PunkTorah

Independent Jewish Spirituality

  • Online Synagogue
  • Convert to Judaism
  • Online Rabbinical Program

Parshah Pekudei

March 3, 2011 By punktorah

This week’s parshah, Pekudei, sees the completion of the Mishkan, the portable Tabernacle that serves as G-d’s dwelling place amongst the Israelites as they travel. Moses does a little accounting (hey, he’s the executive director of a non-profit organization, it’s in the job description!), and all of the pieces are brought together to be erected.

Here’s where we see two things that are pretty special.

First, Moses gets a special honor. Moshe hadn’t been involved with the actual construction of the Tabernacle. While he had relayed instructions to Bezalel, the “General Contractor” appointed by G-d, Moses didn’t actually get a chance to physically get in there and get his hands dirty like all of the other Israelites. Knowing this, Hashem gives Moses a special opportunity. According to Rashi, the workmen brought the pieces to Moses.

When Moses saw how heavy all the pieces were, he exclaimed, “How am I going to lift his whole thing up?”

G-d told him, “Don’t worry! You just do your best, I will do the rest.”

So Moses moved to lift the Tabernacle, and the it raised up by itself!

What does this mean? Hashem is telling us that when there is work to be done in G-d’s honor, what really matters is that we try. As long as we make an attempt, we win. Especially when it comes to creating a holy space for G-d to dwell, there is no failing in the service of Hashem.

Secondly, Pekudei speaks about the anointing and blessing of Aaron and his sons as priests. The Torah says, “and so shall it be that their anointment shall be for them for eternal priesthood for their generations” (Shemos/Exodus 40:15). Haamek Dvar (a commentary on the Torah by Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin of Voloshin), tells us that before this time the blessing given to the priests had only been for them, and was not passed on to their children, but now the blessings extends to them and the generations that follow.

Inherited holiness? What does that even mean?

I understand this to mean that the capacity for holiness is inherent in all creation. We all have the potential to be holy and create holiness in others. What gets passed on is the key to unlock this potential. Jewish tradition is one that passes on the secrets of unlocking this holiness, so we have an obligation to those around us and the generations that follow to be an example of that holiness, and show the world that we all have the capacity to be holy, and we all hold the key. The real secret is that we don’t have the key for our own potential! Our key can only unlock the heart of another! Just as the Israelites couldn’t build the Tabernacle one by one, they had to help each other, so do we have to help each other realize their potential for holiness. It is only in helping others that we can truly help ourselves.

 

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Your Questions Answered Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, mishkan, online conversion, parshah, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, pekudei, Priest, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, study, tabernacle, temple, Torah

Vayakhel and the Tabernacle of the Heart

February 24, 2011 By punktorah

At the beginning of this portion this week, Vayakhel, Moses reiterates the commandment to observe Shabbat, and then goes on to explain, in more excruciating detail, the construction of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, that is to be Hashem’s dwelling place with the Israelites as they travel. The question in this portion is what, in all of these details regarding the kind of blue, purple and red dyed wool, goat hair, animal skins, gold, silver, and copper, what can we learn from this, this craziness?

This is the questions I asked myself:
What does this have to do with me?

At the beginning of the portion, Moses asks the Israelites to donate these rich and precious materials to build G_d’s house, His Tabernacle, and to work to build the Sanctuary.
And what do the Jews do?
They give.
And give.
And give some more.
The Torah says:
“Every man and woman whose heart motivated them to bring for any of the work that Hashem had commanded to make, through Moses – the Children of Israel brought a free-willed offering to Hashem.”
They came and gave freely. Not only did they give, they worked, they sewed and built and labored.
In fact, they gave so much of their possessions and of themselves that Moses had to say, “Man and woman shall not do more work toward the gift for the Sanctuary”!
Moses told them to stop!

The building of the tabernacle raised another question in studying this portion: what is the Mishkan that we should be building today? One answer is the tabernacle of our hearts. And more than this, we are told that all who desired came to build, together, to build the Mishkan. Can you imagine that? This saying that not only are we to build the sanctuaries of our own hearts, our own spaces for Hashem to dwell within us, more importantly we are called to help build up the sanctuaries of others, to empower them to a higher connection with G-d.

What can we take away from this?
We are called to give, not as charity and not just money. Jews are called to give tzedakah, which means “righteousness” or “justice”. We are called to do right with ourselves and our resources. We are called to work not only for our own personal spiritual benefit, but for those in the world with us as well.

So give. Give of your time, your money, your selves. Give until Moses himself says “No more!”.

But more than that, give of your skills, your love, your soul, and help your fellow human beings dedicate the tabernacle of their hearts to the unity and Oneness that is the reality of G-d.

(Thanks to everyone at Torah Together on Monday nights at OneShul.org for the help!)

Filed Under: Your Questions Answered Tagged With: bible, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, D'var Torah, darshan yeshiva, exodus, heart, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, tabernacle, temple, torah portion, vayakhel

OneShul and JOU PRESENT Positive Psychology & Judaism

February 14, 2011 By punktorah

Join us for an amazing online class on Positive Psychology & Judaism on Wednesday, February 16th at 7:00PM EST. We’ll be streaming a class on the fundamentals of making life more fulfilling through Positive Psychology and its connection to the ancient wisdom of the Torah and the Jewish people. Afterwards, Patrick and Michael will be hosting a live discussion.

RSVP here!

Join us in our virtual classroom: http://oneshul.org/taste-of-jou/

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Your Questions Answered Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, Jerusalem Online University, Jewish, Jews, Judaism, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, positive psychology, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

Donating Restored Tefillin and Used Tallitot for the Abayudaya Jewish Community of Uganda

February 9, 2011 By punktorah

The Jews of Uganda (Abayudaya) are an authentic Jewish community. The community was formed by the founder of modern Uganda, Semei Kakungulu (1869-1928). Kakungulu considered many religious communities, before deciding from his own research, to embrace Judaism and the mitzvot of the Torah. He was circumcised, as were his children and those who followed him; a fact which caused them to be greatly harassed by some of their neighbors.

Kakungulu did not have the option of going to his local shul and taking a course to make gerut, nor to petition an Orthodox rabbi three times to prove his sincerity. He found Judaism in the Torah itself, and he followed the Torah to walk the path of Judaism immediately, once convinced of its truth. While this is not the normal route into Yahadut, this is a Talmudically recognized method, which was well-known and accepted by both the Rambam and Rabbi Yosef Karo.

The Talmud refers to gerim g’rurim (גרים גרורים) as effectively “self-made proselytes.” (`Avodah Zarah 23a-24b). One type of gerut is undertaken before a Beyt Din, composed of three Dayanim of any Jews knowledgeable in matters of gerut. According to the Talmud, the onlytime that gerim g’rurim will not be accepted is when Mashiach comes and the battles against Gog and Magog are underway. In that future scenario, Ha’Shem will “have the last laugh” as those who seek to self-convert then will walk away from Judaism on their own, once faced with persecution.

The Abayudaya, however, have been subjected to some of the most horrendous persecutions for their Jewishness; attempts at forced conversion and extermination by Idi Amin. There is no question as to this community’s sincerity. According to the Rambam, the Jewishness ofgerim g’rurim, and those who had no option but to convert themselves, cannot be denied once their qabalat ha’mitzvot has been established, as is the case with the Jewish community of Uganda.

[The following laws apply with regard to] a female convert who we see conduct herself according to the ways of Israel at all times, for example, she immerses herself after niddah, she separatesterūmah from dough, or the like, and to a male ger who follows the paths of Israel, for example, he immerses himself after seminal emission, and performs all the mitzvōt: These are considered as righteous converts (gereī tzadīq/gerīm tzaddīqīm), even though there are no witnesses to testify before whom they converted. Nevertheless, if they come to marry among the Jewish people, we do not allow them unless they bring witnesses or they immerse themselves in our presence [so that we can make sure they are circumcised]. The rationale is that their identity was originally established as gentiles [so there is reason to suspect they might not have taken the step of mīlah]. (Rambam Hilchōt Issurei Bīah Chapter 13.9)

Beyond this, the Abayudaya have taken the additional step of educating themselves at every opportunity in all aspects of normative Judaism. Their adherence to the mitzvot, to the best of their regional ability, is not in question by anyone who has even a cursory knowledge of their community. To remove any doubts regarding their status as Jews, they underwent mass-giyurim early in the 21st century under Masorti rites.

While the Abayudaya Jewish Community is committed to the mitzvot, the do not have many sets of Tefillin, nor many Tallitot for prayer. In light of this community’s dedication to the Torah and Rabbinic Judaism,we have created “Tefillin for Ugandan Jews”; a sponsorship program which purchases and refurbishes tefillin for the Abuyudaya Jewish community of Uganda.

Currently, we can get the cost of each set of tefillin down to as low as $108 per set for a sponsored Ugandan Jew. We hope to get each set even lower, and we are trying to make arrangements right now to purchase a lot of them at a bulk rate. Additionally, we are working with a Jewish artist trained in applying the newer matte and gloss finishes to older tefillin.

If you are interested in sponsoring a set of tefillin for a Ugandan Jew:

Send $20 to [email protected] to donate a Tallit Gadol to the Jews of Uganda!

Send $96 + $15 shipping to [email protected] to donate a restored set of TEFILLIN for this CHEAP price to the same Jews of Uganda!

For those interested in donating used tefillin to be refurbished for the Ugandan Jewish community, send to the following address:

The Hashlamah Project

3195 Dayton-Xenia Rd. Ste 900 #228

Dayton, OH 45434

USA

You can also send a money order payable to “Hashlamah” to the same address to send the next set of tefillin to Uganda! Many thanks and blessings to all who help. Our Jewish brothers and sisters in Uganda need all the help we can give them!

Filed Under: Judaism & Belief, Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Your Questions Answered Tagged With: africa, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, Israel, jew, Jewish, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, support, uganda

PunkTorah Radio: Outsiders

February 7, 2011 By punktorah

Shalom y’all! This week Michael and Patrick talk more about being an “outsider” in a mainstream Jewish world. What does that even mean? You gotta listen to find out!

PunkTorah Radio: Outsiders

Also, click here to subscribe on iTunes! And tell your friends!

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Media Reviews, Podcasts & Videos, Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Your Questions Answered Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, Jewish, matisyahu, Music, online conversion, outsiders, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, Torah

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • …
  • 9
  • Next Page »

Contact info

PUNKTORAH
PO Box 7414
Richmond, VA 23221-0414

[email protected]

Read our DMCA notice

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 · Modern Portfolio Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in