Tzav Text message

Parashat Tzav (Command)

This section describes a special type of fire that was present in the tabernacle.  This fire must burn at all times, and may not be extinguished.

In fact these are the first words of the parasha.

Immediately after that, the Torah tells us that the priest had to clean the ashes (dirt) that were left in the altar.

We can learn a beautiful lesson from this. If we want to keep the fire burning all the time, we need to make holy even the most mundane activities. If we can find G-d even when we take out the trash, we always be able to keep the fire burning.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Vaykra Text Message

Parashat Vaykra (G-d called Moses)

Humiliation is not a nice feeling. Those who are humiliated will forever remember the way they felt.

The Torah in this parasha teaches us a great lesson.

The same place where those who brought an offering to G-d, was used for those who brought a sacrifice to cleanse the sins.

Therefore, if you were an outsider, you would never know who was a sinner. Everybody was equal and nobody could be singled out and humiliated.

When we hear that we can humiliate eachother without consequences, we need to know that this practice was discouraged thousands of years ago.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Pekudei Text message

Parashat Pekudei (The Records of the Tabernacle) 

This is the last section of the book of Exodus. We are finishing reading about the tabernacle and the accounting of all that the people donated and brought to its construction.  It is a short parasha, and 18 times we find in it this following verse ending: “as Hashem commanded Moses”.

Eighteen is a number we know very well, it represents life and it is also the name our main prayer, the Amidah (Shemoneh Esrei, “The Eighteen”).

Maybe the repetition is telling us that when you build something there should be a director, someone in charge, someone who commands; but we also need to be partners. We cannot sit and wait until G-d does everything. We need to do our share, and do “as Hashem commanded Moses”.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Vayakel Text message

Vayakel (Moses assembled)
It is not a secret that we are called Jews after the tribe of Judah. From that and other factors, (David, Messiah, etc.) we understand that Judah was the “most important” or “highest valued” tribe.
The question is: What is the “lowest” tribe? The answer is: … Dan, and for many reasons (among them, Samson who works alone, Jacob blesses Dan as a serpent, the story of idolatry of Moses’ grandson, etc.).
Maybe that is the reason two people are chosen to build the tabernacle, Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.
Only when everyone is represented, when everyone is included, the “highest” and the “lowest”, can we build a place where G-d can reside.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L