Vayakel 5771

The Power of Shabbat:

After Adam sinned he had the chance to do teshuva but he didn't do it. Then after Kian killed Hevel he repented and was forgiven. That first shabbat after these event happened Adam met up with Kian, not that there were too many other people to talk to, and they spoke about what happened the day before. Kian told Adam that since he had repented Hashem forgave Kian for his sin. When Adam heard this he suddenly broke out into song. This song is Mizmor Shir Liyom Hashabbat, because Adam was praising that shabbat had the power of teshuva.

We all know the famous chazal that if the Jews kept two Shabbatot in a row that Mashiach would come right away, but what exactly does this mean?

In parshat Terumah the Torah first spoke about the Mishkan then shabbat but in Vayakel it first speaks about shabbat then the Mishkan. If we consider what we have been talking about for the past few weeks this placement makes plenty of sense.

In Terumah, where we were on such a high level that we could have brought down the mishkan from heaven, we did not need a shabbat to be able to bring Mashiach, we were already ready for it. But now, after the sin of the eigel we had much to atone for, so we needed, and still need the teshuva of shabbat to be able to get back to the level of that we need to to be able to bring Mashiach.

Now the chazal finally makes sense. The reason why we need to keep two shabbatot in a row is for the first one to rid us of our sins and for the second one to complete what the Jews in the midbar never did, have a shabbat right after the building of the mishkan. Only after we repent for our sins and we are forgiven by Hashem can we finally bring Mashiach!

Have a good shabbat!

Ki Taitzai 5771

The Second Luchot:

Rav Chaim Vital explains that everything in existence has a chiyut, meaning a physical part and a spiritual part. When a person eats the body gets pleasure from the from food and the neshama gets pleasure from the spiritual part of the food, the bracha. Just like everything else in the world, the luchot had/ have a chiyut as well. The physical part was the tablets and the spiritual part was the letters on the tablets.

When Hashem created the Luchot He places the Torah, the letters, onto the tablets. When Moshe came down with the luchot the letters flew back up to heaven. There is actually a midrash that says that on that day the angels were celebrating that they got the Torah back on that day. Then Moshe broke the luchot, the tablets with no letters on it.

But now all Moshe had to show was the broken shards of the tablets but since they were from Hashem Himself Moshe would not give them back. Now on Yom Kippur Moshe is told by Hashem that he must make the new set of luchot. But if Moshe designs it then it loses the very characteristics that made it so special, the fact the it was made by Hashem. Even though this set of luchot looked the same and in fact had the letters like the first luchot, allowing the Jews to get the Torah back, it still was not the same because it was designed by Moshe.

Even though if you were to put the two sets of luchot next to each other the two would look exactly the same the first set had a much a greater impact. There is a midrash that says that if someone learned Torah from the first set of luchot they would never forget it. But that was not true about the second set.

Now, remembering last week's dvar torah we remember that the Mishkan was supposed to be built by Hashem but was instead built by man. Now we can understand what the difference is. Even though both mishkans/ sets of luchot would look exactly the same the most important part is who built it. Something built by man can never last forever, but something built by Hashem can never truly be destroyed.

Good Shabbat and Happy Purim Katan!

Titzaveh 5771

Dwelling With You:

The pasuk says (30: 46) "And you should know that I am Hashem your God Who took you out of mitzriam to dwell with you, I am Hashem your God." The pasuk is telling us the Hashem only took us out of mitzriam in order so that He can dwell with us. We have said before that really the purpose in creation is so that Hashem can dwell in this world.

The whole purpose of building the Mishkan was so that Hashem would have a permanent place in this world where He can live. Everything in this world is just to work to that purpose. But Hashem, cannot dwell here if we are not worthy.

So this point in the story the Jews had been taken out of Mitzriam, they had traveled through the midbar, they had fought Amalek, they had gotten the torah on Har Sinai, and now they are on the highest level that humans can reach. The midrash actually says that an angel went down and placed two crowns on each Jews head. The Jews had finally reached the point that Hashem had been waiting for since Adam and Chava ate from the pri eitz hadat tov v'rah.

Moshe was told exact instructions on how to build the Mishkan so that it would be the resting place for Hashem. After every last detail was explained, everything seems perfect.

Then, when the purpose of this world is about to be achieved the Jews sin with the eigel hazahav. With this one mistake everything that they had been working so hard for was ruined.

