Portion VaYakhel Para and almost Passover - àre you Kìdding? AND Thank you JBrodt and Stuie and Moshe

The Portion describes the building of a portable temple in the desert (which actually was used in Sinai 40 years plus 390 years in Israel

Are they kidding – a "temporary Temple" – for 430 years?

Yesterday 4AM we had another wake-up alarm because of a missile from the Hooties

(Little kids crying – but like a Rabbi friend said – he jumped up and got his 3 little kids quickly into his "safe room"... .

and in the afternoon 3 rockets from Gaza again.

Are they all kidding?

I think Dante would have described a special place in his "Inferno" for them if he were writing today.

Meanwhile in the Talmud this week are stories

Like how King David was saved from Goliath's brother who attempted TO GET HIS REVENGE

Oh well – there are no more Philistines – just other people who are brought up to hate Jews

So here's a little Torah my friends heard from Rabbi Carlebach

They love each other;

Lord, you can see it's true""

When Everything Fits: The Mishkan, its tent, and its cover. (Sh’mos 35:11))

When you love someone in proportion, you are constantly measuring if you are good or bad. When I love someone beyond proportion, I blow my mind over every little thing you do.

You might think you’re a bad Jew, but if you tell me that one time in your life you fasted on Yom Kippur…I can't believe it, I blow my mind over it.

When you hear your child making a b’racha (blessing), is it in proportion or beyond proportion? It blows your mind.

The Holy Temple was destroyed because we only loved each other in proportion. Nothing blew our minds. Do you know why?

 We forgot how we built the Mishkan - our Tabernacle - in the desert.

Why is it that when they built the Mishkan everything fit?

Hundreds of people were working on the Mishkan and suddenly it all got together.

How so? So the Ishbitzer (Rebbe) says that the Yiddele who was building the Kodesh Kodashim, (the Holy of Holies), was thinking “Gevalt, I wish I would be as holy as the Yiddele who was putting nails in the chatzer, (the courtyard).”

The Yiddele who was putting nails in the chatzer was saying “Ribbono shel Olam, I know I don't even deserve the chatzer, but gevalt, I wish I was as holy as the Yiddele who is building the Kodesh Kodashim.” Every Yiddele was blowing his mind over what the other Yiddele was doing.

I want you to open your hearts in the deepest way.

Everyone has something very holy about them, but it's covered. It's hidden.

Reb Nosson (of Breslov fame) teaches that when it came to the building of the Mishkan, every Yiddele brought this one nekudah tovah – good point - that they had. Moshe Rabbeinu had all the nekudos tovos - good points - and built the Mishkan with it.

So you see, the Mishkan was built from those little points, those little things.

…

May we all merit to take part in the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, and May it be now!

Good Shabbos!

Reb Shlomo

Cash Torahs for Pesach from Reb Shlomo Carlebach z’l. Via J Brodt

" pagan worship", which is really a bad English translation, means worship which is strange to me, which doesn’t fit me,

but if I can be a million times higher and I’m less than that, then I’m a pagan because this highness is what G-d wanted.

 I don’t know about you, but sadly enough, I’m a pagan, because I could be a zillion miles higher. So when do we get rid of paganism??

On Seder night.

Everybody knows that the essence of Seder night is that G-d will reveal Himself to me.

Via Moshe Dr.and

Gut Shabbos Gut Chodesh

CHALONEI ROKEA - Carlebach Minyan of Lkwd

34

Moshe Rabbenu calls for a holy gathering to talk about Vitamin S, Shabbos,

 the strongest vitamin in Hashem’s treasure house that wipes out all paganism…

 a day of peace and harmony between ourselves and with Hashem (which is)

In contrast to …when the people gathered on Aharon like a disorderly mob and demanded an idol under the threat of death!.

Esther also neutralized the threat of death  by gathering )

 Klal Yisrael 's "total" energy to bring about a great (repentance)...

 She “gathered” the people to eliminate the destructive forces that Haman was trying to put into play.

 (and her plan) All happened Pesach (Passover) which is called "Shabbos"!

