Annointed Ones

A great dvar from Breslov about our Torah study

Parshat VaYakhel
Adar 5771

Dvar Torah for Parshat Ki Tisa

Based on Likutey Moharan II, Lesson #25

In addition, its also good to make a prayer out of Torah. That is, when you study or hear a Torah lesson from a genuine tzaddik, turn it into a prayer ask. Plead with God about each point in the lesson: When will I be privileged to live by this practice, and embody that ideal? Im so far from it! Ask God to grant you the privilege to achieve every point mentioned in the teaching.
The Midrash (Tanchuma, VaYakhel #7) wants to tell us about the magic of the Ark, the chest that held mankinds greatest treasures: The Tablets of the Ten Commandments and the Torah scroll that Moshe himself wrote.* The Midrash mentions a number of miracles, one time only ones and more frequent ones, that were associated with it. Then the Midrash poses an obvious question: What was it about the Ark that brought about the miracles? It answers by telling us that the Ark also contained the Torah and the Shekhinah. In fact, continues the Midrash, wherever the Torah is, thats were the Shekhinah is. As it is said (Malachi 3:16), Then those who revere God spoke, each with a friend; God listened and heard.
As is well-known, Rebbe Nachman emphasized the importance of, and the need for, daily hitbodedut (the practice of talking to God in ones own words, about whatever one chooses). In one conversation with his chassidim, the Rebbe not only gave a practical suggestion for how to feed and fuel** ones hitbodedut, he practically pleaded with us (those who lived when he did, and those of us alive today) to make use of that suggestion: use any of his teachings as a touchstone for our hitbodedut.
Rebbe Nachman was not a preacher. He did not sermonize. Nonetheless his every conversation, and certainly his lessons, dealt with devotion to God (Rabbi Nachmans Wisdom #124). The Rebbe said, When one makes a lesson into a prayer, it causes great delight on high. Never in history have such delights ascended before God (ibid. #145). The greatest delight for Godand perhaps the greatest miracle from your perspective is what such a hitbodedut can accomplish. It can pierce you to the core, drawing and binding you to God so fervently so that you are certain that you will definitely live by His will and never again separated or disobey HimGod forbid!even in the slightest (ibid.).
As precious and exquisite as the Ark was, you are even more so. Write the words of Torah on the Tablets of your heart (Proverbs 7:3), and God willing the Shekhinah soon follow. And may we pour out our hearts to God like water (Lamentations 2:19), every day.



I loved the picture this week of the anointing of each and every vessel in the Mishkan. In my mind this represents each and every one of us. We are all a part of a greater whole. Beloved, if even one of us is missing it is not the same................. scripture says, the rebuilding of Hashem's dwelling place as we are commanded: "And they shall make for Me a Mishkan and I shall dwell in their midst." As we have learned on numerous occasions, this is both a commandment on a national level and personal level. Each one of us individually is commanded to transform our beings into a dwelling place for the holy Shechinah.
I have always talked about my relationship with G*D as a walk,
An amazing teaching from Reb Sholmo Carlebach follows:
Shabat Shalom, Elisheva Amaris

Parshat Shkalim teaches us to contribute generously to the Mishkan [as we have learned in the last few weeks]. All contributions of material goods were to be made with a 'generous heart' – Hashem desires contributions of the heart; He desires our hearts.

The word 'shkalim' is the plural form of 'shekel' – a coin consisting of a certain weight of silver. In the infinitive 'lishkol' is to weigh; to take. The first step in making a contribution toward the building of Hashem's dwelling place is to weigh, to consider what we are about to do, why we wish to do it and how best to do it. Consider whether our actions are nourishing or starving our souls. Consider the soul's loneliness and its yearning for union with Hashem. May we be compassionate and generously nourish our souls.

Parshat Zachor teaches us to beware of being affected by the evil dangers of Amalek – the dangers of doubting the worthiness of our good deeds and of serving Hashem in a cold manner. We must do every mitzvah with love and passion and even when we don't manage to do so, we must believe and completely trust that every one of our 'contributions', even the smallest of contributions is worthy and valuable.

Parshat Parah teaches us that in order to enter Hashem's dwelling place we must be tahor – purified of anger, of the anger of death. The Talmud teaches when one wants to be tahor he is given help from heaven. Hashem desires and is waiting to help us live true life. We must first 'come forward' to be purified and then Hashem will purify us.

