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From the Rabbi:
Remember how last Shabbat I mentioned that the Chicago Bulls logo upside-down is a robot Davening? Well, rabbinic accountability... so here it is! Just don't daven like a robot, that's a bunch of bull.
Speaking of accountability, Parshat Pekudei (which literally means accounts) opens with the exact accounting of the donations made for the construction of the Mishkan. 603,550 people had donated the compulsory half shekel of silver. Donations totaled twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels of gold, one hundred talents and 1757 shekels of silver and 70 talents and 2400 shekels of copper. With today’s prices for these metals, the combined value of these donations was approximately $118 million. Add to that the precious stones for the Priestly garments, giraffe (or maybe unicorn!) skins, rare acacia lumber, blue and purple dyed wool and vast amounts of linen, oil, spices and more. A very significant accumulation of wealth, especially for a society of newly freed slaves turned wandering desert nomads - all perfectly counted and catalogued.
With all the emphasis in Judaism about accountability, it makes perfect sense that The Temple itself must be a paragon of transparency. Every cent of money, every gram of gold we donated went straight into the construction of the Mishkan. Nothing was skimmed off the top or left over. Nobody was paid for their work. There was no fat government contract handed out to Moshe’s sister’s great-grandson. God forbid we should suspect Moshe, Betzalel or anyone else of laying hand on the sacred donations.
Add in Parshat HaChodesh and the mitzvah of keeping the Sacred Calendar, and time as well as wealth and action becomes something for which we're held accountable.
Parshat Pekudei does more however than allay our suspicions. It also extends the expectation of accountability to Hashem himself. When Hashem first gave Moshe the commandment of taking donations for the construction of the mishkan, he said, “They shall make for me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them”. When all the gold, silver and other materials were donated, they were given with the understanding that God would deliver on that promise. And deliver he did! Pekudei, and with it the book of Exodus, concludes with a description of how Hashem answered the bell of accountability to His promise to “dwell among us”. The Book of Exodus (40:34-38) concludes:
“When Moshe had finished the work, the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Presence of Hashem filled the Mishkan. Moshe could not enter the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud had settled upon it and the Presence of Hashem filled the Mishkan. When the cloud lifted from the Mishkan, the Israelites would set out on their various journeys; but if the cloud did not lift, they would not set out until such time as it did lift. For over the Tabernacle rested the cloud of Hashem by day, and fire would appear in it by night, in the view of all the House of Israel throughout all their journeys.”
Hashem delivered on His end of the deal, and everyone could see it.
But what about us today? We have no Pillar of Fire guiding us nor Clouds of Glory to help us feel God’s protective embrace. We have no Temple in Jerusalem which signifies God ‘dwelling among us’. How then are we today to see God showing up for us? Where is God’s accountability now? As we say in the Mussaf Kedusha, "Where is the place of His glory"?
Rebbe Nachman teaches (Likutey Moharan 2:12) that the very fact that we are looking for Hashem in our lives, yearning to feel His love and see His glory is itself glaring evidence that God is with us. "Where?" IS the place of His Glory. How can we know that in such a broken world Hashem still dwells within us? Because we yearn to see it repaired! That we continue to believe with perfect faith in the coming of Mashiach and work towards that goal PROVES that he WILL come. We will again see His glory fill the Temple in Jerusalem. Until that great day, our hearts ARE the Mishkan, and though we be like Moshe - perhaps unable to even enter our sacred heartspace because of the heavy cloud, in times of night and darkness, His fire can still be seen. He dwells within us!
!!חזק חזק ןנתחזק
Shabbat Shalom
Shlomo
Classes This Week
- Shabbat 6:30 PM before Mincha
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Sunday at 7:00 PM - KOT Beit Midrash Deep Dive into Davening
- Tuesday at 12:30 PM - Parsha Conversations at Cheryl's office
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