This week’s Torah portion is Vayakhel, and it describes in great detail the building of the Tabernacle and all its vessels.
If this seems highly familiar to you, you are correct.
You are not experiencing deja vu!
This is actually happening in real time.
The Torah, which prizes every word and is famous for its brevity now repeats the entire story again.
All the details which had been written regarding the dimensions of the Tabernacle are now repeated.
It’s quite puzzling.
The Sages answer that the first rendition refers to the instruction to build and the second one describes when it actually took place.
Rabbi Aaron Lichtenstein shares an interesting take to explain this unusually verbose text.
He gave an allegory of a bride and groom who went shopping together for their new home. They spent hours deliberating over each piece and imagining the loving life they would live around those physical objects.
Each decision was a labor of love.
Then something horrifying happened.
One of the couple betrayed the other.
The upcoming nuptials dissolved into bitterness and anger.
After many months of hurt and suffering, the one who had betrayed the other reached out to try and repair the relationship.
And so began agonizing months of therapy and work to try to repair the fractured relationship.
And then the wedding was rescheduled.
If you are pragmatic, you might wonder whatever happened to that furniture that was so lovingly chosen.
Someone had returned it all.
As the couple prepared to reunite, the furniture selection loomed before them. This time however, they bought things quickly as the memories of the first time still remained as a painful reminder of a different time. They had moved on, their relationship was at a new level, but innocence was lost.
Rabbi Lichtenstein writes that human beings can forgive each other, but it is not easy to remove the scars of past wounds. A healthy relationship will require looking careful at those wounds and finding the tools to address them.
But Gd is different.
Gd says that when we repent, even if we have committed the most egregious of sins, we can return to the former level of our relationship.
The Jewish people had sinned with the Golden Calf, a sin which is likened to one of a couple betraying the other under the chuppah, the marriage canopy.
The relationship almost floundered.
Gd was going to destroy them.
But through the intervention of Moses and repentance, Gd forgave the people.
And once Gd forgave, it is a complete forgiveness.
So when we are ready to discuss the details of building the Tabernacle, Gd is once again sharing all the details to show in the words of Rabbi Taragin who shares this piece from Rabbi Lichtenstein, Gd’s excitement, so to speak.
“The details matter to Him now, just as they did before.”
An important insight into the relationship we have with our Creator. The circumstances do not effect our relationship, just our intentions.
If we repent.
All is truly and completely forgiven.

This week we will read the Torah portion called Ki Tisa.
It speaks of the travesty of the golden calf.
Let’s provide the context.
The Jewish people received the Ten Commandments.
All the Jewish people were present.
The only mass revelation in human history.
Gd spoke (so to speak) and everyone heard.
The experience is a sensory overload for the people.
Moses goes up Mt Sinai by himself to receive the Torah and it’s commandments.
Moses was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.
Just as he was about to return to the Israelite camp, Gd informs him that the Jewish people have created an idol in the form of a golden calf.
This was a horrifying piece of news.
Apparently the people had miscalculated the time of Moses reentry and when he tarried, they assumed the worst, that he would not be returning at all.
In their panic over the loss of their leader, they erected an idol and announced that this was the gd of Israel.
Gd informs Moses that this is a sin of epic proportions and the only solution was to destroy the Jewish people and begin again with a new people who would descend from Moses.
This is no idle threat.
When Gd had decided previously that the world was irredeemable, he let loose a flood, destroyed everything, and began again with Noah and his family.
There is dialogue that then takes place between Gd and Moses as Moses tries to advocate on behalf of the Jewish people and save them from destruction.
Gd says they are not worth saving because they are a stiff necked people.
That appellation is an odd one.
Why does it make the Jews worthy of destruction?
Having a stiff neck means you can’t look back.
A person who is proverbially stiff necked does not look back at the mistakes they have made and therefore cannot look from what is behind them.
If one cannot learn from mistakes, then one is doomed to repeat them.

