, Gd is with us.
The cloud is a cover.
We are not alone.
May the Bibas family feel the embrace of all of us, the whole Jewish nation, during their dark time. And may we all merit to know Gd is with us, in the darkest of times, whether er feel it or not.
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!