ב ס ״ ד Torah Wise Of Heart “Let all those Mount Sinai, the only time in all defeat of tragedy: “Wherever it wise of heart come and do”— history when an entire people says ‘and there will be,’ it is a Exodus 35:10. Moses called became the recipients of sign of impending joy.” Weekly revelation. Then came the (Bamidbar Rabbah 13.) At a upon each individual member of the Children of Israel to come disappearance of Moses for his deeper level, though, the opening March 15-21, 2020 forward and use their particular long sojourn at the top of the verse of the sedra alerts us to the 19-25 Adar, 5780 skill (“wisdom”) to build mountain, an absence which led nature of community in Judaism. First Torah: Vayak'hel- to the Israelites’ greatest In classical Hebrew there are Pekudei: Exodus 35:1 - 40:38 the Mishkan—the Second Torah: Parshat desert Tabernacle. collective sin, the making of three different words for Hachodesh: Exodus 12:1-20 The Mishkan was an amazing the golden calf. Moses returned community: edah, tzibbur and ke work of art and engineering, and to the mountain to plead for hillah; and they signify different Haftorah: much wisdom and skill were forgiveness, which was granted. kinds of association. Edah comes Ezekiel 45:18 - 46:15 required to build it. But why does Its symbol was the second set of from the word ed, meaning PARSHAT VAYAK’HEL- he issue a call for the “wise tablets. Now life must begin “witness.” The PEKUDEI of heart”? Is this not a again. A shattered people must verb ya’ad carries the meaning of “to appoint, fix, assign, We have Jewish contradiction in terms? After all, be rebuilt. How does Moses wisdom is in the mind, while proceed? The verse with which destine, set apart, designate or Calendars. If you emotions are in the heart! the sedra begins contains the determine.” The modern Hebrew would like one, clue: Moses assembled the noun te’udah means “certificate, please send us a Perhaps the Torah is teaching us a valuable lesson, especially whole Israelite community and document, attestation, aim, letter and we will applicable in the construction of said to them: “These are the object, purpose or mission.” The send you one, or our personal Mishkan. Skill things G-d has commanded you people who constitute to do.” (Exodus 35:1) The an edah have a strong sense of Calendars ask the alone is sterile, while emotion Rabbi/Chaplain to alone is unpredictable. The wise verb vayakhel—which gives collective identity. They have the sedra its name—is crucial to witnessed the same things. They contact us. person can know something and it can have no effect on his or her an understanding of the task in are bent on the same purpose. Do you have family which Moses is engaged. At its The Jewish people become life—it remains in the display on the outside case of their brain, never used to simplest level it serves as a an edah—a community of shared struggling? direct their behavior. Another motive-word, recalling a faith—only on receiving the first previous verse. In this case, the command: Tell the whole Please contact or person may have profound experiences of deep religious verse is obvious: When the community of Israel that on the have them contact people saw that Moses was so tenth day of this month each man our office to learn emotion expressed so strongly that they reach a point where they long in coming down from the is to take a lamb for his family, more about our lose sight of other good things in mountain, they assembled one for each household. (Exodus family programs. which they should be involved, around Aaron and said, “Come, 12:3) An edah can be a gathering You and they are or they become overly critical of make us gods who will go before for bad as well as good. The Family Programs not alone, we are others who seem not to be as us.” (Exodus 32:1.) Moses’ act is Israelites, on hearing the report of here to help. enthused as they. what the Kabbalists called the spies, lose heart and say they Hence, G-d directs Moses to tell a tikkun: a restoration, a making- want to return to Egypt. the Jewish people: As each and good-again, the redemption of a Throughout, they are referred to We offer free Grape every one of you is building a past misdemeanor. Just as the sin as the edah (as in “How long will Juice and Matzoh personal Mishkan—a Sanctuary was committed by the people this wicked community grumble for you to be able to for G-d made of the stuff of your acting as a kahal or kehillah, so against Me?” (Numbers 14:27). make the blessings life—remember to be “wise of atonement was to be achieved by The people agitated by Korach in every Shabbos. heart.” “Wise”—allow G-dly their