Friday, March 1, 2019

Parsha Vayekhel, stories and news & analysis


Parsha Vayekhel


Last week, we had twice why we should observe Shabbos. We are not done as the Torah opens this week’s Parsha with Shabbos and an example of one Melacha.

Up until this point, everything was donations and theoretical for the Mishkan. In our Parsha, the people are assembled and working on the building and implementation of the Mishkan.

35:1 And Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said unto them: 'These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them. 2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a Sabbath of solemn rest to the LORD; whosoever does any work therein shall be put to death. 3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath day.'

As holy as building the Mishkan is, we do not perform Melacha for it on Shabbos. A reiteration of the warning for a death penalty for Mayzid Melacha on Shabbos. The prohibition of fire and the transportation thereof is the only Melacha mentioned for Shabbos but it is an example for the 38 others. 

4 And Moses spoke unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: 'This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying: 5 Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD, whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, the LORD'S offering: gold, and silver, and brass; 6 and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair; 7 and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins Giraffe skins, and acacia-wood;

The Mishkan was colorful. He contained expensive and wonderful color. The Techeles or blue was from a rare fish and had to be meticulously collected. Purple and scarlet have traditionally been royal colors and fine linen the best of the best. The woven goat’s hair was a special skill that even back then only the most skilled of women knew how to do this. Rams dyed red were also exquisite.

This year, I want to focus on the Ohr Tachash. Chabad does not identify the animal and since it is written in the plural we need a number of skins. A tradition in our literature identify the animal as being Susgani or of many color. Now the Mishkan was missing a number of colors. It did not have green, yellow, orange or brown. There is a rule that every animal used in the Mishkan was kosher. We might have orange-like or brown cattle. However, there is one animal that has yellow, white and brown pigments in its skin and is kosher. This would add tremendously to the beauty of the Mishkan.

Another mysterious animal mentioned in Iyob is the Keres or unicorn. So although these animals were rare in Eretz Yisrael, they were known to men at the time of Moshe (See the Medrash on Iyob, Yisro and Balaam meeting with Pharaoh). So what animal existed in the Middle-east or Africa that Iyob could have come across that had one horn on its head? What kosher anima has various colors on its skin? The Daas Chulin comes to the conclusion that the Tachash and Keres are the same and in modern times we call it a giraffe. One can see the bump on the head that is a small horny substance as well as the two antlers. Some of the photos here show the horn quite well that of the mother licking the calf and that of the face-on photo in the upper left. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=photos+of+giraffes&id=54D3B69C4F6F570A735CA93A1544CF0151A39AE6&FORM=IQFRBA
  
So all these years the goyim have pictured the unicorn as a white horse-like creature when it is a giraffe and the beautiful skins used in the Mishkan were from a few giraffes.
           
8 and oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense; 9 and onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate.

Also needed were rare and valuable stones, silver, gold, copper along with the purest of olive oil and incense spices.

10 And let every wise-hearted man among you come, and make all that the LORD has commanded:

Skilled carpenters and metal workers and some men were weavers. But only women had the patience for the goat hairs to be spun into threads. (We will not go back to the Mishkan but I wonder with robotics if we could do that today.)

11 the tabernacle, its tent, and its covering, its clasps, and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 12 the ark, and the staves thereof, the ark-cover, and the veil of the screen; 13 the table, and its staves, and all its vessels, and the showbread; 14 the candlestick also for the light, and its vessels, and its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 and the altar of incense, and its staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt-offering, with its grating of brass, its staves, and all its vessels, the laver and its base; 17 the hangings of the court, the pillars thereof, and their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18 the pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords; 19 the plaited garments, for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office.' 20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

The designs of the Mishkan that were inspired by Ruach HaKodesh came to Ohaliav and Betzalel. They were presented to Moshe and at this time, the actual work would take place with the approved plans.

21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and brought the LORD'S offering, for the work of the tent of meeting, and for all the service thereof, and for the holy garments.

The ones who had learned these skills in Egypt now came forth in all their glory. But even more so, they were zealous for HASHEM for they still had fresh in their memory the plagues, splitting of the sea and Har Sinai.

22 And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought nose-rings, and ear-rings, and signet-rings, and girdles, all jewels of gold; even every man that brought an offering of gold unto the LORD.

The Bnei Yisrael are charitable and they opened their hearts and purses without reservations.

23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, brought them.

As rare as the colored materials were, out of 603,000 men it was enough to supply the material.

24 Every one that did set apart an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD'S offering; and every man, with whom was found acacia-wood for any work of the service, brought it. 25 And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, the blue, and the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen. 26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun the goats' hair. 27 And the rulers brought the onyx stones, and the stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; 28 and the spice, and the oil, for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 29 The children of Israel brought a freewill-offering unto the LORD; every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all the work, which the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses to be made.

All this through Parsha Naso is the implementation and creation of the Mishkan and the work of the Leviim continue on even in Parsha Behaalosecha.

30 And Moses said unto the children of Israel: 'See, the LORD hath called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 And He hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. 32 And to devise skillful works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 33 and in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of skillful workmanship. 34 And He hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Oholiav, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 Them hath He filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of workmanship, of the craftsman, and of the skillful workman, and of the weaver in colors, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any workmanship, and of those that devise skillful works.

We had a giant project to complete. Betzalel was the grandson of Miriam and by the merit of Hur sacrificing his life by the golden calf had obtained Ruach HaKodesh. He would be chief designer and inspector of the project of building the complete Mishkan. Oholiav was the master weaver who would incorporate the curtains, roof, colors and the garments for the Cohanim. This also meant that the jewels would have to be set into the garments.

36:1 And Bezalel and Oholiav shall work, and every wise-hearted man, in whom the LORD hath put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all the work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD hath commanded.'

They were master craftsmen but needed Ruach HaKodesh in order to put the Mishkan together properly.

2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiav, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it.

By Ruach HaKodesh, they chose the members of their project. For it was not only a matter of carpentry and metal work or sewing, knitting and weaving but the building needed heart and soul commitment.

3 And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, wherewith to make it. And they brought yet unto him freewill-offerings every morning. 4 And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they wrought. 5 And they spoke unto Moses, saying: 'The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make.' 6 And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying: 'Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.' So the people were restrained from bringing. 7 For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.

The people gave above and beyond what was needed.

14 And he made curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains he made them. 15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits the breadth of each curtain; the eleven curtains had one measure. 16 And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. …20 And he made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia-wood, standing up. 21 Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board. 22 Each board had two tenons, joined one to another. Thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 23 And he made the boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward. …34 And he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold. 35 And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; with the cherubim the work of the skillful workman made he it. 36 And he made thereunto four pillars of acacia, and overlaid them with gold, their hooks being of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver. 37 And he made a screen for the door of the Tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the weaver in colors; 38 and the five pillars of it with their hooks; and he overlaid their capitals and their fillets with gold; and their five sockets were of brass.

We had previously the description of the Mishkan and the various parts and Altars and the Teva with the Cheruvim facing one another. All was in theory, now at this point Moshe and the people are in a similar spot to us regarding the Temple Institute today where people have produced clothing for he Cohanim, snuff dishes and everything is ready in case we can’t find the original. I wrote the story about the man who was traveling near the Dead Sea and came upon a cave with an Arab Guide with all the utensils and Teva of the Mikdash/Mishkan. He ended up killing the Arab as he was afraid that the Arab would murder him and take the articles. He covered up the cave but knew of the entrance and where it was. He wrote about his find to the Chofetz Chaim and at that point two people knew of it. The Torah Gaon passed away in 1933 (after his passing, Europe no longer had a Tzaddik on a scale large enough to prevent the Holocaust. One person once wrote me confirming the story above but for some reason I never got back to him and I assume that he is no longer among my readers.)

The full description is below and I am condensing it. It is worthy to listen to and read the full description and I bring down here some smuggest of the items Betzalel made with his craftsmen. He was mentioned for he was the chief designer and architect of the Mishkan and acted as project manager.

37:1 And Bezalel made the ark of acacia-wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it. 2 And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about. 3 And he cast for it four rings of gold, in the four feet thereof: even two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. …7 And he made two cherubim of gold: of beaten work made he them, at the two ends of the ark-cover: …10 And he made the table of acacia-wood: two cubits was the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 11 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made thereto a crown of gold round about. …15 And he made the staves of acacia-wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table. 16 And he made the vessels which were upon the table, the dishes thereof, and the pans thereof, and the bowls thereof, and the jars thereof, wherewith to pour out, of pure gold. …17 And he made the candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work made he the candlestick, even its base, and its shaft; its cups, its knops, and its flowers, were of one piece with it. …20 And in the candlestick were four cups made like almond-blossoms, the knops thereof, and the flowers thereof; …25 And he made the altar of incense of acacia-wood: a cubit was the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, four-square; and two cubits was the height thereof; the horns thereof were of one piece with it. 26 And he overlaid it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns of it; and he made unto it a crown of gold round about. …29 And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, after the art of the perfumer. 38:1 And he made the altar of burnt-offering of acacia-wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof, four-square, and three cubits the height thereof. 2 And he made the horns thereof upon the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of one piece with it; and he overlaid it with brass. …7 And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, wherewith to bear it; he made it hollow with planks. 8 And he made the laver of brass, and the base thereof of brass, of the mirrors of the serving women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting. 9 And he made the court; for the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits. 10 Their pillars were twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 11 And for the north side a hundred cubits, their pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 13 And for the east side eastward fifty cubits. …18 And the screen for the gate of the court was the work of the weaver in colors, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court. 19 And their pillars were four, and their sockets four, of brass; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their fillets of silver. 20 And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass.

