Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. The Torah portion for this week is parsha Vayak'hel-Pekudei, Exodus 35:1-40:38. But it is also Shabbat Hachodesh. The word "Chodesh" comes from the word "Chadash" which means "New". We are entering into a new month in the Jewish calender, the month of Nisan. After the Torah reading on Shabbat morning, a special prayer will be said to bless the new month.
The first thing that should pop into a reader's mind this week is a question- Why are we reading two parshiot? This has to do again with the Jewish calendar. Unlike the secular calendar, the Jewish variety is lunar instead of solar. This results in an uneven distribution of days in a given Jewish year. Some years are 54 weeks long, others have fewer. We happen to be in one of the shorter years, so an extra Torah portion has to be covered this week so we can finish reading by the end of the year.
This actually results in some interesting symmetry in the parshiot. Parsha Vayak'hel is concerned with the actual creation of all the holy structures, garments and items described in previous portions, while parsha Pekudei involves the first enacted rituals.
Much of Vayak'hel is a word-for-word reiteration of God's instructions for building the Tabernacle, the altar and the priestly vestments. This may seem unnecessary, but even this repetition has a purpose. By describing all that the Israelites did, this parsha proves that they followed God's instructions to the letter. It's a lot like a sort of legal document proving that the people held up their end of the contract between the people and God.
At the beginning of the portion it even says that the people brought materials in excess of what was required. Just as importantly, these materials are described as being free-will offerings. Moses tells the people that no one is required to offer anything, only those who choose to give should give. This sets an incredible precedent. The Israelites are not a people being dominated by their God or taken advantage of by their leaders. They go into their faith by choice and in doing so prove the abundance of all they have to give. We are most certainly meant to read the Torah as if we are the people in it. This passage is telling us that, should we choose to give of ourselves, we will discover just how much we actually have to offer.
Parsha Pekudei describes what we might call the first Shabbat service ever. Our modern services look a little different, though. While we today don't perform a burnt sacrifice, we still light the candles and make a beautiful bread for the service. People reading this portion since the beginning of the faith have identified with this moment. We are meant to read the passage and see the rituals of our own lives. This is, without a doubt, the moment in which the Israelites become Jews.
It's fitting, then, that this is the parsha that ends the book of Exodus. The people are no longer going out from their old lives. They have now entered into the new. From that point on, the Torah says that the cloud and fire of God descended to the Tent of Meeting everywhere the people went. When the cloud was there they stayed, and when it rose they moved on. The once choppy, uncertain lives of the people suddenly evolved into a rhythmic schedule. In essence, they attained some amount of control, thus they moved ever farther from slavery.
Next week we begin the book of Leviticus and the tone of the Torah will change significantly. Until then, Shabbat Shalom and thank you for reading.
