TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Zachary Price on Pekuday

Shabbat Shalom.

Thank you for coming here to celebrate with me and my family today.

My portion of Pekuday concludes a LONG and detailed description of the construction of the mishkan in the wilderness.  This description actually began several portions ago and it takes up half of the book of Exodus.

Then, at the end of the portion, it doesn’t just say “Moses assembled all the parts and constructed the Mishkan.” Instead, it even goes into great detail on how Moses put it together.

So the question we have to ask is, why so much detail?

I think it’s because the Torah is teaching us that God is in the details.  God’s in the big picture too, but where you really appreciate God – and life – is when you are close up, in the weeds, getting your hands dirty.

Here are some examples from one of my favorite things to do: basketball. 

Of course, homework is my favorite thing to do.  But basketball is my second favorite.  Well, actually, cleaning up my room is my second favorite thing to do.  Then comes basketball!

So here are three ways that help me to understand – from basketball – how God is in the details.

First, the game is so strategic.  Lots of things happen that go unnoticed to the standard viewer.

While I was growing up, my dad often told me the phrase, “Stockton before Malone,” talking about the great guard and forward combination from the Utah Jazz.  It was Stockton’s passing ability that allowed Malone to be such a great scorer.   The pass that leads to the score.  Or the pick that gets you open for a layup.  Or the rebound that can start a fast break.  The beauty of the game is in those details.

Another way that God is in the details is in the amazing ability of the human body to heal. I’ve come to learn a lot about it, because I’ve gotten injured … a lot!

Just a few weeks ago, when I met with the rabbi to begin working on this speech, he commented that he’s often seen me with a cast on or braces on my hand.  Or the time I jumped off my sister’s bunk bed and fractured my leg.

Anyway, he suggested that I not play basketball for a few weeks.  Funny enough, that weekend, I was playing and someone’s chin came down on my head and it cracked open.  The good news is that is closed up pretty quickly and the better news is that Jews wear yarmulkes so no one knew.

Fortunately, while I’ve gotten injured a lot, every injury has healed.  It’s amazing how quickly my body recovers.  It must run in my genes – right Ruthie?

One more way that God is in the details – has to do with my peculiar fashion interest.  I didn’t need to get a party dress for tonight, so instead I got a special pair of sneakers for the party.  I have many pairs of sneakers and they are all different colors.

Just like the ancient cohanim, whose garments were crimson, purple and many other colors, my sneakers are blue, black, red, white, green, pink, and other colors.  So since I’m imitating the high priests, mom and dad, can I wear my sneakers to services now?

There’s one more aspect of today that reminds us that God is in the details.  Today is the second day of the second month of Adar.  That’s right, the Jewish calendar does an entire month over again.  It’s complicated, but basically, leap years fall 7 times in 19 years - we add a month each leap year so that Passover won’t eventually fall in July.  Makes perfect sense!

For my mitzvah project, I’m donating to Sandy Hook Promise, an organization that reaches out to communities, schools and students and educates and raises awareness to help prevent gun violence. They also are using funds to develop and deliver mental health and wellness programs. Additionally, Sandy Hook Promise works towards passing sensible mental health and gun safety laws. Over 2,000 children each year are killed from gun violence.

I’m the same age as the 20 kids who were killed in Sandy Hook – and in fact I know one of the kids whose lives was saved.  This would have been the year when they all would have attended bar mitzvahs or become b’nai mitzvah themselves. I’m dedicating my mitzvah project to them.

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Comentary: Alison Mandel on Vayakhel-Pekuday

SHABBAT SHALOM!

As many of you know, I love to play basketball.  I started liking it in 3^rd or 4^th grade – even before I could reach the basket.  At some point I just started to pick up a basketball and play with it.

Now I’m one of the key players on one of the legendary teams of the sporting world: the Bi-Cultural Bobcats.

   

I’ve been a Bobcat since fifth grade.  Now I’m a starter, and I pretty much do it all – scoring down low, rebounding, passing, defending – and I shoot from the outside too.

In fact, a few weeks ago while I was in the rabbi’s office, I became the first student ever to hit three shots in row from all the way in the back near the stairs.

So I love basketball.  And I was happy to find out that my Torah portion of Vayakhel-P’kudei teaches valuable basketball lessons.  Or to put it another way, basketball teaches some valuable lessons that can be applied to my Torah portion!  

And here they are:

1) The portion teaches us about the observance of Shabbat.  Shabbat is a time when we should refrain from the types of work mentioned in my portion, describing the construction of the sanctuary in the wilderness.  But we need a rest from all that. In basketball, that rest is called a timeout – or a player substitution.  

2) In speaking about the Shabbat, the Torah says that we should not light a fire anywhere on that holy day.  Commentators say that the verse doesn’t just mean not to light an actual fire, but also not to let yourself get angry or otherwise “burned up” over anything.   