Now the work on the structure of the Mishkan was complete. All that remained is the assembly and the completion of the garments of the Cohanim and Cohain Gadol and all the various changes that had to be made on Yom Kippur. This was done simultaneously but will be mentioned in next week’s Parsha. It was now awaiting a command to assemble the Mishkan.


A childless Holocaust Survivor meets his namesake. By Rabbi Levi Welton


My wife Chavi and I were visiting my folks in California. We picked a random Shabbat to go out there and went to the local Chabad for services. A family from out of town was also there that Shabbat celebrating their daughter's Bat Mitzvah. We stayed for the Kiddush and the dynamic Rabbi Mendy Cohen led the entire community in singing, inspiring Torah learning and some hearty l'chaims. The party continued until late in the afternoon.
At some point, I asked the father of the Bat Mitzvah where they originally came from and he told me he was from Mexico City and had converted to Judaism many years ago before he had his kids.

"So why'd you pick your Hebrew name of Chaim?"
He told me that he had once spent a Friday night Shabbat service at a synagogue in Westchester, NY back when he was just starting out on his spiritual journey. One of his Rabbis had told him that if he ever met a Holocaust survivor, he should remember these words:
"A Holocaust survivor who doesn't believe in God....is a normal person.
A Holocaust survivor who does...is an angel."

During that Friday night service, as they were dancing around welcoming the holiness of the Shabbat Queen, he looked down at the arm of the person he was holding hands with and saw numbers. He felt overwhelmed that he was dancing with an angel and couldn't control the urge to ask the man his name.
The old man smiled and said, "Chaim." At that moment, this man from Mexico City decided that when it came the time to pick his Hebrew name, he would name himself after the angel he was lucky to dance with. Years passed and he never saw the man again.
I asked this father, "Is the survivor’s name Chaim Grossman?"
His mouth dropped open. "How do you know that?"
I told him I'm the Rabbi of a synagogue in Westchester. One of my congregants survived Buchenwald, went on to become a pilot in the Israeli Defense Forces, and then immigrated to America. His name is Chaim.
This father began to cry. He didn’t even known that Chaim Grossman was still alive. I leaned in close to him and told him that Chaim Grossman was very much alive and that I would be seeing him the following Shabbat. After Shabbat , we took this photo as this father wanted to send his love to his "Godfather."
The next Shabbat, I asked Chaim Grossman to sit in the center of the synagogue as I began my sermon. I told him that 3,000 miles away there lived a man that carried his name and who was raising his family in a traditional, observant home.
"This is incredible," I said. "What is the probability that on the exact Shabbat, the only Shabbat in the entire year that we would fly out to California, it would be the same Shabbat of his daughter's Bat Mitzvah? What are the chances that after hours of celebrating, we would have that conversation about the origin of his name? And what are the chances that the Shabbat for which I would return to New York City to tell this story to his namesake would be the same Shabbat on which we read the Torah portion of Shemot. (Exodus) which literally means "Names," as our Sages teach that the way our ancestors broke free of their slavery was by keeping their Jewish names!"
I then pulled out the photo, printed and framed, and looked Chaim in the eye. As he raised his numbered arm to receive the photo of his "Godson," everyone began to cry. You see, Chaim had never been blessed with any children. And yet now he had a proud Jew halfway around the world who was carrying his name and who would pass it on to his children's children's children.
I will never forget the moment when Chaim stood up and blessed God.
I will never forget the deafening applause that followed.
And I will never forget the image of this holy Holocaust survivor hobbling out of the synagogue holding tightly onto the framed photo of a miracle.
As my father, Rabbi Benzion Welton, taught me, "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous." I had thought I was going to California on vacation but I was really being sent to bear witness to a profound lesson about "Chaim" which means "Life." As the Talmud says, "If our descendants are alive, then our patriarchs are alive" (Taanit 5b).






