Recap for 2 Adar II, 5776 (Parsha Pekudei)

This Shabbos we discussed Parsha Pekudei.  We discussed some aspects of the world to come.  David and Brett celebrated completion of the entire 7 and a half year Daf cycle.  And we shared about some important dates coming up.  

Mazel Tov to David and Brett on completion of the Daf!  The last page of the Daf from Gitin was studied on Shabbos, Adar 2.  On Sunday, Adar 3, the cycle began again with the study of Kiddushin. David had a big Siyum Hashash in Israel to celebrate completion of the 7 and a half year cycle.  The cycle includes 2711 pages of Talmud, both front and back. 

Yaki gave a dvar Torah concerning the order of construction of the Tabernacle.  Hashem had told Moshe to first construct the building, and then the arch and vessels.   However, Moshe told Betzalel to first construct the arch and vessels and then the building.  We discussed how the building represents our foundation, whereas the vessels represent a higher level of spirituality.  Moshe was at such a high level, that he was more interested in the vessels, than in the foundation.

We discussed how Betzalel could see the instructions were out of order, and decided to construct the building first.  This is a lesson for all of us.  Just like the vessels need a building as a foundation, higher levels of spirituality need fundamental principles as a foundation.  

We discussed one of these fundamental principles - that we are here in this world to do mitzvah in order to get ready for the world to come.  In the world to come, we will no longer have the opportunity to apply the spiritual to the physical that we have today.  

We discussed how there is mystery about what the world to come is like.  We discussed how Hashem created our world in a way that keeps some details hidden.  This helps preserve free will.  Hashem created man to make free choices, rather than be forced to choose one thing or another.  We all need to make a free choice to grow spiritually in this world, to be ready for the next.  Hashem would not force us to do so, as we are human beings and not robots.

We discussed some more, how some would say Hashem does not intervene to stop tragedies.  However we never know how much worse tragedies would have been without Hashem’s intervention.    

Yaki shared some amazing stories about how his family escaped the holocaust.  Yaki’s grandmother was able to talk non-jews into helping her.  And his father was able to play dead in order to fool people and later escape.   Yaki shared that his father, Rabbi Yekutiel Yehuda Ben Rabbi Yaakov, has his yeirzeit on the 17^th of Adar.  And his grandfather, Rabbi Yaakov Ben Rabbi Meir, has his yeirzeit on the 29^th of Adar. 

Norm shared that his father’s, Baruch Elyiahou, yeirzeit is coming up this week on Adar 6.  His dad passed away on March 1, 1982.  March 1^st is the same date that his son, Bryan was born, in 1996.  Bryan’s birthday is on Adar 10 which is coming up soon.  Happy birthday to Bryan, and may Baruch Elyiahou’s memory be a blessing.  Coincidentally, my birthday is also March 1^st, but I was born in a different year so the Hebrew date differs.  

This is a summary of what we discussed.  No halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.