Now, even if they follow the exact specifications that Moshe got from the mountain the ultimate purpose would not be a reached. In fact, one of very few difference between the parshiot Terumah and Titzaveh in comparison to Vayakel and Pekudei is this pasuk.

At the very end of parshat Pekudei after the Mishkan was complete to the exact specifications that Moshe had said the pasuk (40:34) says "And the cloud covered the tent..." Covered?! that is not what was supposed to happen. Hashem was supposed to dwell in the tent. But since bnei yisrael sinned in the midbar everything was lost.

It has been our job since then to get back to that level that the Jews were on at the giving of the Torah. When that happens Hashem will finally be able to dwell with us, may it happen quickly in our days.

Have a good Shabbat!

Terumah 5771

As You Saw on the Mountain:

At the end of almost every item described by Hashem that is to be made in the mishkan Hashem ends with the phrase "as you saw on the mountain." Yet later in parshat Pikudei instead of the phrase saying "they did like Moshe saw on the mountain" the pasuk says "as Hashem commanded Moshe." Why is there a switch from the way it is written in our parsha in comparison to how it is written later?

Right after the Jews had accepted the Torah on Har Sinia they were on the highest possible level that a human can be on. Since they were on such a high level Hashem was able to bring Himself down here and dwell with us, which is the purpose of why He created the world. To do this Hashem instructed Moshe how to create a house for Hashem. The way that Moshe should create the house that Hashem will dwell in in this world is to take the "house" that is in shamayim and bring it down to this world. Throughout the parshiyot of Terumah and Tetzaveh Hashem is teaching Moshe the process on how to bring His house from above down to this world. This is why each after utensil that Hashem tells Moshe He says that it should be the utensil just be like what you saw above, you should bring it down.

Then the Jews sinned with the eigel hazahav. After that sin Hashem wanted to destroy them all, but Moshe stopped Him. But even though Moshe had convinced Hashem not to destroy the Jews they still could not get back to the level that they were on at Matan Torah. On Rosh Chodesh Elul Moshe went back up to Har Sinai to get the second luchot. For the next forty days the Jews each individually took upon themselves fasting and repenting for the sin they did. Then on the tenth of Tishrei the Jews instituted a fast for the whole nation to anticipate the arrival of Moshe. (This is why we fast every year on that day, because just as the Jews in the midbar were able to get their tefillot answered so to will we.)

Even though the Jews had risen to a very high spiritual level they still did not get to the high level they were on at Har Sinai. After they got the second luchot Hashem retold Moshe to tell them to build the Mishkan. But this time it was different. This time they would not get the building from shamayim to come down, they would only get a building built by man. This is why the Torah said that it was built "as Moshe was commanded".

Since the mishkan was built by man and not by Hashem Himself was able to be destroyed but a building built by Hashem could never be destroyed. This is why later when Moshe requests permission to enter Eretz Yisrael he is denied, because if he would have gotten in he would have brought the beit hamikdash from shamayim down into this world, and then it could never be destroyed. If the Jews would have sinned Hashem would have to destroy them because He could not destroy the beit hamikdash.

But even with man creating the mishkan and the beit hamikdash there was still a lot of help from Hashem. The Ramban writes that it was a miracle the at the Jews in the midbar could have the ability to sculpt and embroider and engrave without any previous experience, the way they did it was that Hashem gave them Ruach Hakodesh so that they could build it.By the creation of the beit hamikdash there is a dispute on how the people were able to build it. One opinion says that Hashem put an image before their eyes of the stone being in a certain place and they put it there. Another opinion was that they would pick up the stone and their hands would bring them to the place where the stone needed to be and then they would just place it down. But either way, the point is that even the building not built by Hashem.

The reason why Hashem must help in the building is that once Hashem creates something it is part of Him. So too by the luchot, once Hashem had given the luchot to Moshe it was like He had given Moshe a part of Himself. So after the sin of the eigel, Hashem wanted to destroy them the way Moshe stopped Him was to keep the luchot, as long as we have something that is a part of Hashem we will never be destroyed.

In the future, in the times of Mashiach, may that time come soon, Moshe will gather the Jews from the four corners of the world and bring down the two beit hamikdashim. The first beit hamikdash will be hidden by the ananei hakvod while the second will be revealed but covered by the clouds. Once these are brought down to this world they will not be able to be destroyed.

Have a good Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh,

Mi Shenichnas Adar Marbim Besimcha!