The word Vayakhel — Assembling together of Kol B’nai Yisrael, introduces the building of the Mishkan (Tent of Meeting), the forerunner of the Beit HaMikdash, which would serve as a kappara (atonement) for the Eigel Zahav (Golden Calf). Our parsha opens by teaching B’nai Yisrael about Shabbos which has always, until recent times, been the unifying, defining factor of Judaism. Shabbos seems a gateway to all else — Kashrut, the Chaggim, Torah learning and Ethics, Yishuv HaAretz, Kiddushin, Family Purity, etc. It symbolizes the Jew’s faith in Hashem. And the melachot involved in the construction of the Mishkan were meant to define the paradigms of melachot prohibited on Shabbos.
Author: moshe
Purim 5772: Jewish Unity in Our Times — Are We Capable of It?
In writing a vort on Purim, this author keeps thinking back to a theme addressed in an earlier Siyum on Mesechta Megillah from a few years ago as well as another recurring theme on this blog.
The Jew separates and distinguishes himself from the rest of the nations through the Mitzvah of Bris Milah, even though many of our contemporary Jewish brothers would distance themselves from, or stand in denial of their Yiddishkeit. In short, many among our Jewish brethren would deny Hashem’s control of the world and seek to tailor Torah and their Jewishness to fit the ways of the nations rather than accepting Hashem’s reishut (command) over the world.
Parsha Ki Tisa 5772 — The Golden Calf and Biting the Bait of Destiny’s Tests: Contrasting B’nai Yisrael and Moshe Rabbeinu
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Good Shabbos Subscribers;
We are offering sponsorships for the weekly Parshat HaShevua such as the sponsorship we announced several weeks ago.
If you read and enjoy these insights on the Parshiyot, we encourage you to sponsor an upcoming Parshiyot HaShevu’ot l’zechut an upcoming simcha or l’zechut the Yahrtzeit of a loved one. Please contact me here for more information and to place your sponsorship.
Regards,
Moshe Burt
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For many years, this author has spoken or written about a posuk in Parsha Ki Tisa which alludes to an event which is recorded in Torah 40 years later, in a subsequent Parsha.
Parshat Tetzaveh 5772 — The Bigdei Kehunah, The Urim U’Tumim and the Balance Between Speech and Silence
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We are offering sponsorships for the weekly Parshat HaShevua such as the sponsorship we announced several weeks ago.
If you read and enjoy these insights on the Parshiyot, we encourage you to sponsor an upcoming Parshiyot HaShevu’ot l’zechut an upcoming simcha or l’zechut the Yahrtzeit of a loved one. Please contact me here for more information and to place your sponsorship.
Regards,
Moshe Burt
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In our Parsha Tetzaveh, the laws regarding the anointment, the vestments and the Avodah (service) of the Kohanim are enunciated for the Jewish people. Moshe Rabbeinu is notably absent in our parsha. Both the laws concerning Kohanim and Moshe’s absence seem interwoven with the lesson of the delicate balance between when and how one should choose their words when speaking, and when one should remain silent.
Parshat Terumah 5772: The Mishkan, Terumah and the “Crown of a Good Name” — Our Obligation to Divorced Single Parents and Their Children?
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Regards,
Moshe Burt
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Back in Philadelphia, in the “old country”, R’ Moshe Ungar would speak about the Mizbeiyach in terms of both the Beit HaMikdash and in terms of the personal Mizbeiyach which burns eternally in our hearts. And there is the well-known wish to a Chosson and Kallah that the fire of their personal Mizbeiyach burn eternally.
Parshat Mishpatim 5772: Justice, Truth in Judgement — by Judges and by Us
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If you read and enjoy these insights on the Parshiyot, please don’t delay in sponsoring upcoming Parshiyot HaShevu’ot l’zechut an upcoming simcha or l’zechut the Yahrtzeit of a loved one. Please contact me here for more information and to place your sponsorship.
Regards,
Moshe Burt
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Yishai Chasidah’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Jewish Personalities (pages 306-309) provides a fitting introduction to parsha Mishpatim in citing an example of how Yithro, for whom our previous parsha was named, was positioned to express insights to Moshe Rabbeinu which were crucial to the evolution of Torah’s judiciary system. Chasida cites Midrash HaGodol on BaMidbar (perek 10, posuk 30) which gives insight into Yithro’s kindness. After a drought year, Yithro stated;
Parshat Yithro 5772: Yithro’s True Motivation for Joining B’nai Yisrael?
Good Shabbos Subscribers;
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Those wishing to sponsor upcoming Parshiyot HaShevu’ot l’zechut an upcoming simcha or l’zechut the Yahrtzeit of a loved one, please contact me here.
Regards,
Moshe Burt
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We learn that when Yithro had heard all that Hashem had done for B’nai Yisrael, he left Midian with Tzippora and Moshe’s two sons and went to join with the Jews. Sefer Shemos, Perek 18, posuk 9 states “Vayichad Yithro” which Rashi renders as Yithro “rejoiced” at seeing B’nai Yisrael free of Mitzri bondage, at seeing K’riyat Yom Suf and at B’nai Yisrael’s victory over Amalek.
Parshat Beshalach 5772: Shirat HaYam and Moshe’s Paradigm of Inspiration, Unity, Empathy: Applied Today?
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Regards,
Moshe Burt
Near the end of our Parsha, we read:
“And the hands of Moshe were heavy and they took a rock and placed it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Chur supported his hands, one on either side, and his hands remained an expression of trust until sunset.” (Sefer Sh’mos, Perek 17, posuk 12)
Parshat Bo 5772: The Message to B’nai Yisrael of Bris Milah, Korban Pesach
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Those wishing to sponsor upcoming Parshiyot HaShevu’ot l’zechut an upcoming simcha or l’zechut the Yahrtzeit of a loved one, please contact me here.
Regards,
Moshe Burt
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Parshat Bo is the one which, for me, annually relates to that crazy tune which played back “in the Old Country” a few decades ago, “Does Your Korbon Pesach Lose It’s Flavor Tied to the Bedpost Overnight?” (Actually, the real title to the song was “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It’s Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?”)
Parshat Va’era 5772: Reconnecting the Disconnection From Jewish Power Sources — Then and Now
At the conclusion of Parsha Shemos, Moshe and Aaron are confronted, upon exiting Pharoah’s Palace, by the B’nai Yisrael who are in deeper despair than before because of the increased workload, i.e. finding their own straw while the quotas remain the same, which resulted from Pharoah’s fury at Moshe’s first effort to secure their freedom and exit from Mitzrayim.
Our Parsha begins with the dialogue which Moshe Rebbeinu has with Hashem prior to again speaking to the B’nai Yisrael. And so, after Hashem rebukes Moshe for his complaint and reassures him that redemption is at hand, Moshe again addresses the B’nai Yisrael as to his meeting with Pharoah;