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שבת שלום - פרשת פקודי - שקלים
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Video Shiur
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Click play to watch the video shiur by Rav Yosef Kaminetsky
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News and Notes
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The entire Yeshiva celebrated the marriage of our alumnus, Zalman Nemoy, to Lori Polly of Beit Shemesh, at a sheva berachot hosted by the Yeshiva on Sunday. We wish them Mazal Tov, and look forward to sharing many smachot together in the future!
As we enter the final month of the Z'man, our students continue to build their skills in Gemara and other classic Torah texts. In addition to their regular shiurim, many students are intensively working on their own learning projects, and we anticipate numerous siyumim over the next few weeks as they finish what they began earlier in the Z'man.
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Parsha Insights
By Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Parshat Pekudei - the final parsha of sefer Shemot - concludes with the erecting of the Mishkan.
The Ramban explains that the Mishkan served as an extension of the revelatory experience of the giving of the Torah at Har Sinai. At the revelation at Sinai the nation surrounded the mountain, there were boundaries beyond which the people were forbidden to pass, an inner boundary for the Kohanim, and the point of contact with G-d in the center. Similarly, the nation camped around the Mishkan, the people - other than Kohanim - were not allowed to enter, Kohanim were allowed inside, and the point of contact with G-d, the epicenter of prophecy - the Chruvim and the Ark which housed the tablets, was at the heart of the structure.
The Ramban explains that through the presence of the Mishkan, the revelation at Sinai essentially continued to be experienced in perpetuity.
The Torah states "And Moshe erected the Mishkan." (Shemot 40:18) What follows this verse are numerous verbs describing the setting up and ordering of the Mishkan and everything in it. All of these verses are stated in the singular, implying that Moshe did everything himself.
The Midrash Tanchuma comments that Betzalel - the builder of the Mishkan - tried to put it together but the Shechina - the Divine Presence - would not dwell in it. He then brought everything to Moshe. When Moshe put it together the Shechina did indeed dwell in it.
The Alter of Slabodka explains (Or HaTzafun II, p. 172) that only Moshe could erect the Mishkan and bring the Shechina there because of Moshe's primary role as the giver of the Torah. He points out that - similarly - the first temple could only have been completed by Shlomo Hamelech who embodied the pinnacle of wisdom and Torah knowledge.
The heart of the Mishkan was the Ark which contained the tablets and the Torah. The presence of the Shechina is only possible through service to and contact with Hashem built on devotion to Torah wisdom.
In other religions, the primary religious experience is prayer. In Judaism, it is Torah. Torah study brings a person to an understanding of the will of G-d. When one understands a particular halacha or Torah idea, one is communing with G-d on the most intimate level. One is blending his thoughts with G-d's thoughts, so to speak. "Make His will your will." (Avot 2:4) In this experience, the will of G-d and our will become synonymous. It is a blending of our very identities with the Divine.
In prayer, I stand before G-d. In Torah study I am with Him.
To emphasize the primacy of Torah wisdom as the source of our connection to G-d the Mishkan - with the Torah at its center - is only fully erected by Moshe, the giver of the Torah.
As the Ramban compared the setup of mishkan in the camp to the Revelation at Sinai, so too, this image can be seen in the setup of the Jewish People in the land of Israel. Jerusalem, the epicenter of our encounter with Hashem, sits in the middle of the country. Surrounding Jerusalem lies the camp of Israel.
"For from Tzion shall go forth Torah and the word of Hashem from Jerusalem." In our days, Jerusalem has once again become the primary source of Torah scholarship in the world.
While we turn towards Jerusalem in prayer we must also open our minds and hearts to hear the message that is coming from Jerusalem. Ultimately, the surest way for G-d to dwell within our midst is through the study of Torah.
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