The Pekudei Paradox Many spiritual seekers don’t like Judaisim. They want to transcend, to free themselves of the trappings of the mundane, and to connect to the infinite. They see Judaisim as being very technical, regulating precisely how and when to perform the Torah’s commandments. Are they right? They are correct in that they identify the core paradox of Judaism. Judaisim is not about transcending the finite to connect to the infinite, nor is it about being grounded in the real world. The paradox of Judaism is the realization that the essence can be found only in the paradoxical fusion of the infinite within finite space and reality. The Midrash teaches that the reason and motivation for creation is that “the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have an home in the lower realms”, yes the infinite, unfathomable G-d, desired specifically to be in the “lower realms”, in the most physical, tangible, finite space. The same is true with the Divine commandments, which is the Divine will being fulfilled through specific actions, performed in a specific time and place. This paradox is expressed in the final portion of the book of Exodus, Pikudei. Pikudei begins with an accounting of the precise number of all the material used to construct the tabernacle (“These are the numbers of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the Testimony, which were counted at Moses' command”), and concludes with the description of the Divine presence dwelling in the tabernacle (“And the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan.”) The Hebrew word Pekudei itself captures this paradox. Pekudei means ”{counted} numbers”, a number is a defined entity, yet Pikudei also means intimacy and union (as in the Talmudic statement “a man has a duty to be intimate {Lifkod} with his wife”). For indeed, the deepest love is expressed not by sharing words and ideas, but by a physical union. The deepest bond can not be expressed by a spiritual connection, but rather by a physical action. Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Likkutei Sichos 26, Pekudei 2
Blog - Torah Insights
The Pekudei Paradox - פקודי
Ideal Vision vs. Real Life - ויקהל
Ideal Vision vs. Real Life The world we live in is inherently imperfect and often falls short of the ideal visions we create in our minds. Often, the fantasy of a vacation, an experience, or a relationship is far more pristine than the realities of real life, where we struggle through tension and distraction in order to achieve moments of joy and connection. Often, the perfect picture we imagined distracts us from appreciating the blessings we have. After two portions dedicated to G-d conveying to Moses the commandment to build the Tabernacle and its furnishing, in this week’s portion, the Torah repeats every detail and tells us how Moses conveyed the commandment to the Jewish people who fulfilled the commandment and actually constructed the temple. Why the repetition? The Torah could have avoided tens of verses by stating that Moses repeated the commandment to the Jewish people, who then fulfilled all that they were commanded to do. The repetition points to the tension between the ideal and the actual. The Torah is highlighting the critical importance, not the perfect temple Moses heard about on Mount Sinai, but rather the actual temple built by people in the real world. Our efforts to perform good deeds are imperfect, flawed, and complicated, yet that is precisely where G-d chooses to dwell. For G-d wants a home not in the perfect, ideal, heaven, but rather in the flawed and imperfect earth.
Is Purim the Greatest Holiday? - פורים
Is Purim the Greatest Holiday? Purim is a unique holiday in many ways, which leads to the question, is Purim greater or less significant than all other holidays? On the one hand, it seems that the joy of Purim is greater than other holidays, as the Talmud states, "Rava said: A person is obligated to become intoxicated with wine on Purim until he is so intoxicated that he does not know how to distinguish between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordechai". On the other hand, Purim is the only holiday when we do not recite the Hallel, {Hallel is the song of praise from King David's Psalms recited on every major holiday}. Why, in fact, don't we say Hallel on Purim, asks the Talmud, and offers two answers: The first answer is: "Hallel is not recited on a miracle that occurred outside the Land of Israel". The Talmudic sage Rava offers another answer: "The reading of the Megilla itself is an act of reciting Hallel." In other words, Rava fundamentally disagrees with the first answer; while the first answer says that Hallel is not recited, Rava argues that we do indeed recite praise to G-d, it's just that the praise is offered in a different format; instead of reciting Hallel we read the story of the scroll of Esther. The Talmud states, ״One who reads Hallel every day is tantamount to one who curses and blasphemes God. {He displays contempt for Hallel by not reserving it for days on which miracles occurred}". That's because although we understand that the natural order itself is also an expression of the Divine, nevertheless, Hallel is recited only for a miracle where the hand of G-d is revealed and obvious. Purim is a unique holiday. There were no obvious miracles, only a series of coincidences over more than a decade that orchestrated the salvation of the Jewish people. The Talmud, therefore, states that one opinion is that we do not recite Hallel upon the Purim miracle as it occurred outside of the land of Israel, the place where G-d’s providence is obvious and palpable. Rava offers a deeper explanation. Rave says that reading the Megillah is in itself a form of Hallel. Rave tells us that while it is true that the miracle of Purim occurred outside of Israel, both literally and figuratively, while it is true that, at first glance, the presence of G-d is not indisputably obvious, nevertheless, "The reading of the Megilla itself is an act of reciting Hallel". When we read the Megillah and adapt its perspective, we learn to see the story, we discover the common theme that threads together the seemingly unrelated events. When we read the Megillah and internalize its message, we learn to see the presence of G-d within nature. The Megillah itself triggers the requirement to say Hallel and also serves as a distinctive form of Hallel for the unique miracle that is clothed within nature. The ramifications of Rava's perspective are profound. The joy of Purim is greater than the joy of all other holidays, because celebrating Purim and reading the Megillah empower us to feel the presence of G-d, not only in Israel but also throughout the entire world; not only in the extraordinary but also in the ordinary, not only in the apparently holy, but also in the seemingly mundane. Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Purim 5722
Finding Fulfillment - תצוה
Finding Fulfillment The second half of this week's portion addresses in great detail the seven days of Miluim, the inauguration and initiation of the priests to the temple service. After reading about the commandment to build the temple in the last portion and reading about the commandment to fashion beautiful garments for the priests in the first half of this week's portion, the Torah describes the process by which the priests were initiated into the priesthood, a process that took seven days, requiring unique offerings and services. The Hebrew word for the inauguration, Miluim, literally means to fill. The verse states "and you {Moses} shall fill the hand of Aaron and his sons", and refers to the offerings as "fulfillment", and the seven days as days of "fulfillment". What exactly does "fulfillment" mean in the context of inauguration, and why does the Torah use this unusual expression for the inauguration? The Kabbalists explain that the seven days of inauguration were designed to "fulfill" and "correct" the seven days of creation we read about in the book of Genesis. G-d created a beautiful world, but unfortunately the human being did not engage with the world in a wholesome manner, he defied the will of his creator by following the temptation of the tree of knowledge. He was therefore expelled from the tranquility and innocence of Eden. The construction of the temple was the opportunity to fill the world with what it was lacking from the time of the seven days of creation. The introduction of the temple, symbolizing the spiritual relationship with G-d, allowed a person to feel fulfilled. No amount of material possessions or pleasures can bring the person fulfillment, for the physical is inherently temporary and fleeting; it cannot confer a sense of fullness and permanence which it does not possess. Only by building a home for G-d, by filling the material objects and experiences with spiritual and holy meaning, can a person truly "fill" the physical world created during the seven days of creation with true fulfillment, pleasure, and joy that emerged from the seven days of the inauguration of the temple. Adapted from the Kedushat Levi