Category: Uncategorized

  • Bringing God To The People

    The purpose of the Tabernacle was to bring the concept of God to the people. God is always with us but we need a concrete example of His presence.

  • We Need Transparency In Our Leaders

    The Torah stresses that there was an audit of donations to the Tabernacle. This is to teach us that those in an office of public trust must be open to an audit at all times.

  • God Has His Reasons

    Most of the commandments in the Torah are easy to understand. There are a few that we do not understand the reasoning, But we have to obey them all since God is beyond our comprehension.

  • Humility To Do The Job At Hand

    Hiram of Tyre was chosen to be in charge of building the Temple. He came from a low status, but he was chosen due to his wisdom and ability. This teaches us that we should earn honor through merit.

  • Creating Community

    One of the purposes of the Tabernacle was to create community among the Jews. Once people see themselves as a community then they will take care of each other.

  • Wisdom and Humility

    Bezalel was chosen to build the Tabernacle because of his wisdom and humility. He knew that Oholiab had abilities that he did not and that he had abilities that Oholiab did not. But together they could do a great job.

  • Giving Within The Limits

    In this week’s Torah portion donations were given to the Tabernacle. The donations were so great that Moses had more than enough. This is a trait of a Torah based society that they are willing to give more than is necessary. This is why the Torah places limits on how much one can give.

  • The Importance of Keeping Shabbat

    The Torah emphasizes the importance of keeping the Shabbat. When we read what is prohibited to do on Shabbat realize that there is something much deeper than just not working.

  • Hubris Before the Downfall

    Haman was the most powerful man in the world during the story of Purim. But he could not get over the fact that Mordecai knew that he really was nothing. Haman was full of hubris and that was his downfall.

  • God Directs This World

    It is clear in the Megillah that God is directing the action. While He is not mentioned explicitly, we can see His hand in the action.