It’s day 139!
Rachel Goldberg, devoted mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg Polin, said today was an exceptionally hard day.
I don’t know the particular circumstances she is referring to in her comment. But Rachel has been fighting like a lioness, unearthing every strength that she has in the fight to save her son.
She doesn’t want him to be forgotten.
She wants to make sure we still see him before our eyes. He may not be with her physically, but he has not disappeared.
She wants him home now.
It’s an odd phenomenon that sometimes we may not see something or someone, but they are still very much present, in our hearts and minds.
This week’s Torah portion is Tetzave, which means to command. It begins with Gd telling someone, “and you shall command”.
The subject of the verb is not identified.
But we know that it’s Moshe, Moses.
Gd is commanding Moshe regarding the clothing that the priests are to wear when they are involved in the Temple service.
Strangely enough, even though we know that it is Moshe being addressed, he is not identified by name.
In fact his name is not mentioned once in the entire Parsha.
Since Moshe’s birth, until his death, he will be mentioned numerous times, 600 times to be exact.
But not once in this Parsha.
He seems to have become invisible.
In this portion, there is great detail shared about the uniform of the High Priest.
One of the items he wears is a coat that has an edging of pomegranate-like decor interspersed with bells at the hem.
That meant every time the High Priest would walk, the bells would jingle, heralding his arrival.
He was by no means invisible.
The commentaries give various interpretations to the purpose of the bells.
They were there to serve as an instrument of communication, here comes the High Priest.
This would allow those he would be encountering to prepare themselves to meet the holiest person of the Nation.
They would straighten up their ties and their posture in anticipation of meeting such an august individual.
Another explanation is that the bells were for the High Priest himself, to ensure he would prepare himself properly, create the frame of mind needed, as he was entering into a meeting with Gd.
He was about to participate in an exalted service and he needed to be present, not invisible, as he entered into a relationship with the Divine.
Nachmanides, 12 th century commentator, makes this discussion very relevant.
He teaches us that we learn from the bells that herald the entrance of the High Priest and alert those of his arrival, that we too must be sensitive when we are about to enter into an exalted place.
Before entering a royal palace, the heralds blow the trumpets, and before we enter into our own homes, which is a palace in miniature, we need to announce our entry.

This week’s Torah portion is called Terumah. This was the first capital campaign in history.
And it was a success!
Gd wanted to create a permanent place where Gd could “dwell” so to speak, among the people.
The Tabernacle, or Mishkan in Hebrew, was meant to be the central point of the Jewish people. The encampment of the nation would be set up with the Mishkan in the middle to signify the centrality of Gd in our lives.
It would be a place where one could elevate oneself spiritually.
The Mishkan served this purpose and then it’s function was carried on later in history in the Temple in Jerusalem.
Nowadays, our places of worship and our homes are the spaces we can connect spiritually and continue our journey through the desert of life.
What was the goal of the campaign?
The Mishkan was a work of art. It’s vessels and the uniforms worn within the Tabernacle by the priests were made from 13 types of raw materials which were donated by the Jewish people.
All these items needed to be collected.
The materials included precious metals, such as gold, silver and copper. Different types of materials such as linen and animal skins were amongst the items needed, as well as acacia wood, and precious gems such as diamonds.
This campaign was a fundraiser’s dream.
The donations came in fast and furious and all the needs were quickly addressed.
All that was needed to construct the Mishkan had been given.
One of the types of animal skins that were donated were the tachash skins.
There is a difference of opinion (what a surprise) as to the nature of the tachash.
The Targum, the traditional Aramaic translation of the Torah, says the tachash was a sasgona. This is a conjugation of two words. Sas and Gona. This means that it was an animal that was sas, which means happy, regarding its gona or gevanim, which means it’s many colors.
Apparently, this was a multi colored animal that joyfully appreciated the various hues of its skin.
The Midrash goes on to explain that this unusual animal was a large, wild, kosher animal that had a single horn, (unicorns are in the Torah!) and it’s skin was made of six colors and it was very large.
Rashi, the super commentator, teaches that Gd created the tachash for the sole purpose of being used in the coverings of the Mishkan. Therefore it existed during the time building of the Mishkan and then it disappeared.

It’s Adar.
Be Happy!
Tonight begins the new Hebrew month which is called Adar.
We are taught that as we enter the month of Adar we are to increase our joy.
There is only one another month where we are given instructions about joy.
That is the Hebrew month called Av which falls in the summer months.
When we enter the month of Av which is the month we suffered national tragedies of the destruction of our Temple in Jerusalem, the direction is to decrease our joy.
It therefore seems that as a people we are always supposed to be joyful.
Sometimes more.
Sometimes less.
It seems to be a counterintuitive direction for us right now.
We are going through such a difficult time.
The war continues.
The hostages are still not home.
Antisemitism abounds.
Yet we are supposed to be happy.
How are we to reconnect to joy?
This week’s Torah portion is called Mishpatim, which means laws.
This portion is chock a block full of laws regarding civil rights and torts.
Let me remind you that just last week we were at Mount Sinai.
There we stood as a nation at the foot of the mountain and experienced a national revelation of Gd.
It was a sound and light show of epic proportions that puts Stone Mountain to shame.
It is curious, perhaps even odd, that this elevated experience would be followed by 53 seemingly mundane laws which govern the daily grind of life.
These commandments which seem picayune, are in fact the rubric which allows us to live Mount Sinai every day.
These laws which instruct us how to be good neighbors, care for those who are vulnerable, and detail how we are to act with others, are the framework of kindness for our society. In this construction there will be a voice for the downtrodden and the mute while we spread light - because as a nation we know what it means to sit in darkness.
These commandments are the pinpoints of light which will disperse darkness.

Day 118!
Lessons from the War.
Hannah, the wife of Uriel Cohen shared about her husband who fell in the war.
She shared that one of her husband’s unique qualities was the light that radiated from his face. He had a big smile, kind eyes, a glowing smile.
Our Sages teach us that one of the highest levels of kindness is to give a smile to another, to share the light of one’s joy with another.
Uriel, whose name contains the Hebrew word for light, truly shone the light of Hashem in this world.
When someone passes away, their characteristics are “ up for grabs”.
Maybe we want to catch this characteristic of being a light in someone’s day, dispelling a little darkness. That will be Uriel’s living legacy.
We can be moved to action by his example.
I read about Ditza Or, whose last name means light.
She is the mother of Avinatan Or, who has been kidnapped in Gaza for 118 days.
She shared how she deals with the pain.
Every morning when she wakens, until 11am, she allows herself to feel all the difficult emotions. She cries, she feels afraid. This is the time when her protective mechanisms are low and she allows herself to feel all the feelings.
But after 11am, she closes that gate. She protects her soul. She functions and does what needs to be done for herself and her family.
She acts.
She is not frozen.
She learned this concept from the Tanya, written by Rabbi Shneur Zelman of Liadi.
He teaches that a person should give space for pain in fixed times, times that are set aside in advance.
This allows one to control the pain instead of allowing the pain to be in control.
This is how she copes.
This is an action that can move us. When we are in our own moments of pain, we can hold onto this life giving point of light from Ditza Or.
This is how she acts and functions.
For 118 days.
The next lesson comes from Oriya Mesh HYD.
Another person whose name is built on the root word of light and who we have lost as he fell in Gaza, protecting us.
Another bright light has been extinguished.
But Oriya ztzl left light filled teachings in his notebooks.
One of his teachings:
“If we do not work on correcting our character traits, if we don’t focus on making our souls shine brightly, we are hopelessly stuck and mired in place.”
Oriya is teaching us that we cannot allow ourselves to remain static. We have to continue to move and grow.
This is the legacy Oriya has bequeathed us.
These snippets of greatness are shared by Sivan Rahav Meir.

Tu B'Shvat, the New Year for the Trees, was today. It is a minor holiday celebrating the "birthday" of the trees, which has significance in the Torah's agricultural laws. It also reminds us of the Sages' comparison of man to a tree.
Why on earth (no pun intended) do we celebrate the birthday of the trees?
Moreover, since it’s over already, what is the point of mentioning it?
There are many lessons we can take from this holiday that go far beyond the day itself.
The first obvious question is why do we celebrate the trees in the dead of winter?
At this time of year the tree almost looks lifeless, the branches are bare and there is no fruit and seemingly no life.
But Rashi, the super commentator explains that on Tu B’Shvat (TU stands for the number 15 in Hebrew, so it literally means the 15th day of the month called Shvat) the sap behind to move deep within the tree. This miraculous action of the sap is an indication that the tree is not dead after all, indeed it is experiencing a rebirth, a rejuvenation. Even though this activity is not visible to the naked eye, it is nonetheless occurring.
What a powerful message to inspire and uplift us during difficult times.
Despite the fact that everything around us seems hopeless and we are deep in the winter of discontent, (what an understatement,)we can rest assured that deep beyond the surface, salvation is stirring.
Truly hope springs eternal.
Another idea suggested by Rabbi Rowe is that unlike other vegetation which grows quickly and obviously, a tree looks like a paltry stick for a long time.
Then, all of a sudden, it blossoms and creates a leafy canopy with its leaves.
The tree awakens within us the voice of wisdom that with time and effort, we too can bloom. It supports the message that we need to tend to ourselves, that growth takes effort, but with time, the greatness within will start to blossom forth.
Which leads us to the third idea which is always alluded to in connection with TuBshvat which is the verse from Deuteronomy 20:19 “man is like the tree of the field”

Lieutenant Yaakov Elian fell in Gaza one month ago. Sivan Rahav Meir met with Keren, his sister, at a memorial service for him that was held at the elementary school — Emunim in Givatayim — the he attended as a child. Keren made a request of those who were there as follows:
“This coming Shabbat is the Bar Mitzvah Shabbat of Yaakov when we read the Torah portion of Bo. It would please us if everyone who reads and studies this Torah portion would do so in the merit of Yaakov ben Yoram.”
So here is a verse from the parasha, in memory of Yaakov, that we can learn: “In order that you should tell it in the ears of your son and your son’s son . . . and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
In other words, the Exodus from Egypt has just begun and already Gd proclaims: The day will come when you will tell this story to your children and your children’s children. You must know today that everything is going to be fine. Just remember that you are part of a great story. In the future, there will be a new generation and everything that happens now will become history for them, and you should speak of it to your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. What you have endured has been difficult, painful, and is seared into your soul, but so is faith and hope . . . This message was pertinent not only to the generation that left Egypt, but is pertinent to us as well.”
This is indeed a very pertinent message as this week’s Torah portion describes the very first Passover Seder.
The 10 plagues culminate in the celebration of the Seder in Egypt and it includes instructions that we are always to remember the lessons of the Exodus and the reason we reenact the Seder annually is so that we will always remember leaving Egypt and all that it encompasses.
One of the laws regarding the Passover sacrifice was the instruction not to break any bones of the animal while consuming the meal. In other words, no breaking the bones to suck out the marrow.

100 is a big number.
If you get 💯 on your test you feel you have accomplished a great feat.
In Judaism 100 is represented by the the letter Kuf which is the first letter of the word Kedusha or holiness.
That too is a word denoting completeness.
January 14, 2024 will equal 100.
But it is not a time of accomplishment or sanctity.
It will mark the passage of 100 days since the hostages have been abducted.
Rachel Goldberg, the mother of Hersh Goldberg Polin has taken to noting each day of her son’s captivity by taking a little piece of masking tape, writing the number in black marker, and wearing it on her shirt over her heart.
Rachel is asking us to do the same on January 14 and post pictures to help raise awareness to bring her son Hersh home.
Where does she find the strength?
Hadas Levinshtern is the mother of six children and a recent widow, whose husband fell in Gaza battling Hamas.
She was recently visited by a group of fellow American Jews who were hoping to bring her some comfort. The indefatigable Shai Graucher brought gifts to the children and he was introducing the visitors to Hadas.
Then an unexpected turn of events occurred. Hadas was giving strength to her visitors. They were expressing their sympathy regarding her situation and she began strengthening them regarding theirs.
She was referencing the state of antisemitism in the US and especially on college campuses. She told her visitors that if anyone they know is scared and wants to take their mezuzah off their door or remove their Magen David necklace they should call her. She is offering to be a source of comfort and support to them to be proud Jews.
Where does she find the strength?
I just heard of two Israeli, only Hebrew speaking mothers, who want to fly to Washington DC in a desperate bid to engage with high ranking officials to plead on behalf of their daughters who are still hostages.
Where do they get their strength?

How are you?
That’s an innocuous question.
People throw it out mindlessly.
They may ask the question and not even wait to hear the answer.
Nowadays, however, it’s a difficult question.
You feel silly asking it.
It’s almost inappropriate.
Many are struggling with so much as we continue to wait and pray for the hostages to come home, wait and pray for our soldiers to come home safe and sound, pray for the safety of the Jewish people worldwide.
But people are still going to ask that question.
It sort of slips out when you least expect it.
So here are two responses that hit a chord with me.
(Because answering “fine” is not going to cut it).
Rebbetzin Tehilla Jaeger of NY responds to the question by answering
“Grateful and Begging”.
I love that answer.
It reminds us that we are indeed blessed on so many levels, while constantly being aware that we are vulnerable and there is so much more we cannot do without.
Sivan Rahav Meir shared that she was recently paying a shiva visit to a family who had lost their son in battle in Gaza. The father mentioned to Sivan when he people ask him how he is he answers
“Learning, Learning”
This is a breathtaking answer on so many levels. Here is a recently bereaved father who does not answer in anger or bitterness. He realizes that he does not understand the ways of Gd, nor may he understand why things are happening, but he is learning so much about his son, others and even himself, during these difficult times.
We may not understand why events are unfolding, but we are given unexpected windows into the minds and thoughts of some people, people we would never had the opportunity to meet under regular circumstances.
It’s sn opportunity to learn and be inspired.
We are introduced to names.
The names we hear are often those of the fallen soldiers.
Every morning I wake up and check the news holding my breath. I almost can’t breath as I look to see the “names that have been cleared for publication.” That means the army has already informed the fallen soldier’s family and now we, his extended family are given the name, which is accompanied by a picture of a beautiful, young person, taken from us too soon.
At the same time we are given an opportunity to celebrate the names. They don’t disappear into obscurity because certain people are making sure we know the person behind the name. We are given a glimpse into the greatness of the person and the impact they have left behind during their short sojourn on earth.
These glimpses may come from family members, mothers, fathers, siblings, or they can come from a comedian.
That is not a joke.
Hanoch Daum is an Israeli writer and journalist who is known for his comic take on society.
Of late, Hanich Daum has become very serious.
On a daily basis he profiles the story of someone we have lost.
He wants to make sure that their memory will not be lost.
We are introduced to the person inside the uniform, as Daum shares some of the dreams and accomplishments of the fallen soldier.
He also highlights the names and struggling businesses of soldiers who are in active duty, reminding all to frequent the place of business which has been neglected because it’s owner has picked up arms to protect us instead of protecting their own interests.
There are names that we are being introduced to that should become household names to us.