Pekudei

I just came back from Yerushaliyim where I did my annual matzah baking. As usual, I have the most important job in the group: weighing, packing, and labeling. Most people don’t consider this important, but in our group, it IS considered important, since I also write personalized nonsense on each box; such as “Find a Pita: Win a Prize,” “Don’t worry, this year we washed our hands before,” “Certified Kosher, Minus the Certification” . . . things like that.

It would annoy my friend, who was doing the baking and running the operation, that everybody came in during their breaks to see what I was writing and not pay any attention to him, but he told me that this year one woman was worried that I wasn’t going to be in to write something funny on their box. For some reason, people look forward to them.

Last year, the rav who checks all the matzos asked me not to write anything on his box, since his wife gets embarrassed. “No problem,” I said. So, I wrote on the inside of the four flaps of the box, so when you open it up you see, “YOU CANNOT SILENCE ME.” This year he came up and told me how much he liked it.

I also got a little mean this year. On my birthday, my wife made a mug for me and put a plastic cockroach in the cup (our family "bug") hoping to scare me (it didn’t). I eventually avenged myself upon her with said cockroach. However, it was my friend (technically his wife) who sent the plastic cockroach to my wife for her "gift" in the first place. So, naturally, I had to avenge myself upon THEM. So, I wrote on his box, “Find a cockroach and win a prize!” placed a plastic toy under the matzos and a plastic cockroach on the top. I knew he would get home and open the box to air out the matzos from any trapped heat. Needless to say, I received a call five minutes after dropping him off: “YOU ARE A DEAD MAN! Do you know how high I jumped when I saw that?!”

Mission Accomplished.
Before I went the make the matzos, I went to visit a former Rosh Yeshiva of mine from 20 years ago (let’s not ponder that number, shall we?). He runs a small yeshiva for boys who are coming from a non-religious background. At the end of our conversation he told me, “This morning I overheard some of the boys discussing the sitcom they watched last night over their phones. You know . . . in your times, when you guys came to Israel to learn, you were cut off from America (this was before email picked up), and left it all behind. Nowadays, they simply bring it with.”

I later went to quickly see a friend of mine whom I haven’t seen in years. He is a very big talmid chacham nowadays, sitting and learning in Mir Yeshiva. He told me an interesting dvar torah concerning the attacks (there were two in Yerushaliyim that day) that we have been going through. He said that there is a Gemara that discusses the death of Rebbe Yehudah HaNasi. Shortly before his death, his students were asking him deeper questions, and one of them was, “Who are the Yishmaelim (our Arab cousins)?” He answered that they are “The Shaiddim of the Beis HaKisei” or in English, “The Demons of the Bathroom.”

My friend continued, ”Why did we have the Holocaust? Because we placed such a great importance on Western Civilization. We started to worship them and their universities, and through the Enlightenment, we left Torah. So, Hashem punished us through that which we worshipped. The Germans were known for their academia, universities, and enlightenment. After all, it was not Mengele who was killing Jews, it was DOCTOR Mengele . . .

“So, now, here we are, being attacked in the streets and in our homes by ‘Demons of the Bathroom.’ Not ‘Demons of the Fields’ or ‘Demons of the Mansions,’ but the BATHROOM! The disgusting of disgusting! Why? Probably because that is exactly what we are worshipping today: nonsense and disgusting things.”

It’s an interesting insight he had. In previous times, people left Torah because of different ideologies, like Socialism, Communism, and such. They might be anti-Torah, but at least there was some SOMETHING to it, some THOUGHT! But nowadays, our fight isn’t against anything intellectual, but rather it’s simply against physical desires and pleasures with minimal brain usage necessary. That is the battle that we are fighting today, and that is why, he believes, when we worship things that are low and disgusting, we are killed by those who are low and disgusting.

May we all be able to find some way of lifting ourselves above the muck, at least a little bit, to deserve some quiet and peace from our tormentors.

With that, I wish you all a good Shabbos!