again acting as a kehillah, his rebellion against Moses and Please have your wisdom to direct your feelings in this time by making a home for Aaron’s authority are likewise chaplain / Rabbi a constructive, balanced and the Divine Presence as they called an edah (“If one man sins, earlier sought to make a contact us to enroll inclusive way. “Of heart”— will You be angry with the whole substitute for it. Moses (available to all allow this knowledge to create a community?” (Numbers 16:22.). current of excitement and orchestrates the people for good, Nowadays the word is generally Grape Juice & Matzah prisons). as they had once been assembled used for an ethnic or religious passion for the good and the for bad. (The difference lies not subgroup. An edah is a Hyman & Martha Rogal Center G-dly that fills your body and only in the purpose but in the community of the like-minded. 5804 Beacon Street changes your world. By Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe form of the verb, from passive in The word emphasizes strong Pittsburgh, PA 15217 the case of the calf to active in the 412-421-0111 Three Types of Community identity. It is a group whose case of Moses. Passivity allows members have much in common. Fax: 412-521-5948 A long drama had taken bad things to happen: “Wherever By contrast, the word tzibbur—it www.alephne.org place. Moses had led the people it says ‘and it came to pass,’ it is belongs to mishnaic rather than [email protected] from slavery to the beginning of a sign of impending tragedy.” biblical Hebrew—comes from the road to freedom. The people (Megillah 10b) Proactivity is the the root tz-b-r, meaning “to themselves had witnessed G-d at IN JEWISH HISTORY March 16, 2020 --- 20 Adar, 5780 heap” or “pile up.”(Genesis 41:49.) To understand the concept Choni the Circle Maker prays for rain (1st Century BCE) of tzibbur, think of a group of people praying at the Kotel. They may "One year, most of Adar went by and it didn't rain. They sent for not know each other. They may never meet again. But for the moment, Choni the Circle Maker. He prayed and the rains didn't come. He they happen to be ten people in the same place at the same time, and drew a circle, stood in it and said: 'Master of The World! Your thus constitute a quorum for prayer. A tzibbur is a community in the children have turned to me; I swear in Your great name that I won't move from here until You have pity on Your children.' The rains minimalist sense, a mere aggregate, formed by numbers rather than any came down." (Talmud, Taanit 23a) sense of identity. A tzibbur is a group whose members may have nothing in common except that at a certain point they find themselves March 17, 2020 --- 21 Adar, 5780 together, and thus constitute a “public” for prayer or any other Passing of R. Elimelech of Lizhensk (1786) command which requires a minyan. A kehillah is different from the The great Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk (1717-1786) was one of the other two kinds of community. Its members are different from one elite disciples of Rabbi DovBer, the Maggid of Mezritch, and a another. In that sense, it is like a tzibbur. But they are orchestrated colleague of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi. He is also widely together for a collective undertaking—one that involves itself in making known as the No'am Elimelech, the title of the renowned chassidic a distinctive contribution. The danger of a kehillah is that it can become work he authored. Rabbi Elimelech attracted many thousands of a mass, a rabble, a crowd. That is the meaning of the phrase in which chassidim, among them many who after his passing became great Moses, descending the mountain, sees the people dancing around the chassidic masters in their own right. Most notable amongst them was calf: Moses saw that the people were running wild, and that Aaron had Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz, the "Seer of Lublin." Many of the let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their current chassidic dynasties trace themselves back to Rabbi enemies. Exodus 32:25) The beauty of a kehillah, however, is that ( Elimelech. when it is driven by constructive purpose, it gathers together the distinct and separate contributions of many individuals, so that each can say, “I March 19, 2020 --- 23 Adar, 5780 helped to make this.” That is why, assembling the people on this Mishkan assembled; 7 "days of training" (1312 BCE) occasion, Moses emphasizes that each has something different to give: The Children of Israel began building the "Mishkan" (also called the “Take from what you have, an offering to G-d.