Parshat Hachodesh teaches the importance of renewal. Reb Shlomo zt"l taught that a 'neshamah person' is always new. King David, concludes the Book of Psalms with this verse: "Let every 'neshamah' – soul, praise the LORD. Hallelujah! (Tehillim 150:6) The Rabbis explained the verse as follows: praise Hashem for every single breath. The word 'neshamah'- soul, is the same word as 'neshimah'- breath. A healthy living person breathes and doesn't stop breathing, he doesn't say "I already took a breath, why do I need another one?" At every moment Hashem is breathing new life into our nostrils; and we in turn must be fresh and new at all times, even when doing a mitzvah for the hundredth or thousandth time we must strive to do it as if this is the first time.

"To Eat At The Table Of The Master Of The World!"

As we are getting closer to Pesach we have begun to study the halachot of the holiday as well as the teachings of the Chassidic masters. This week we came across the following in one of Reb Shlomo's Pesach teachings:
"I want you to know that Seder night is one of the nights that my father made a Jew out of me, and my brother and my sister. I remember from the age of three we would sit by the Seder and my father would say to us, 'Children, tonight we are all royalty, princes and princesses, tonight we are sitting at G-d's table. This is not my table. It is G-d's table.'" This is not my table," said father, "this is the table of the King, king of all kings." I remember how my eyes and those of my brother and sister, and the eyes of all who were sitting at the table, were shining. Gevalt! - Awesome! To eat at the table of the Master of the World!"
We stopped for a few moments to discuss the meaning of sitting at Hashem's table. A number of questions were raised. To what extent can you / I see our selves sitting at Hashem's table and what would that mean. If we were to sincerely experience that, would we ever be the same again? How would we be different, and are we ready to live that way? We tried, at least for a few moments, to answer these questions honestly, only to discover that for most of us, though the thought was nice, it was not so easy to see ourselves sitting at Hashem's table. And so we wished to understand, why not?
If you wish try the meditation yourself before reading on. As part of the meditation it was suggested that we look at the people sitting next to us and nearby. Did it matter who was sitting with you, now that you are at Hashem's table? Could you see yourself there sitting next to the person with whom you always argue and fight? Etc. etc. As we looked at some of these questions, we saw that we might not yet be ready to sit at Hashem's table. But this did not really surprise us too much. The next question raised was, if this is something that we all desire, what is it then that is preventing us? Was it something large or something small?
Reb Shlomo zt"l was a master at conveying the deeper meanings of 'Halacha'- Jewish law. From learning with Reb Shlomo and studying his lessons, one comes to a deeper understanding of Halacha. Halacha essentially means law. However, the word is derived from the verb lalechet-to walk. Thus, Halacha delineates the pathways of the Jewish people in relating to G-d, mankind, the universe and all its creatures. Halacha tells us what we must do, what we may do and what we may not do. The Jewish people are the servants of Hashem, and we serve him by following the Halacha.
The Talmud tells us that our ancestors, Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov, observed all of the halachot (laws), even before the Torah had been given. The obvious question is: how did they know what to do and what not to do? Our Avot were so totally devoted to Hashem and so totally connected to Him that they are referred to as the Merkavah-the chariot. Chassidut explains just as a chariot does not move on its own, so too they did not move on their own. Every move they made was directed by Hashem.
The implication of this is that anyone who is completely given over to Hashem and doesn't make a single move that is not in accordance with His will, would in effect never have to read or learn the Shulchan Aruch-The Code of Jewish Law. They instinctively knew what to do at all times, at each moment every day of the year.
But what are we to do? We who are not yet chariots of G-d, how can we come closer to Hashem? Though we may not achieve the same levels of divine service achieved by Avraham Avinu, Yitzhak Avinu and Yaakov Avinu, nevertheless we should and are expected to move in that direction. Halacha is the answer, for not only does it teach us what to do, it also informs us of the desirable and necessary inner transformations that need to be accomplished in order to be a sanctuary for Hashem. Halacha actually teaches us WHAT TO BE AND HOW TO BE, not only WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT TO DO. Halacha teaches us how to BE close to Hashem and all His creatures.
There is a law that is unique to Pesach: "chametz assur b'mashehu" even the slightest amount of chametz [leaven] is prohibited on Pesach. Whereas all forbidden foods have a shiur-a certain minimal amount which must be consumed in order to technically transgress the law, chametz has no such minimal shiur. Even a mashehu-the very slightest amount, is prohibited. Nor are we allowed to even possess the slightest amount of chametz.
Explaining the inner meaning of the law, "chametz assur b'mashehu," Reb Shlomo said that very often it is actually something very small that makes all the difference. What makes something acceptable and desirable, or undesirable, is often just a very small thing.

What is true freedom?

To be free is to be that high person that Hashem envisioned when He dreamt of you, before He created the world. To be truly free we need to be in touch with Hashem's dream and to be in touch with Hashem's vision of ourselves. Hashem saw us as holy and exalted, kind, generous beings. To be free is to be the most wonderful father, mother, friend, husband, wife, son and daughter you can be. To be free is to be as great as you know you can be.
Why is "chametz assur b'mashehu?" Because when it comes to achieving true freedom, even the smallest amount of leaven is enough to prevent us from attaining it. In order to attain complete freedom we must get rid of every bit of chametz.
What prevents you or me from sincerely sitting at Hashem's table, is not necessarily something big or vulgar. It very well may be something very small – even the smallest amount of chametz! So how are we to discover our chametz- leaven and dispose of it?
Again we find the answer in Halacha, elucidated by Reb Shlomo's Chassidic teachings. On the eve of the 14th of Nissan we are instructed to do 'bedikkat chametz' – to conduct a search for the chametz- leaven. By the light of a candle, we search our homes, our cars, our offices, all the personal places in which we have kept chametz during the year. We wrap up the pieces of chametz that we found and put them away until the next morning when we burn them in fire. On a personal level we search our hearts for the chametz that is preventing us from sitting as free people at Hashem's table.
How do we do the search? In your worldly home you do it with a candle. In your spiritual home you also use a candle, but of a different kind, as we learn in our Holy Scriptures:

Psalm 119:105 NUN. Thy word is a candle unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a candle, and the teaching is light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life;
Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts.

The mitzvot are our candles and the light is the light of the Torah, and the chametz is consumed with the fire in our heart, the fire with which we serve Hashem.
Maybe you think that it is too difficult to do this, but one of the most essential teachings and elements of the Torah, of Yiddishkeit, is precisely our faith that Hashem has liberated us from the enslavement of Mitzrayim and continues to do so. The reason we have difficulty with all this is precisely because we have not yet rid ourselves of our chametz. The deepest question is, are we willing to get rid of ALL OF IT?
Children have no trouble sitting at Hashem's table. You and I were once children. Let's not completely lose touch with that. We can get back in touch with that purity and love of Hashem. We can re-learn to let go and rid ourselves of our chametz. But we have to want to, or at least want to want to be free. We must let go of our idols and paganism, at the very least we must want to do so.

The overriding theme of the opening of parshas Vayakheyl and of the last few parshiot is unity, the unity and unification of heaven and earth, as in the in-dwelling of the Shechinah, and the unity of the Jewish people as a pre-condition for that. [See the enclosed teachings of the previous years.]
This Shabbos is known as Shabbos Hachodesh, since we will have an additional reading from Shemos [Exodus] chapter 12, serving as a reminder to get ready for the holiday of Pesach.
In this passage we are given the first mitzvah that we ever received as a nation. this is the mitzvah of "Kiddush Hachodesh" - the sanctification of the new moon, the establishment of the month of Nissan as the first month of the year, as well we received the commandments concerning the 'korban Pesach' and Pesach, all in preparation for 'yetziat Mitzrayim', the exodus from Egypt.
In each generation, each year, each day and each moment we are to see ourselves as having been liberated from Mitzrayim/Egypt. The reading of parshas Hachodesh is a heavenly reminder to get ready to be free, for in just a few more days we are all invited to sit at Hashem’s Seder table. It is also a divine gift and infusion of hope and faith, a heavenly inspiration to reassure us that we can and that we truly want to be free, that we can and we truly want to sit at Hashem's table.

For The Sake of The Unity of Am Yisrael

This week we read the last two parshiot of 'sefer Shmot', the book of Exodus. In addition we have an additional reading for 'Parshat Hachodesh', from Exodus chap. 12. "This month shall be for you the beginning of all months, it is the first of the months of the year".
The theme of Parshat Vayakheyl is Unity. Parshat Vayakheyl follows right after the story of the 'golden calf'. As a result of having committed such a transgression a mere forty days after receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai, we were quite demoralized and we lost our self-confidence in our ability to return to and be close to Hashem once again.