Michael Winner

I hope everybody had an enjoyable Purim. My apologies for not writing a dvar Torah last week. We hosted the Purim festivities at our home with three other families (plus a few drop-ins), and between cleaning up, and getting ready for Shabbos, I was unable to find time to write.

Concerning drinking on Purim, my belief is simple: start drinking as soon as you can and go to daven mincha in a tipsy mode. It really helps you daven properly (as long as you’re not REALLY drunk).

So, this year was no different.

Except that somebody was dispensing vodka and whiskey in shul right before davening. I chose vodka, followed up with some great davening.

I came home and my wife asked me how davening was. I replied, “It was great! I learned that having a cup of vodka beforehand really helps”

“A cup? You mean a shot.”

“No . . . I mean a cup”

-Silence-

“DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH ALCOHOL THERE IS IN VODKA?!?!?!”

THAT was worth everything. :)
“Like everything that Hashem commanded Moshe, so did the Children of Israel perform all the labour.”(Shemos 39:42)

This week’s parsha goes into minute detail on the construction of the Mishkan. Throughout the entire parsha we see repeatedly that the nation did the work, “as Hashem commanded Moshe.”

Each and every facet was done accordingly.

I saw recently something interesting in Shmuel II (Book of Samuel). Dovid HaMelech (King David), after securing his capital in Jerusalem, attempted to bring the Aron to its proper place. In fact, he made two attempts.

In the first attempt, the Aron was placed on a wagon which was made by the Philistines when they captured it, rather than members of the tribe of Levi carrying it, as they were supposed to. Also, certain musical instruments which were not befitting were used to escort the Aron. The pasuk testifies they “frolicked before Hashem” (Shmuel II 6:5). While everything was done with the right intentions, and Dovid HaMelech had his own calculations, it was not done according to the Torah’s definition of “proper.” It ended with the death of an individual and a clear sign that Hashem was not pleased with what transpired.

Shortly after, Dovid HaMelech made another attempt. This time things were done in a proper manner and the pasuk testifies “they brought up the Aron of Hashem from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David with JOY”(6:12). This time the word “simcha” was used to describe the celebration.

True joy and true service is accomplished only via the way that the Creator Himself declares.

When a company creates a telescope, for example, it also creates a manual on how to use it to its maximum efficiency. Sure, you can skip out learning how to use it and try using it on your own. Perhaps, you’ll even have some success. However, if you wish to MAXIMIZE the joy you have by using it, you need to read the manual first and follow its directions.

All the more so with life itself. To attain true simcha, one has to learn from the “user’s manual” that the Creator wrote. By following it “as Hashem commanded Moshe,” one can achieve happiness and fulfill his personal mission in life.

Have a great Shabbos!

Michael Winner

Early this week, an old friend, whom I haven’t seen in ten years, came to Israel with his wife to visit his daughter in seminary. Since he was in the country for 10 days, he decided to come up north, and they had dinner and spent the night in our home. We have a custom that whenever guests come, the kids make "welcome" signs for the front door. Chaim, who still has yet to master the skill of writing, took it upon himself to right a small message for them. Since, all I saw were seemingly random letters in Hebrew, my wife was more than happy to read what Chaim wrote to our esteemed guests:

If you come into our house, a poisonous snake is going to eat you
-Chaim Moshe

My wife said he was snickering the whole time as he wrote it. Obviously, we know where he gets his sick sense of humor from….

Okay, on to Torah!
In this week’s parsha, the Torah finishes the description of the building of the Mishkan. It notes (Shemos 40:18) that Moshe first put up the curtains and then put up the support beams. This poses a difficult question: how do you put up the curtains without the support beams? Two answers are given. One, is that people held the curtains up while the support beams were put in place and another is that miraculously the curtains were suspended in midair.

So, this brings forth a second question: why was it done in such a way?

I saw an answer given by Rav Aryeh Brueckheimer, which came to the same conclusion as I, but in a different way. Since, I like my way better, and I’m writing, I’m going to give my answer. :)

The curtains were obviously on the outside of the support beams. By putting up the surrounding curtains first, Moshe was showing the importance of surrounding oneself within a proper environment. When one surrounds himself with holiness, via a “closed off” house from the outside world, or by surrounding himself with proper friends who will help him grow, then he is setting himself up for success. For as long as he is surrounded by people and things that distract him from his spiritual growth, he will always be held back. But, when he surrounds himself in an environment of growth, he will have unlimited success.

