“The leaders brought the shoham stones and the stones for the settings of the Ephod and Breastplate.” (35:27)

Rashi cites Rabbi Nattan (Bamidbar Rabbah 12:16) who notes that the word “nesiim”, leaders, is spelled without the two yuds that it would normally have. This defective spelling of their title is an implied rebuke of the leaders for not bringing their gifts until everything else had been contributed. Their motive was good. They assumed that the general contributions would not be enough, so they waited to see what would be lacking, with the intention of giving everything that would still be needed. The national response was so generous that there was almost nothing left to give. They waited for others and they missed their opportunity.

Leaders should never wait. They should lead. We cannot afford to wait and see what others will do and only then, fill the gap. We must assume immediate responsibility and lead others rather than wait.

And there’s more…

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

“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 story of Creation.

Although translated there as “And He (God) finished”, Rashi tells us that the word also means to refrain.

God did not finish the work of Creation, as much as He refrained from doing more. There is no limit to God’s Will or abilities. The cessation of work was an act of refraining from doing more. “I could do more, but I will stop,” just as it was for the people building the Mishkan.

As with God in the story of the first Shabbat, the people could have done more. They wanted to do more, but they refrained, they held back at Moshe’s command. The people were truly emulating Creation as they built the Mishkan.

And there’s more.

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

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 facing the Long Island Sound, with a second, perpendicular window with a view of a waterfall and a magnificent garden.

I generously offered to trade workspaces, but these, so called, friends came up with the excuse that it didn’t make sense for them to have a home office in Riverdale as long as they lived in Great Neck.

Certain places are more conducive to work. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai did very well in his cave, but for some reason, I can’t seem to adjust as well as did he. I prefer lots of natural light and clear space. A view would be nice, but, as you know, I am not greedy.

How would I have done in the Mishkan? There was no external light. It had its own internal light, Divine Light, that was perfectly adjusted for the people serving inside. The Mishkan was not a place to look out, but, within.

I suspect that is how Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai thrived in his cave. He wasn’t looking out, but within, and that is where he uncovered the light we all know as the Zohar – Illumination.

It’s back to the cave for me.

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

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 Shabbat?

Would it not make sense to use the Holiest day of the week to perform our holiest work? Should we not use every possible Mitzvah on Shabbat?

Rabbi Zweig explains that the Mitzvot that are specific to the other days of the week serve the purpose of directing our independence in a manner that can bridge the distance between independent human beings and their Creator.

However, Shabbat, which also means to return, is a time when we do not need to bridge the gap created by our independence. The very nature of the day repairs any faults in the relationship.

And there’s more.

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

“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 after Yom Kippur, when Moshe had descended from Sinai with the second set of Luchot – Tablets. He brought the people a tangible expression of God’s forgiveness for the sin of the Golden Calf. Everyone understood the significance of these Tablets that replaced the first Luchot that Moshe shattered.

They were ready for the next step. They understood that a new stage had begun. They were waiting, expectantly, for Moshe’s instructions.

All he had to say was, “I have something to say.” They had been waiting for just such words, and the simple phrase was sufficient to gather the people.

It is interesting that this verse introduces the commandment of Shabbat. Perhaps there is a connection between the message of that first Rashi and the message of Shabbat:

We should rush to Shabbat, not because of force or demand, but with the same spirit of expectancy with which the people ran to hear Moshe’s words.

And there’s more…

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

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 can bring purity. We cannot understand why the Cohen who purifies becomes impure.

A Chok changes us; it forces us to confront the fact that we cannot understand. The Chok reminds us that we of finite mind and understanding cannot begin to comprehend the Infinite Will and Wisdom of the Creator.

The Chok does more: Each time we observe a Chok, whether it is the separation of milk and meat, or wool from linen, or a Red Cow, we are observing with a sense that what we do matters in ways that are beyond us. The Chok teaches us that we cannot fully appreciate the power and implications of our actions.