The parsha begins as follows:

"And Moshe gathered the children of Israel and said to them, "these are the things that Hashem has commanded, to do them. Six days [a week] work shall be done, but the seventh day must be holy to you, it is a Shabbos of Shabbos to Hashem..." Moshe said to the entire congreagation of B'nai Yisrael, saying, "This is the word that Hashem has commanded: Take from your possessions a 't'rumah' to Hashem." Sh'mot 35: 1-5

We wonder why Moshe gathered us together; after all we do not find that Hashem told him to do this? And why did he choose to speak to us about Shabbos and about the building of the sanctuary, again without having been instructed to do so by Hashem?

The Ishbitzer Rebbe teaches that Moshe Rabbeinu gathered us together to explain to us how it came about that we made a golden calf, to comfort us in spite of our doing so, and to tell us what we needed to know to prevent a recurrence. We are told by Moshe Rabbeinu that we made the golden calf because we did not maintain our unity! Before receiving the holy Torah at Har Sinai, we were united "as one person with one heart". Tragically this lasted for only forty days. By making the golden calf we had caused the Shechinah to retreat from amongst us. But how did our fragmentation come about?

To convey the importance and necessity of our re-uniting Moshe Rabbeinu did not this time transmit his teachings in the usual manner, via the Kohanim and the Seventy Elders. Instead, he gathered all of us together and spoke to us in community, to realistically convey that first and foremost we must be united; to be "as one person, with one heart".

Moshe Rabbeinu then speaks to us about the holiness of Shabbos and about the holy Mishkan sanctuary. We need to understand why Moshe Rabbeinu talks to us about these two matters in particular?

How do we restore our unity? How can we regain our self-confidence, our 'azzut d'kedusha' holy chutzpah, to not give up? What is the source of our unity?

Moshe Rabbeinu speaks to us, teaching us that the holy Shabbos is the source of our unity. Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants to have a dwelling place here in the lowest of worlds and He gave us the task to prepare the vessel to receive the Shechinah. Moshe Rabbeinu further teaches that if we want to build a holy sanctuary for Hashem we can do so only if we are truly united, only then will the Shechinah dwell in it.

The Ishbitzer Rebbe continues to explain; one of the miracles that occurred in the building of the Mishkan was that although hundreds of people were involved in its construction, when it was completed it looked as if it had been made by one person. The Mishkan possessed an inherent unity. This was possible because miraculously all the craftspeople were inspired with a spirit of unity to work in unison and that is what made it so special and holy. By keeping Shabbos holy we are inspired by its unity, for Shabbos is the unity that permeates each one of us and allows us to be in harmony with each other.

When we are united, when we really care about one another the Shechinah dwells amongst us, and no one desires to make any kind of golden calf. But if we are divided we [can] become idolatrous and make idols, i.e. we deify and worship division. The idols we make and idolatrous worship then divide us even further. But when we unite, when we live in Shabbos, Hashem joins us and dwells among us.

There is a 'natural' truth: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The vessel is greater than all its bits of clay. Then there is the additional aspect of what fills the vessel. When the Jewish people unite, the vessel of "Knesset Yisrael" - the community of Israel - is formed and then the holy Shechinah dwells in it. We are obligated not only to believe that Hashem is one, we are obligated to live Hashem's oneness.

When we say the Shma Yisrael, we put our hand over our eyes and close them in order to better focus on the words "Hear O Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One". Then when we open our eyes we have to see that Hashem is One, that everyone and everything we see and don't see, is all part of Hashem's oneness. The truth of this concept will be fully appreciated only when Moshiach comes.

"V'atem tee-h-you lee mamlechet kohanim v'goy kadosh". Sh'mot 19. We are commanded to be a 'kingdom of kohanim and a holy nation'. In Vayikra Chap. 19, Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu to gather everyone together in order to tell the people of Israel "kedoshim tee-h-you" you shall be holy. The commentators explain that here too we all gathered together because everyone had to be there to personally hear this mitzvah that calls upon us to live a life of holiness. Many people believe that being holy and living in a holy way is possible only for a few select individuals in each generation. However the truth is that every one of us can live a life of 'kedushah' holiness. That is why everyone had to hear this mitzvah personally.

The Hemek Davar offers an additional explanation; the reason that every one of us had to be present to hear this mitzvah together is that we were thereby being informed that kedushah-holiness can be found only in togetherness and unity. No matter how scrupulously you observe the mitzvot, no matter with how much 'kavanah' holy intention and focus you perform your mitzvot, you can be connected to holiness only if there is a real place for every Jew in your heart and soul.