Have a great Shabbos!

Michael Winner

I spoke to my sfardi friend about my lack of “Alpha-Male”-ness.

This was a very wrong move. sfardi males, inherently, are Alpha males. I know of only one who is not, and we’re doing extensive testing on him to see if he’s really sfardi.

My friend responded, “You ashkanazim are pitiful. Only an ashkanazi could take pride in being owned by their wives. A good sfardi woman knows her place!”

Later, as we were learning about Cohanim and certain things they used while baking, he turned to me and remarked, “Obviously, he was ashkanazi, since no sfardi man would be caught in the kitchen”

Granted, he himself is a chef and does most of the cooking …

Anyhow, I’m not sure what’s going on next week. I’m making matzah on Thursday night and then the family is heading north for a small three-day pre-Purim/Pesach vacation. Our first “Out Shabbos” in over a year and a half, and our first Saturday night off since Sukkos.

So, I can’t make any promises that I’ll have a dvar torah out before then.

Now, on to Torah!
"And was in the first month... That the Mishkan was erected." (Shemos 40:17)

Rashi cites a Midrash were Moshe asked Hashem, "How is it possible for human beings to erect the Mishkan (due to its immense weight)"?

Hashem replied that if he would make the effort, the Mishkan would stand on its own. That is why the pasuk states, "the Mishkan WAS erected", compared to "Moshe erected the Mishkan".

We see this lesson encapsulated with the mishnah in Avos (2:16), "It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you free to neglect it"

When Rav Shach was the head of a yeshiva in Petach Tikvah, a man used to walk in every evening to attend the shiur (lesson). It was clear from his dress that he was a farmer, and after a full day of work, he would come to learn.

Every evening he would come, open up his Gemara, and fall asleep, not waking until the end of the shiur.

Rav Shach admitted to being jealous of this farmer. He explained that one has the obligation to use all his energies to grow in Torah to fulfill his obligations in life. Here we have a farmer who does physical labour all day, and he uses his last ounce of energy to come and learn. Yes, he didn't actually learn, but he pushed himself past his limits to try, and that is something to be jealous about. Rav Shach commented, "I understand that people are preoccupied and that it is difficult for them to study, but one must do what is possible -all that is possible!"

Have a great Shabbos!

My apologies for the lack of dvrei Torah over the past two weeks. Our schedule was thrown off, then Purim, then Post-Purim recovery… you know…

I did, though, learn an important lesson over Purim. Such as, how to tell when your wife likes you.

I came in on Purim day from the beis medresh to be welcomed with a table full of shaloch manos that were given to us. Suddenly, I noticed a glow coming from one of them. I looked in and lo and behold there was a bag with Pringles and Mike & Ikes!

Now please understand. Mike & Ikes are a treat, a delicacy, if you will. I have them, at most, twice a year. Pringles are something that is not so easy to find here. The last time I had any was around 5 years ago. Needless to say, I was very happy.

So, like a man, I run into the room where my wife was resting and proudly declared, “The Pringles and Mike & Ikes are MINE! YOU cannot have any for I refuse to share!”

She smiled and responded, “Funny. That was the one I bought for you”

“Oh…. Ummm… thank you… BUT I’M STILL NOT SHARING!”

So, last Shabbos I had my Pringles (I gave her two, out of pity) and this Shabbos I will delight in my Mike & Ikes.

Okay, on to Torah!
"These are the reckonings of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of Testimony" (38 21)

Rashi explains the double meaning of the word Mishkan "This is an allusion to the Beis HaMikdash, which was taken as collateral twice, when the two Battei HaMikdash were destroyed, because of the sins of Israel"

A young student once asked Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, "If the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash is compared to the taking of collateral for the sins of Israel, why doesn't G-d return the pledge to us, especially since we long and yearn for it so much?"

