D’var Torah - Pekudei

A very rich young man went to consult a rabbi and asked him for advice to help him find direction in his life. The rabbi led the young man to the window and asked him: “What do you see?” “I see people coming and going, and a blind man collecting handout in the street”. The rabbi placed him in front of a large mirror and said to him: “Look in the mirror and now tell me what you see?” “I see myself” replied the guy. The rabbi said to him: “Now you no longer see the others! See – the window and the mirror are both made of the same raw material – glass. But because one of them has a thin layer of silver on it, when you look at it, all you see is your image. Compare yourself to these two types of glass. Without the silver lining – you saw the others and felt compassion for them. When you are covered in money – you only see yourself!!! You will only be worth something when you have the courage to remove the silver veil from your eyes, so that you will once again be able to see and love others.

Do you look through a window or stare at yourself in the mirror?
And then, what do we choose to see?

Parashat Pekudei is the last Torah portion of the book of Exodus. In the beginning of the first Torah portion of Shemot we read that a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. Pharaoh was ignorant of or indifferent to the extraordinary service that Joseph had provided to Egypt. The word KNOW in Exodus has a deeper meaning which includes emotions as well as intellect.

Not to know someone is a decision one makes. Pharaoh preferred to show ignorance so as to give him the right to act against the people whom Joseph represented. He decided to see us as a threat.

This week we conclude our exodus story which started with us turning into slaves and going through much suffering and then escaping and embarking on a 40-year freedom march through the desert. During that time, we started to get organized as a society, we started developing our Jewish identity and formed ourselves into a community. We went through the transformation from being a band of slaves to becoming a free nation following G-d’s laws and commandments. And now after the last 5 Sidrot we concluded building a transportable house for G-d that included the two embodiments of holiness: meeting tent (ohel moed) and the tabernacle (Mishkan). The tent representing the time – (Moed) – the opportunity – invitation to come meet G-d, and the Mishkan – to stay – Lishkin – to be present at that moment, to be the human being who believes and is full of hope and willing to reach out to other people and act in G-d’s ways.
Through the detailed story of constructing the Tabernacle we learn of the importance of doing our part and contributing to building something new, bigger than us.
The fact that each person gave half a shekel also meant that they were counted for, and that the community could count on them.

This is what a healthy community is all about! Caring and sharing!
A community where everyone can make a difference, no matter how old, how strong, or how rich they are.
As the years went by, we grew to be a diverse Kehila with a common thread that ties us all together. The tent of meeting is like the first screen we go through before we have an encounter with another human being, after we take off our sometimes-heavy shell we designed through our life’s experiences and get dressed in a beautiful Priest garment to act in a holy way to make a holy connection.
The seed of the Etz-Chaim, the tree of life, was planted as we were still wandering in the desert, creating our identity through motion to keep our flexibility during our journey. The women dancing after crossing the Red Sea was only the first dance, one of many more that we danced, choreographed or spontaneous outburst of emotional movements, whatever moved us at the moment in time.
The Fire and the Cloud in this week’s portion are also very symbolic. Fire represents light and warmth at night which can also represent destruction if it goes wild and not contained. The same is for the cloud which represents shade and water in the dessert heated day or can become a strong heavy storm. Everything created can be turned from positive to negative if we don’t pay attention and act in sensitivity to others.
We should try to make efforts to acknowledge other people’s needs and feelings through an ongoing mirror work to first explore ourselves. Our thought process affects us, as well as we engage in window work to see the need of the other and how we can help them feel part of our community.
This is how we make a true connection!

When we connect to prior generations in the emotional sense making it a living Torah – Torat chaim. This is when we connect on a personal note, reading the hidden text of the Torah that is written inside of us through our journey. This is when we connect to our godly spark (Nitzoz elohi) just as we were all present at the giving of the Torah.
When we look into the mirror through our life experiences and connect to it at the moment, we can give it a new meaning and reconnect with it. It’s like a modern dance that allows us to express ourselves with no fear of judgment.
When we look into a mirror, it is like looking into our soul, and when we look out of the window is when we connect to life outside.

The last stage is the window that allows us to make the connection between the past and the present and therefore create a new future. Windows can be opened in different directions at a time to get a nice breeze and an opportunity to refresh since it is open on both sides, allowing for communication.
A tent doesn’t have a window but has an opening. Abraham made sure he had few openings so as not to miss the opportunity of welcoming guests. (hacnasat horchim). A tent doesn’t have a mirror but we can use the eyes of the person who comes into the tent with us to see our own reflection in their eyes so we can try to see eye to eye. Or see ourselves through our actions in their eyes.

The last verse of the book of Shemot says: “For over the Tabenacle a cloud of the Lord rested by day, and fire would appear by night, to the eyes (in the view) of all the house of Israel throughout their Journeys”.
The book of Exodus ends on that note. The book which began in darkness ends with an illumination of G-d’S glory before the eyes of the entire House of Israel.

As we conclude the reading of another book, we call Hazack Hazak venitchaek, – strong, strong and may we get stronger.
We live in challenging times that require much strength. We see how as a cohesive community we can get stronger since our enemy doesn’t see with their eyes: our age, gender, our race, or the color of our skin. Our enemy lives in darkness. Even though we live in very challenging times of despair, fear, anger, and frustration, may it be that we can live in light to see each other in a beautiful light and recognize G’d’s constant presence in our life.
Amen!