The Chok nurtures a Sixth Sense in us, a sense that we can use with each Mitzvah we observe, the sense that what we are doing attaches us to the Infinite. The Chok can transform all we do.

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

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 yet, in order to attach to God, we must let go of ourselves, and stand in total and absolute humility before Him.

We nurture our growth and independence, our Bechira Chofshit, our Free Choice, and yet, ultimately, we understand that we can limit ourselves when we focus on our development. We can become too self-defined.

Development that can limit. There are contradictions in our spiritual lives. These are the contradictions of the Parah Adumah. They are part and parcel of Creation.

The Parah Adumah reminds us not to become too lost in one approach or the other. It gently reminds us that our struggle to grow is the struggle of all human beings. We cannot be frustrated by the contradictions. They are not only ours. They are everywhere and everybody’s. They are part of the Parah Adumah.

And, there’s more.

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

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 Adumah. They were not able to live among a normal functioning society.
This situation is not unique to the Parah Adumah. There are many of us who feel that in order to live as we should we must separate ourselves from society. In order to maintain the purity of our prayers, blessings, learning and Mitzvot we must seclude ourselves from any external and corrupting influences. How can we possibly maintain our spiritual integrity in an environment, which seems so contradictory to so much of what we believe?

These children were not being secluded from a corrupt society. They lived at a time when people were living with great spiritual honesty and awareness. They still had to be separated. There is no perfect society. There is no way to live in absolute spiritual purity and holiness. This was the gift of the Parah Adumah. When we felt overwhelmed by the demands of life, of making a living and raising our children, when we felt torn away from the joy of connecting with God as we desire in the deepest part of our being, we could travel to Jerusalem and taste perfection, if only temporarily.

The contradictions of the Parah Adumah are the contradictions of life. They are part and parcel of human existence and are not bad. They are the core of our job to discover the holy even in the impure.

And, there’s more…

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

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 advertise rates of $2,500 a night? They live on a different planet.

My wife makes fun of me when she refers to the Jewish Press as my favorite newspaper. Laugh all you want, but all the ads for classes, Tzedaka (Charity), Jewish books, and requests for prayers, reflect a readership with whom I share more than with those who want ads for $5,000 suits. The fact that there are so many columns on the weekly parsha and Halacha, whether I enjoy them or not, or agree at all with their messages, represents an insatiable desire to learn. I share more with the Jewish Press readers than I do with those who read Prestige.

There are some bible stories that strike me like Forbes and others more like the Jewish Press. I can relate to the people’s hesitation at Sinai. But, I must admit, that the Golden Calf story strikes me as a science fiction story.

I accept that I do not understand the passionate desire for idol worship. But, I must tell you that when people who were slaves just three months earlier start spending all their gold, even giving up all their personal jewelry to make a spectacular idol, I wonder whether they are the ones who buy the six figure watches.

They clearly lived on a different planet. They experienced the Exodus, the splitting of the Sea, Manna, water from a rock and Sinai. They were stuck in middle of the desert wondering whether their fearless leader, Moshe, would ever return. I can’t even begin to appreciate what they were feeling. How could they take everything they owned and toss into a fire hoping that a magical idol would mysteriously appear? Even aliens must have their logic.

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

“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 anointed with oil. Even the Ark had to be anointed. They were not holy until that moment of anointing. The Holy Ark was not ready to receive the tablets until it was anointed.

Moshe’s oil lasted forever. It was used all during the First Temple until it was hidden together with all the Holy Vessels of the Temple.

The anointing oil was the physical expression that it was God’s choice to imbue the Mishkan and the Ark and all the vessels with His Presence. It was God’s seal of approval. It was, so to speak, God’s kiss. The oil that would last Lanetzach – for all eternity – was God’s blessing that all this oil touched would maintain its holiness forever.

Until the moment the oil touched its surface, the Mishkan was a physical structure. Once the oil touched it became something more, something eternal.

I wonder, what is the oil we can use today?

And, there’s more…