Rav Sonnenfeld replied that there is a law that requires a lender to return the collateral taken from a loan to the borrower if he is poor and needs it. The famous example is the lender must return the blanket he took as security from the borrower if the borrower is poor and needs the blanket. Therefore, every night, the blanket must be given back to the poor man and in the morning the lender will be able to get it back from the poor borrower.

"Now, do you want to know why G-d does not return our 'collateral' that He has taken from us? It is because most Jews are perfectly content with the way their lives are in exile. They have wealth, comfort and prestige. They are quite satisfied with their present situation, and do not feel the urgent need for an end to our exile and the return of G-d's Shechinah to the Beis HaMikdash. There is thus no requirement for Him to return this ‘collateral’ as yet!”

The Shelah, on this line of reasoning, wrote “My heart aches within me when I see that the Jews build beautiful houses for themselves, like palaces of princes, making permanent, long-lasting dwelling arrangements for themselves. This gives the impression that they have a lack of appreciation and expectation for our Messianic redemption”

Every day we are obligated to long for Moshiach to come and to return to Eretz Yisroel. When we realign our long term plans to include such a concept, then we can hope to merit a speedy redemption.

With the unfortunate attack on the yeshiva last night, a neighbor of mine reminded me at the miracles that happen here everyday.

Our neighborhood is surrounded on three sides by our dear cousins. He said, “Imagine if everybody in all those communities picked up just a spoon and came at us en masse. It would be a massacre. They would outnumber us and easily destroy the community, and there would be nothing the government or army could do about it”

Thank G-d, incidences like last night don’t happen more often when it’s so easy to.

Well, since it IS Rosh Chodesh Adar, it’s still important to be in a simcha mood. Here’s a clip that was reported yesterday in the papers (yes, it happened):

Ashkelon resident Moshe Nissimpor decided that the best way to halt rocket fire from Gaza - in light of what he terms the government's failure to do so - is some vigilante justice.

Nissimpor developed a homemade 200-millimeter ballistic missile, which he planned to launch from Ashkelon into the Gaza Strip.

"From this day onwards, we will push back to the Stone Age every place which dares shoot missiles into Israel's sovereign territory," he said. "It is time the world understood Israelis' lives are not expendable.

"I'm afraid this is the only language the Palestinians understand, and this is the language in which we'll speak to them. I have many Gazan Palestinian friends who live as Hamas hostages. Once we bring an end to the rocket fire, Gaza's residents will also live in peace," he said.

Nissimpor arrived at the Ashkelon Municipality building with the missile painted black and lettered "to Hamas, from the residents of Ashkelon" in red, and was planning to launch it.

Ashkelon residents gathered round to cheer him on and protest the government's conduct, but at the eleventh hour, police stopped him from firing the missile and seized it.
"I wish there were more 'crazies' like me in Israel," Nissimpor said as the crowd was dispersed by the police.

Okay, on to Torah!
This week's parsha deals with the completion of the building of the Mishkan, which was the predecessor to the more permanent Beis HaMikdash.

I saw a very nice Gemara and Rabbeinu Yona last week concerning the Beis HaMikdash that I thought I would share over.

The Gemara (Brachos 8a) states, "Rebbi Chiyah bar Ami said in the name of Ulla, 'From the day the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, Hashem's Presence is no longer in the world, with the exception of the daled amos of halacha'"

For note, "daled amos" of "four cubits" is a reference to "personal space".

Back in the day, when I knew less than nothing (if I know nothing now, I knew less than nothing then), I never could figure out why yeshivas spent so much time focusing on Gemara, while putting little time into other areas of Torah.

I was told that the students were expected to use their free time for that, but the majority of official time was spent learning Gemara.

I realized after I started learning that you need to put in all that time and more to properly understand and grasp the Gemara and the myriads of halacha that come out of it.

The MaHarsha on this Gemara opened my eyes even further, when he explained that the "Daled Amos of Halacha" is the learning of Gemara and halacha. Where is the Divine Presence found? Where people are toiling over the Halacha, trying to understand what Hashem expects from us and how to go around doing it.

Rabbeinu Yona on this Gemara adds,

"Every person who has a set place for his learning, his enemies will fall before him.... When the Beis HaMikdash was standing, Hashem rested his Presence there, and in this merit, the nation lived in security and had no fear of their enemies. And now, when the Beis HaMikdash is no longer standing, the place of Torah is in its place. And therefore, in this (the learning of Torah), are we saved from our enemies..."

Here comes the real nice part.

"Even somebody who knows only very little. If he has a place (and time) set to learn regularly, and he learns what he knows, and he works on it so it should enter his heart. Even if he doesn't know anything at all, just for going to the yeshiva to learn, he gets the merit for just going"

Pretty powerful.

Everybody has the power to help protect the nation and we need as much protection as we can get.

I heard a cute story the other day.

One of my friend’s rabbis, back in his younger years, took a cross-country trip with a few friends once over break. At one point they got lost, so they stopped by a tavern off the road to ask for directions. Since they were yeshiva boys, they had their hats and jackets on them but since it was hot, their jackets were hunger over their shoulders, and their hats weren’t straight.

The tavern owner saw the door open and allow four people with hats and jackets walk in. Thinking they were gangsters, he threw himself to the floor and yelled, “The money’s in the register!!!”

Okay, on to Torah!

The Midrash states that the Mishkan, which was built in this week’s parsha, was completed months before the Shechina, G-d’s Presence, came down. After such a wait, Hashem finally “came down” on the first of Nissan, which is next Thursday. The first of Nissan happens to be the birthday of Yitzchok.

The Midrash also recounts how between the time the Mishkan was completed and the arrival of the Shechina, Moshe underwent some troubled times. First, they made fun of “the son of Amram” since it seemed obvious that he did something wrong. How could the Mishkan have been completed and the Shechina not come down? Then they accused him of stealing money from the Mishkan for his own personal use. The people were stirring, so naturally they turned against the Gadol HaDor (the giant of the generation).

Rav Elimelech Moller offers insight into why Yitzchok’s birthday was chosen and why there was a delay which led to such problems for Moshe. He quotes Rabbeinu Yonah who writes that a person who is truly trusting in Hashem, will believe his salvation will emerge even from the brink of his deepest despair. He continues to say that the distress which he experienced will serve as a catalyst for his fulfillment. The “light” which he enjoys is a direct result of the “darkness” that he went through.

Similarly, the joy of geulah, the redemption, correlates to sorrow of golus, exile. The counting of the Egyptian Exile began the day Yitzchok was born (that’s another story for another time). It was on that day hundreds of years later that the Mishkan was completed, and the exile officially ended. While originally the day meant the beginning of the exile, it now symbolized the emergence of the Jewish nation.

We are living in times of spiritual darkness. We’ve been in golus for 2000 years. Those of us who are lucky to live in Eretz Yisroel are surrounded by approximately a lot of people who wish nothing but harm for us. Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Hamas (which is no different than Fatah) is in control of the Palestinian Authority. Those currently running this country wish to give even more land away to such people. In the domestic scene, they continue to attempt to undermine the “Jewish” in the “Jewish State”, by “changing” halacha and attempting to undermine religious education.

One can look at the situation and see only darkness. However, by remaining firm in our belief that Hashem is looking over us, we can turn despair into joy. Perhaps the Shechina has yet to come down today, but it doesn’t mean it won’t tomorrow…

Have a great Shabbos!

Sorry about last week folks. Down with a fever.

Well, I've finally received my first piece of upsetting news concerning the upcoming Gulf War II: The Sequel. It seems that most of my heroes, "The Human Shields", have decided to leave Iraq and head home. It looks like there were two main reasons for this move. The first reason was: when they would move into a school to "protect" it, suddenly an Iraqi regiment would set up camp right next door. It seems, and I find this hard to believe, that the Iraqi government actually wanted the Human Shields to place themselves near prime military targets *shock*. And the second reason was...this is a goody...they didn't want to get hurt. Yep. Now...I might not be a professional military tactician, but usually "shields" are used to block incoming fire from the enemy and take a beating, so the "shieldee" is not hurt. Now...given a big bomb were to be dropped by a good ol' fashion F/A-18 Hornet on a human "shield", one would guess that the human "shield" might *possibly* wake up with a headache the next morning. Now, didn't they think of this BEFORE they left for Iraq??? It's really ashame that they're leaving...I was going to run their campaign to receive this year's Darwin Awards. Okay...enough ranting...on to Torah! Oh, one other thing, beforehand. Whether you are for or against this upcoming war, I think we should take a little time to appreciate the REAL Human Shields that are STILL THERE, currently servicing our country. Despite the dangers that they will be facing, our servicemen and women are the ones who truly deserve our respect...


This week's parsha wraps up the last dealings with the construction of the Mishkan. Rav Avigdor Miller makes an interesting insight. Over the past four WEEKS, we have been dealing with the construction of the Mishkan, the spiritual center of the Jewish people, in such minute detail. Yet, as we see every time we begin reading the Torah, the creation of the universe takes up ONLY 25 verses. Amazing. The creation of the entire universe. From the largest galaxy, to the smallest quark. All it takes is 25 verses in the Torah. The Mishkan on the other hand. A mere building, one built for travel, mind you, takes up four PARSHAS. That's four WEEKS of our time.

"Also My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and My hand spanned the Heavens" (Yeshayah 48:13)
"Your dwelling place that You, Hashem, have made, the Sanctuary, my L-rd, that Your hands established (Shemos 15:17)

Again, from Yeshayah, we see the Hashem’s hand (singular) made the heavens, yet in Shemos, concerning the building up the Mishkan, His hands (plural) established it.

The Mishkan was the epicenter of spirituality within the Jewish encampment. This was later transferred to the more permanent Beis Hamikdash. In the Mishkan one was able to come to atone, come to thank Hashem, or simply elevate himself spiritually. This simple building held a powerful amount of holiness to it, and we see its importance by the fact Hashem used two "hands" to establish it.

What is the lesson to be learned from here? The Torah says: "They shall make a Mikdash(Mishkan) for Me, so that I may dwell amongst them" (Shemos 25:8) . It doesn't say, "so that I may dwell within it (the Mishkan)", it says, "so that I may dwell amongst them (the people)". The entire point of the Mishkan was to bring us closer to Hashem. That's it. Quite simple. The importance of connecting with the One True Source, if you will, is far more important to Hashem, than the universe itself! Many people think, "Who am I that G-d should care about me?” Well, here's the answer! You are EVERYTHING! The universe is nothing compared your one soul! Our actions and development as Jews are of the utmost concern of G-d Himself. We see the proof clearly written within the text of the Torah. Every little action that we do to improve ourselves is "giving Hashem joy", if you will. The priority of this world isn't the universe. It is US. Have a great Shabbos!

"And they made the holy vestments...as Hashem had commanded Moshe" (39:1)

The phrase "And they made the holy vestments..." (I love the sound of that), is written eighteen times in the parsha. Chazal note that this shows the people's strict compliance with Hashem's command. So the obvious statement is, "Duh! When Hashem tells you to do something...you're supposed to do it!"

When we look into human nature, we see that when we are given specific instructions to do something, we tend not to follow it completely. We might skip a "non-important" step or add a step, which might enhance the quality of the goal we are seeking. Instead of having it done by the 15th of the month, it might get done on the 17th. Despite the instructions we are given, we become "lazy" to them, and do things our way, for whatever the reason might be.

Rav Boruch Ezrachi believes that this emanates from man's deep-rooted resistance to authority. We naturally wish to be the ones giving orders, not following them. By doing things "approximately" the way they should be done, or arriving at a destination "around" the designated time, we are subconsciously flexing our muscles against authority (i.e. G-d).

Eighteen times this is mentioned in the parsha! This is how important it is! When we put ourselves aside for Hashem and we accept his authority, these eighteen praises of the Torah can be equally applied to us! We should try our best to follow the mitzvos as we are instructed to, NOT based on our own personal conveniences. By doing this, we will merit becoming closer to Hashem. Have a great Shabbos!