Leah G. reposted a story from a man named Meir on Facebook. I had to share this: "A story you’ll all love.
A man living in Jerusalem was saying Kaddish for a parent who died. Each day he would say Kaddish at the daily services in the synagogue. It was his way of connecting to the soul of his loved one. Returning home one night at 3:00am from a wedding, he fell into bed exhausted. As soon as he had turned out the light, he realized that he hadn’t prayed Ma’ariv, the evening prayer. He missed the Kaddish for his beloved mother. With tremendous effort, he dragged himself out of bed and started to dress.
Where to find a Minyan at this time of the morning? 3 AM?
No problem. As anyone who lives in Jerusalem can tell you, day or night, you can always find a Minyan at the shteibelach—the small synagogues in the Zichron Moshe neighborhood.
That night there was a miracle. Zichron Moshe was totally deserted; no one was there; nary a hobo, nada.
Taking out his cellular phone, he dialed the number of a large taxi company.
“Hello! Can you please send six taxis to the shteibelach in Zichron Moshe?”
“Adoni (my dear sir)! It’s three o’clock in the morning! You think I have six taxis? What do you think I am, a magician? …I only have five.”
“Okay. So send five!”
He dialed another number. “Hello, please send five taxis to Zichron Moshe…”
“You’re crazy? Atah Meshugah. I only have four!
“okay so send four.”
Within twenty minutes, there was a procession of nine taxicabs parked neatly outside the shteibelach.
“Adoni,” said one of the drivers, “Why do you need nine taxis? There’s no wedding here, no Bar Mitzvah, nothing.”
“I want you all to turn your meters on and come inside with me. We are going to pray together the evening prayer — arvit”
“I will pay each of you just as if your giving me a lift. For every minute you are here, I will pay you.”
Dusty yarmulkes (skullcaps) emerged from the glove compartments of the taxis, some woken from a hibernation that stretched back to their owner’s own bar mitzvah.
It wasn’t easy. Despite being obviously fluent in Hebrew, the drivers had no idea how to pray: what and when to answer; when they should pray aloud and when in silence.
It took them quite a while. But the Kaddish man, showed them exactly what do. They had the most incredible, moving prayer at 3:30 AM in Jerusalem, and he said Kaddish after his mother.
When they had finished, everyone went out to the taxis; the meters in the cars were pushing upwards of 90 shekels each car. The drivers turned off their meters and the man pulled out his wallet. He would dash out around 800 shekels to all the drivers to pay them for their time.
“How much do I owe you?” he said to the first taxi driver in the line.
“Adoni, what do you take me for? Do you honestly believe I would take money from you who just gave me such an opportunity to help my fellow Jew say Kaddish?
He moved down the line to the second driver. Identical reaction. “Do you know how long it is since I prayed?” you want me to take money from you?
And the third and the fourth, all the way down the line to the ninth…
Not one would take a penny.
They embraced and they drove off to a new morning in the holy city of Jerusalem."
Thanks Malka Shifra




Rabbi Yoel Gold and the Katzko Sefer Torah. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BYwpbnpaq8




Retired US Chaplain enjoys grandson getting Israeli Paratrooper wings. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259458

While Jewish Settlements are destroyed, Netanyahu allows illegal Arab housing in Negev. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259567





We have had more than average rain but cannot fix five years of drought. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259721

Flood rescues in heavy rain. Yerushalayim had more than 133mm in two days aka 5.5 inches. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5471435,00.html


Inyanay Diyoma








India up to 1.89 million tribal people to be evacuated from forests. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259497

Check-point removed that could result in more killed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259499

Plan for clear victory in case of war. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259494




Netanyahu concessions to Trump after election. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5469619,00.html

Arabs up-root trees planted in girl’s name. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5469609,00.html

UK to classify Hezballah as a terror Organization. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5469702,00.html





This traitor was one of the bandits that caused the Oslo agreement now sentenced for spying for Iran. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259601

Netanyahu has sold out the right places hope in Abbas. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5469619,00.html

Space probe but Israel’s infrastructure in transportation very bad Ed-Op https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5469137,00.html



Argentina – Chief Rabbi in serious condition after brutal attack at home. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5470130,00.html

Kushner’s hate gave US a rotten attorney general now a “peace”. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5470182,00.html


Chabad event interrupted by Jewish leftist. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259591

Are Bernie Farber and the CJN derelict in their duties? https://dianebederman.com/are-bernie-farber-and-cjn-derelict-of-duty/
When did we accept adults especially journalists bullying children? https://dianebederman.com/when-did-we-accept-adults-especially-journalists-bullying-children/



London elderly Jewish man assaulted. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259657


Arabs willing to meet Netanyahu in Moscow to get and give nothing. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259695



Girl injured by iron bar from construction site recovering. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259686


Trump’s “Deal of the Century” bound to fail analysis. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5470325,00.html

Netanyahu faces three cases that are almost open and shut without flaws. Only one is bribery although all three appear that way. Attorney General does not want to over play hand. https://www.debka.com/one-bribery-charge-out-of-three-cases-against-netanyahu/

Kim and Trump agree to continue talks. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259750

Israeli space probe still on schedule with pre-engineered points. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259744

Useless Nazis (UN) does not condemn Hamas but Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259713

BBC fake news defends “the gang rapists of a certain religion” and FB bans Tommy Robinson. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/259737 But does not ban antisemites in the Labor Party.

Have a healthy and peaceful Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli