Page 1 - Announcements Mon. March 8

Dedicated in memory of Alice Setton

Parshat Vayakhel-Pekudei/HaChodesh/Shabbat Mevarchim March 13, 2021 29 Adar, 5781
Rabbi Sacks on Parshat Vayakhel-Pekudei
TORAH
ARTSCROLL 516
HERTZ 373 WRITTEN LAST YEAR Somehow there will be an answer If you have a look at the
This is an extraordinary to our question now in the word of beginning of the parsha of
MAFTIR Vayakhel, you will see that
moment for the world, when God then. But how on earth can
ARTSCROLL 348 a virus is sweeping across that be true this year, this week, Moshe Rabbeinu assembled the
HERTZ 253 humanity, bringing it to its as the Coronavirus sweeps the people to instruct them to build
knees in a way that the world, bringing humanity to its the Mishkan, the Sanctuary,
HAFTORAH
ARTSCROLL 1216 world hasn’t known to quite current position? We read the the Tabernacle. But before he
goes on to the details of how
this extent for 100 years.
double parsha of Vayakhel and
HERTZ 1001 And who knows whether Pekudei, which is about building to do that, he tells us
this new technology of the Mishkan, the first house of something else. He gives them
Shabbat Mevarchim
Rosh Chodesh Nissan allowing us to be close God, the precursor of the Temple a command to keep Shabbat.
mentally, yet physically
and the synagogue. Yet through
Now, why would Moshe
Sunday, Mar. 14 distant, was not created for Britain and many other parts of Rabbeinu need to tell the
just such a moment as this? the world on this Shabbat,
Molad: Israelites to keep Shabbat at
Today at 7:03:5 pm The Jewish way when facing synagogues will be closed. This is this point? He had already
difficulty [Chosh b’roso something unprecedented. Even explained Shabbat to them at
Times ya’aso Torah]. “If you have during the height of the Second Mara, when the miraculous
a headache, study Torah.” World War, synagogues remained manna first came and he gave
Weekly Times The world today has a open. Our world has always them laws not to collect manna
headache, so let’s study included our communal on Shabbat, but instead to
Shacharit: Sun 8:30 am gatherings, in our synagogues collect a double portion in
Torah together. Let me
Mon. - Fri. 7:45 am begin this way: It is said across the world. advance. They learned about
Scholars’ Kollel 9:00 am that the Alter Rebbe, (the The word vayakhel itself comes Shabbat a second time as it is
first Rebbe of Lubavitch, the 4th of the 10
Mincha 5:40 pm Rebbe Shneur Zalman of from the same root as kehillah, commandments, given by God
Liadi) once said to his meaning community. And yet, just Himself to the people at Mount
when we most want and need
disciples, “One must live community, we are being deprived Sinai. Then they were told a
Shabbat with the times.” The of it by social distancing, by self- third time in last week’s parsha
of Ki-Tissa, which contained
disciples were puzzled as to
Times precisely what he meant, isolation, by quarantine. And it the command of Shabbat.
Candle Lighting 5:40 pm because surely that’s feels not so much like the They’ve learned this three
parshiyot of Vayakhel-Pekudei as
exactly what Judaism isn’t times. They know about
Friday Night 5:40 pm supposed to be. Judaism is the parshiyot of Tazria-Metzora, Shabbat. So why is Moshe
Mincha timeless. It doesn’t change where we read, badad yeisheiv Rabbeinu telling them this
Hashkama Minyan 8:00 am from generation to mi’chutz lamachaneh moshavo, week, in Parshat Vayakhel,
“He shall dwell alone in self-
generation or from year to before talking about building
Parsha Shiur 8:30 am year. So what on earth did imposed isolation outside the the Mishkan, why now does he
camp.” (Vayikra 13:46) In New
Main 9:00 am the Rebbe mean when he York, in London, in cities where repeat the commandment of
said one must live with the keeping Shabbat?
Beit Midrash 9:15 am times? Well, eventually they we are normally a thriving
turned to the Rebbe’s community, today we feel almost Well, the conventional
Youth Minyan 9:45 am like the beginning of Megillat explanation, and it is of course
brother, Rabbi Yehudah Leib
Gemara Shiur 5:05 pm who explained, “You know Eichah, which we read on erev authoritative. Rashi, for
what the Rebbe meant Tisha B’Av. Eichah yashva vadad instance, brings it, is that this
Mincha 5:35 pm when he said one must live ha’ir rabai am “The city that was passage shows us that
Shabbat Ends 6:49 pm with the times? He meant once so thronged with people, Shabbat takes priority over the
building of the Mishkan. And
today seems alone.” (Eichah 1:1)
one must live with parshat
Latest Times for hashavua, with the weekly So what on earth is the relevant this is fundamentally true. All
Shema/Shemoneh Esrei parsha.” Somehow or other, message in our parsha, when the creative activities which were
Mar. 13 9:07/10:06 am that must be the time zone parsha is about shul and needed to build and maintain
in which you live. In other community, on an extraordinary the Mishkan were forbidden on
Mar. 20 10:00/11:01 am words, we have to live in week when shuls are closed and Shabbat. But this year,
the intersection between the
Next Shabbat communities have been specifically this year, we can
see that the passage has
disbanded? The answer I think is
Vayikra timely and the time-less, extraordinary. It is as if this another meaning all together.
between what is happening
Candle Lighting 6:48 pm now and what God said to parsha were written specifically for And this is what the meaning
us over 3,000 years ago.
Mincha 6:50 pm us here, now. Let me explain. is: Through Moshe, these two