Let’s gather together in prayer and song and enter the Aviv (spring) season with renewed Chiyus (life energy). Amen

Shabbat Shalom – and please

Pray with me that all the hostages return safely – and the missiles stop – and the world

This crazy world

Comes together – gathers together – to create Shabbos-like peace and harmony

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion Teruma – the Giving Game– and the Hostage Game

I was studying the Portion (Truma) last night with my youngest daughter –

The basics are "how to USE gold and silver and copper for Holy Purpose!"

What kind of person are you (gold silver or copper? Or embroidery?)-  or do you want to be?

Everyone has a Holy Purpose in this world – it's good to find out what's yours.

The Temple in the Desert – built with donations of gold silver and copper and embroidery -

Was a penance for the golden calf event – and to bring the Israelites  a better understanding of their connection to the Almighty  who brought them out of Egypt.

For 1400 years Great Temples were the focus of that Israelite connection to G-d.

As (the famous) Rabbi Levenstein said at a dinner I attended this week-

After the Esther story (Purim) – we evolved into a people who didn't need OBVIOUS miracles any more  to get us to understand that connection. BUT -   

ARE YOU AWARE OF THE LITTLE THINGS – that sometimes change the world?

Miracles – and otherwise…?

The Bibas Funeral of 2 children and a mother – involved our whole nation.

It's a miracle that Hamas didn't capture Be-er Sheva or Ashkelon. They were stopped by the non-obvious miracle of hundreds of Israelis who went to stop them – while the army was still paralyzed. A miracle of simple, courageous heroes – who fought and rescued (and sadly some died defending others whom they only knew as fellow Jews under attack).  

But does the world get it? The miracle of Jewish survival maybe frightens them.

What did the BBC say about the coffin-laden cars carrying Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Kfir (9 months) and Ariel (4) as they passed various intersections in the country? The AP called them prisoners – and refused to say "kidnapped children murdered by Gazans!".

Those souls went straight to the  Almighty  - BUT LEFT US WITH A RESPONSIBILITY.

 So here's a thought from Reb Shlomo Carlebach on Parsha Terumah

"MAKING YOU AWARE OF THE LITTLE THINGS"

What's the difference between a holy light and an unholy light?

Very simple. Imagine here I have can't psychedelic lights, the biggest lights in the world flashing like crazy.

 Then one person comes with a little flashlight. I say to him, “Are you crazy? I don't need it."

Friends, if the great light is really holy, when someone comes with a little light, it adds so much –

because the great light makes you aware of the little things.

What is the difference between holy money and unholy money?

 Imagine if one millionaire gives two million and then Moishele the thief gives one quarter, I'll say “You're crazy, we already have two million dollars,” because it's not holy.

if it's holy, you say, “Unbelievable! Your quarter is the most precious thing we ever got."

When King Solomon built the Holy Temple, he sent out messengers to collect money and jewelry for the Holy Temple. The messengers came back with gold and silver. But then King Solomon asked,

 “Where are the pennies of the poor?” So the messengers said, “When the poor people saw we are collecting gold and silver, they were ashamed to give their pennies.".

So King Solomon says, “Let's make another collection, a collection only of pennies…” Everybody knows, three walls of the Holy Temple were built with the gold and the jewelry,

but one wall was built with pennies. The Western Wall, the wall which cannot be destroyed,

 was built with pennies.

On Rosh Hashanah it says “U’b’shofar gadol yitaka” – “When the great Trumpet will be blown,” “v’kol d’mama daka yishama” – “you will hear the voice of the most inside,” which can't ever be recorded (Mussaf High holiday prayers).).

Listen to how deep this is.

The real holy trumpet is when you hear the sound of the great trumpet, suddenly you become aware of the sounds of the little voice inside you.

You see, friends, if your heart is really holy, I'm sure you can receive the little pennies, the little voices that make us most aware of what is truly important in life..

I bless you and me that we should always recognize the little lights, the little voices, that will bring us to the day of the big trumpet, the big light. So let it be now

Good Shabbos

Rabbi C

The little Bibas chiIldren are great lights.

ALL OUR CHILDREN ARE GREAT LIGHTS CONNECTED TO THE GREAT MIRACLE OF ISRAEL

We still need to strengthen our connections TO THE GREAT MIRACLE OF ISRAEL

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz