Parshiyot Vayakhel-Pekudei 5783
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
|
13
03, 2023
12
03, 2021
Parshiyot Vayakhel-Pikudei
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
|
20
03, 2020
Parashat Vayak’hel / P’kudei 5780
| A D’var Torah for Parashat Vayak’hel P’kudei By Rabbi Bruce Alpert (’11)What does it mean to have a “willing heart?” The phrase is used three times in the opening verses of this week’s parashah, Vayak’hel/P’kudei (Exodus 35:5, 22, and 29). It likewise appears in Parashat Terumah, Exodus 25:2. In each instance the circumstances are the same; it describes the voluntary donations of precious materials (gold, silver, jewels, rare fabrics) used for the construction of the Mishkan – God’s dwelling place among the Israelite tribes. These donations are all made by those whose heart moves them to do so, and they are made in such profusion that Moses ultimately must command the Israelites to stop (Exodus 36:6). But we only realize how evocative is the phrase “willing heart” when we consider the source of these gifts. These materials were acquired by the Israelites as they left Egypt, stripping it of its precious objects as Read More > |
8
03, 2018
March 8, 2018 – Parashat VaYakhel-Pekudei, 5778
You Gotta Have Heart…or Do You?
A D’var Torah for VaYakhel-Pekudei
by Rabbi Rena H. Kieval, ’06
The great communal building project of the mishkan, the wilderness tabernacle, finally gets underway in this week’s double Torah portion, and the participants who craft, create and assemble it are reportedly full of heart. The Hebrew word for heart –lev – and its variants libo, libam, and so on, are repeated at least a dozen times. We read of the generous of heart – nedivei lev (Ex. 35:5, 35:22), who donate their jewels and fine fabrics for the structure; the wise of heart – hokhmei lev (Ex. 35:10, 35:25), who are skilled and able to share their artistic talents, and their building and organizational abilities. We read too of the nesi’ei lev (Ex. 35:21, 35:26) those with uplifted hearts, or perhaps, those whose hearts have lifted them up to participate. The hearts of this community are so overflowing Read More >
22
03, 2017
Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei
by Cantor Sandy Horowitz
Ancestors. We begin praying the Amidah by invoking them: as we acknowledge the presence of God, we do so by stating that this is also the God of our patriarchs. In recent times, more liberal streams of Judaism added the matriarchs; as a woman it is comforting to read the names of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah alongside (well actually, following) Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
It can be an equally meaningful though different experience to pray from a traditional siddur in which our maternal ancestors have not been added, this too. I still recite their names after reading the printed names of the patriarchs, as a conscious acknowledgement of their textual invisibility. It is an opportunity as well to reflect on the broader notion of inclusion and exclusion.
Ancestors. Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei provides a rare opportunity to acknowledge the entire community of ancient Israelite women, our collective female ancestors who are mentioned here Read More >
11
03, 2015
Parashat Va-Yakhel-Pekudei
All Together, One at a Time
by Hazzan Marcia Lane
The two final parshiyot, Va-yakhel (“he assembled”) and Pekudei (“accounting”), of the book of Exodus are frequently read together. This is due to the vagaries of the Jewish calendar and to the brevity of these two sections of the Torah, not to any particular theological statement. Nonetheless, the fact that they are so often paired can give us insights into the nature of the phenomenon of ‘peoplehood’ and individuality, and how they are perceived and fostered.
In these parshiyot, right after the section about the idolatry of the Golden Calf, Moses calls together the entire kahal, the whole congregation of Israel. Men, women, children, Israelites and hangers-on, all are present to hear a recapitulation of God’s instructions concerning the collecting of gifts (terumah) and the building of the tabernacle (mishkan) and the creation of the priestly vestments. If you’ve been following the past few weeks Read More >
