The name of the Parshah, "Pekudei," means "Amounts of.”

An accounting is made of the gold, silver and copper donated by the people for the making of the Mishkan – the tabernacle. Betzalel, Aholiav and their assistants make the eight priestly garments according to the specifications communicated to Moses in the Parshah of Tetzaveh.

The Mishkan is completed and all its components are brought to Moses, who erects it and anoints it with the holy anointing oil, and initiates Aaron and his four sons into the priesthood. A cloud appears over the Mishkan, signifying the Divine Presence that has come to dwell within it.

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What Is the Sale of Chametz, and Why Do We Do It?

On the holiday of Passover, we are commanded not to have any chametz in our possession. Any food that is made out of grain that has been allowed to rise (ferment) is chametz. Common chametz items include bread, cakes, breakfast cereals, pastas, many liquors and more. Any chametz that was in the possession of a Jew during Passover is forbidden, even after Passover ends. This applies even if the chametz is locked up.

The chametz is sold to a non-Jew before Passover. After the holiday, the non-Jew sells it back, and it can once again be enjoyed. Please fill out the form Mada will provide – either the paper or online, and make sure Mada receives it prior to Thursday, April 10.

The Zohar states that matzah is both the “bread of faith” as well as the “bread of healing.”

The “bread of faith” seems clear. Matzah embodies the faith our ancestors displayed when they followed G-d out into the desert with few provisions. In that sense, when we eat the matzah, we are internalizing their faith.

But why is matzah the “bread of healing”?

The Zohar tells a parable of a king whose son wasn’t well. After days of eating nothing, the prince finally mustered up a bit of an appetite. The doctors said, “He must eat only this curative food, and don’t let any other food be found in the house.” They did so, and once he ate that healing food, he was able to eat other foods without being harmed.

So, too, when the Jewish people left Egypt, they were like the sick prince. G-d told them to first eat matzah (the bread of healing), and only later could they eat chametz, leavened foods.

In Hayom Yom the Lubavitcher Rebbe quotes Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745–1812):

“On the first night, matzah is ‘the bread of faith.’ On the second night, it is ‘the bread of healing.’ When healing leads to faith, in that a person says, ‘I thank You, G-d, for my recovery,’ he was, nevertheless, sick. But when faith generates healing, a person is not sick in the first place.”

As we prepare for the upcoming holiday of Passover, let us hope that the matzah will give us the faith to carry through these trying times and provide healing to all who need it. Please make sure to get your own Shemura Matza – hand made Matza from MADA, for both seders.

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Chabad.org

The custom in many communities is that at the conclusion of each of the Five Books of Moses, the congregation stands and calls out “Chazak, chazak, venitchazek! (“Be strong, be strong, and we will be strong!”)” We say “Chazak” to strengthen ourselves in Torah study. The word chazak  refers to the past, while venitchazek refers to the future. Thus, we are expressing our wish that this strength carry into the future. 

The Lubavitcher Rebbe notes that although in the book of Joshua it says “Chazak ve’ematz,” “Be strong and resolute” (which has two expressions of strength), the common custom is to say “Chazak, chazak, venitchazek” (which has three expressions of strength). Why? Because in Jewish law, doing something three times is considered an established pattern with legal strength.

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Chabad.org

This week, we complete the second book of the Torah, Shemot. The book concludes with a description of the cloud that descended onto the Mishkan (Tabernacle) which prevented Moses from entering. The Torah portion of the following week, Vayikra, begins with revelation: “G-d called to Moses,” revealing Himself to him.

This concealment followed by revelation is a metaphor for the concealment of G-d during the time of exile. In a person’s own Divine service, a revelation of G-d after a period of concealment is called Teshuva – repentance. When a person repents for his past misdeeds, his relationship to G-d is even stronger.

One who does Teshuva wholeheartedly, his past misdeeds become Mitzvot, since his distance from G-d gave him the push to seek out G-d with complete Teshuva.

The lesson for us is that there is never room for despair. Regardless of how distant we may feel from G-d, He is waiting for us to approach Him with complete Teshuva. In proportion to the concealment of our time, will be the ultimate revelation with Moshiach.

In the past, the generations were more spiritually advanced than we are, but they were still far from Redemption. Our generation is the closest to Redemption, and the great revelation will come following the concealment that we have already experienced. Let’s prepare for the great light of Redemption that will soon be revealed.

chabadnj.org

On the eve of 20 Elul 5760 (2000), the bar mitzvah of Yosef Sorotzkin was celebrated. It was an especially moving occasion because Yosef, a sweet boy, was born with tremendous physical handicaps and was not expected to survive. With the tremendous efforts of his parents and his own strong will, he reached the age of bar mitzvah and was now celebrating this special milestone with his friends and family. The bar mitzvah was also an opportunity to give thanks to G-d for His kindness and miracles.

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Emotions ran even higher as the grandfather of the bar mitzvah boy, Rabbi Yisroel Meir Lau, then chief rabbi of Israel spoke.  On behalf of the entire family, Rabbi Lau expressed his gratitude to G-d for allowing them to raise the child and reach this occasion.

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At the end of his speech Rabbi Lau said with great emotion.“Ten years ago, my wife and I and my daughter, the mother of the bar mitzvah boy, visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe. It was Sunday, 17 Sivan 5750 during dollars. When we approached the Rebbe, we told the Rebbe about Yossi’s medical condition, which was poor at that time.

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We told the Rebbe the doctors’ opinion and then, in opposition to everything everybody thought and said, the Rebbe gave my wife another dollar and said: “When the boy is bar mitzvah, give him this.”
Rabbi Lau removed the dollar from his pocket and said, “I hereby fulfill the shlichus the Lubavitcher Rebbe assigned me and my wife more than ten years ago. You can see that at the time I wrote on it, ‘to give it on the day of the bar mitzvah, for a bracha, to Yosef ben Miriam.’”

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Rabbi Lau tearfully gave the dollar to his grandson and said, “The Lubavitcher Rebbe said to give this to you today.”

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After the celebration, Mrs. Miriam Sorotzkin, Yosef’s mother, said, “After the Rebbe gave my mother another dollar for Yossi, my father and the Rebbe spoke about mikvaos, ritual baths.

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“At the end of their discussion, the Rebbe turned to me, gave me a dollar and blessed me with much success and then gave me another dollar. ‘Give this to the sofer (scribe) who will write the parshiyos of the tefillin for Yossi before his bar mitzvah.’ This, in essence, repeated the blessing he had given my parents. I must admit that the blessing seemed very unrealistic yet it gave us renewed faith. When I received that dollar, it reinforced the Rebbe’s promise that Yossi would reach Bar Mitzvah age and we would purchase tefillin for him, like any ordinary child.  With all the trials and tribulations involved in raising Yossi over the years, this dollar has been an incredible source of solace and blessing.
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I  have given it to the scribe who wrote the parshiyos for Yossi. When the scribe heard the story about the dollar, he was so moved that he refused to keep it; instead, he gave the dollar back to us.”

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Chabadnj.org

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