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Dvar Pekudei
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Dear Reader,
Welcome to the concise, relevant Weekly Dvar. Managing a list with over 24,000 people is not very easy, but the occasional nice Email makes it all worthwhile. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone that's responded with comments, questions, and for all those that have passed this on to others. Keep up the great work, and enjoy... * * * Although the most common phrase in the Torah is "And G-d spoke to Moshe saying.", this week's Parsha, Pekudei, includes the phrase "just as G-d commanded Moshe". Why would the Torah feel the need to even mention such an obvious statement? And why is it repeated eighteen times in Parshat Pekudei alone? Rabbi Meir Rubman explains that it's very easy to be "sort of" Jewish, kind of learned or nice-ish. But if someone owed us money, would we accept anything BUT an exact, total payment? If we wouldn't, then why should G-d accept anything less of us? On the other hand, it's very hard to do EVERYTHING correctly. So what are we to do? As the Torah hints in this Parsha, the key is to do it right, just the way it was passed down from G-d to Moshe, and eventually to us. It's not enough to do it somewhat correctly. It's not enough to just live Jew-ish! As the number 18 suggests (chai - life), we should live as JEWS! So the next time someone asks you if you're Jewish, tell them you're not.. You're a Jew! |
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| Quotation of the Week (thanks to mirsther): |
| "We come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by coming to see an imperfect person perfectly." --Baal Shem Tov |
