“Moses commanded that they proclaim throughout the camp, saying, ‘Man and woman shall not do more work toward the gift for the Sanctuary!’ And the eople were refrained from bringing.” (36:6)
The Hebrew word for refrained is “Vayikalei” which sounds just like and looks just like, “Vayichal” which begins the paragraph about Shabbat in the [...]

My wife refers to my study as “The Cave.” I can’t blame her. It’s in the basement, damp and cold, without any natural light, and is quite crowded.
You can understand why my skin turned green when we visited friends in Great Neck and I saw their workspace. It has one wall of windows [...]

The commandments of the Mishkan are introduced with yet another exhortation to observe the Shabbat. Rashi explains that this was to inform the nation that despite the transcendent importance of the Mishkan, it may not be built on the Shabbat.
My Rebbi, Rabbi Yochanan Zweig, asked why. Why may we not build the Mishkan on [...]

“Moses assembles the entire assembly of Israel.” (35:1) Rashi explains that Moshe did not actively assemble the people. He used words to have them gathered.
Which words did he use?
If he said, “Please assemble”, Rashi would not be making an important point. He still gathered them by instructing them to assemble.
It was the day [...]

All the Mitzvot in the Torah were designed as an expression of the Ultimate Will and Infinite Wisdom. They are all beyond human ken and understanding.
However, there is one category of laws called “Chok” which are blatantly beyond any human understanding.
Parah Adumah is the paradigm of Chok. We cannot understand how a Red Cow [...]

There are contradictions in the Parah Adumah. The Cohen who purifies others becomes impure as he purifies.
There are contradictions in the Parah Adumah just as there are contradictions in life.
Judaism, torah, nurture our independence. They use our drive to become something to attach us to God, when we can only truly be. And [...]

The Mitzvah of Parah Adumah can be quite confusing and demanding. The more we learn the more demanding it becomes.
Children had to be raised from birth in a secluded environment specially designed to protect them from any possible impurity in order to have people with the proper level of purity to prepare the Parah [...]

I receive complimentary issues of all sorts of magazines every week and I usually end up feeling as if I live on a different planet. Are there really enough people who buy a $200,000 watch to merit an advertisement? What about $2,000 pants? Private jets? Who are the people who stay in hotels that [...]

“With it you shall anoint the Tent of Meeting and the Ark of Testimonial-Tablets.”
Rashi, based on the Gemara in Keritut 5, explains that all the anointing with Moshe’s oil were made like a Greek “X” except that of kings which were like a crown.
Even the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting had to be [...]