As we have learned in the past that if a Sefer Torah is missing even one letter, or if one letter is damaged, the whole Sefer Torah is not kosher and may not be read from in public. Chassidut explains that each letter represents a neshamah, and if one letter is missing, it is as if that neshamah is missing, chas v'shalom.

The same is true about the Mishkan. Reb Shlomo ztz"l used to emphasize the teaching, that if even only one tiny peg was missing in the Mishkan, then the Shechinah would not dwell in it. The Mishkan was constructed with the t'rumot contributions of every 'nediv leyv', everyone contributed generously, and when everyone's 'generosity of the heart' was brought together, the Dwelling Place of the Shechinah was created.

"Olam chessed yiboneh", the world was built with the attribute of chessed, kindness. Creation is an act of 'chessed'. The building of the Mishkan was a re-creation of Bereishis, the creation of the world. Just as Hashem created the world with chessed, we too can create the home for Hashem, the Mishkan, only through our acts of chessed, generosity of the heart. Hashem, the One, created the many; we the many have to bring it all together to create the home for the One.

I once saw a teaching that 'Chessed' has the 'gimatria'- numeric value- of 72, which equals 4x18. 18 is "chai", representing life. 4x18=72, represents the life vitality which comes through each of the four letters of Hashem's Name... 'Yud'- 'Hey' - 'Vav' - 'Hey'. All together 72 = 'chessed' ['Chet'=8 + 'Samech'=60 + Daled= 4 = total 72.

The deepest generosity that we have been given is the holy Shabbos. The deepest way we can celebrate Shabbos is by being "nediv leyv", of generous heart, sharing together rather than having commercial transactions with each other. The Slonimer Rebbe explains that, from the fact that the Torah teaches us about Shabbos and the Mishkan again in this week’s parsha, right after we read the story of the golden calf last week, we learn that there is Shabbos before the sin, and there is Shabbos after the sin. Even after making a golden calf, we still have Shabbos; we still can connect deeply with Shabbos.

It is natural for us to feel embarrassed when we daaven to Hashem after we have done something very wrong. After we made the golden calf we were very broken hearted, we were very ashamed to stand before G-d again and to sing to Hashem. How could we ever really open our mouths in song and prayer again? But we must not allow our shame to interfere with our singing to Hashem, or our celebrating Shabbos fully again.... but how do we overcome these feelings?

So we have Shabbos after the sin. We have Shabbos again, but now we need to prepare ourselves for it. All the work that we have to put into our Shabbos preparations is but Hashem's way of helping us overcome our shame. By allowing us the opportunity to 'do' something in preparation for Shabbos, Hashem is restoring our self-confidence and we are healed in our 'making Shabbos'.

Gevalt! Gevalt Hashem please bless us with a Gevalt Shabbos, please give us the 'ko-ach' to do our Shabbos preparations with joy; please send Shabbos warmth and joy to all the broken and suffering families. Hashem please send Moshiach NOW.

For The Sake of The Unity of Am Yisrael SHMA YISRAEL HASHEM ELOKEINU HASHEM ECHAD!

This week we read the last parsha of 'sefer Shmot', parshas Pekudei. At the conclusion of the Torah reading we will energetically say out loud, "Chazak Chazak V'nitchazeik!" Strong, strong! And we will be strengthened!" May this be true for all of us b'simcha! Amen !!!

Pekudei: The letters 'pei' - 'kuf' - 'da-led' are the root of this word. Hebrew, or as we call it 'LASHON HAKODESH' is a most beautiful language, and this one root, [like many others], provides us with many words of different but related meanings, each offering a deeper understanding of the other. Here are some of the uses of this verb. LIFKOD [inf.]: to remember'; to count; to appoint; to order [to command]; to remember; to notice the absence of.

In parshas Pekudei we learn about "Pe'kudei ha'mishkan" - the accounting of all the donations received and used in the making of the Mishkan. Each part of the Mishkan is accounted for. Each contribution was noted, respected and valued. Every half-shekel, even the smallest button and peg, was noted and deemed significant. The Shechinah would dwell only in a complete and unified Mishkan.

As Shlomo Carlebach says,"May we be blessed that every person, every moment, every good deed, every Hello, every Shalom should be precious and significant. Amen."