In basketball, it’s always important to keep your emotions in check.  If I take a shot that I think is going in, but for some reason it just doesn’t, I resist the temptation to get upset – you have to let it go and go right on to the next play.

3) The portion also teaches us that everyone has an important role to play in the construction of the tabernacle.  It’s all about the power of “we” to get things done.  

On the court the same thing is true.  Everyone has a different job to do, and everyone has to give a full effort or there is no way to win.  Also in the portion, everyone contributes to the cause to the best of his or her ability.

4) Today is also Shabbat Ha-Hodesh and the special added reading describes of the night of the Exodus.  That night had to be well planned out – much like a Passover Seder is today – and a basketball game too.  

The team has to practice lots of different plays and have a strategy going into each game.  When the time comes to take action, you can’t hesitate.  The Israelites had only a short time to pack their bags and leave Egypt.   The clock was running down – much like someone who has the ball, they can’t hesitate before putting up a shot at the buzzer. The Bobcats have had two buzzer beaters in the recent past.

My mitzvah project is going to be a charity basketball game at BCDS to raise money for The American Heart Association and The Fairfield County Lymphoma Society, in memory of my two grandfathers.  I know for sure that it will be fun and very successful.

In the end there is one big difference between Judaism and basketball.  While in March Madness you start with many and end up with only one team standing; in Judaism, you start with one person standing up here and you end with many, many others who join in to help.  Today that one who is standing here - is me. But I know that I am part of a much larger team.

Parsha Packet for Pekuday - What is Show Bread - and Why?

See this week's Parsha Packet on the Show Bread and find out why this ancient ritual, the only sacrifice we still perform, has generated legend and lore.

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Rachel Wolff on Pekuday

Shabbat Shalom, everyone!

Have you ever heard the expression, “The Clothes Make the Person?” (Actually some people say “the clothes make the man,” but it holds true for women too). Well, however you say it, my Torah portion is all about it. Pekuday describes in great detail the design of the clothing of the priests, or cohanim.

I was happy to hear that my portion talks about fashion, because that is a topic that I know a lot about.

My idea of a perfect day (that is, a perfect day that is not spent with my family…) is to be at the mall with my friends, to go into “Forever 21” and find a new purple sweater that fits perfectly… and happens to be on sale. And all of this relates to my portion! Who knew that my trips to the mall were part of my Jewish education!

But for me, fashion is more than just about shopping. I also like to design clothes from time to time. I even made a sweater – for a dog – which I’m going to give to my cousin, for their small dog. (Since I love animals so much, maybe someday I’ll design a line of fashion for animals).

The colors that the Kohen wore are described in my portion, and they just happen to be my three favorite colors: blue, purple and red. There was also some gold – and I like that too.

When we say that clothes make the man that also means that clothes can point to a deeper meaning, something important beyond the article of clothing itself.
One interesting part of the high priest’s outfit was there was the plate that he wore over his chest. This breastplate, or Hoshen, had 12 precious stones lined up in rows of four.

Why 12? Each stone represented one of the 12 tribes.

Why different colored jewels? Because each tribe brought something different and unique – each had a special talent or ability.

But why were they all together? They were all together because they were one community. The tribes of Israel were united. And people could see that when they looked at the priest and what he was wearing.

In his own way, the priest was making a “fashion statement.” I do the same thing. Some people wear clothes intended only to draw attention – way over the top clothes, like the kind Lady Gaga wears.

Some people want to make the impression that they are laid back, so they wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Of course, if they wear it here at services, they might get the wrong kind of attention.

I try to make different statements, depending on the time and place. For instance, many of the girls in my Hebrew School class wear Ugg boots – and even my teacher!
What do Ugg’s symbolize? The two most important features about Uggs is that they are made in Australia, and they are made from sheepskin. Both things are very significant to Jewish tradition. Some of our great heroes were shepherds, people like Moses, David and Rebecca, and, yes, Rachel. Sheep are a big part of the bible and the lamb also plays a major role in the story of Passover. And Australia is also very important to Jewish tradition and Temple Beth El because our cantor comes from down under!

For my mitzvah project, I created very fashionable baskets of dog toys and treats that were sold at the Temple Rock auction, and also that I will be donating to the PAWS animal shelter. I also made home made dog biskets that I sold to family, neighbors and friends. I know they must of tasted great because my dog Gaucho sure did eat plenty, much more then he should have. The money that I collected from selling the cookies, as well as a portion of the gifts that I receive for my bat mitzvah, will also be donated to PAWS to help them care for abandoned animals.
So you can see, now that I am a bat mitzvah, I’ve learned how it’s possible to turn fun things like wearing clothes and shopping into acts of kindness that can heal the world.

Is Natalie Portman the Next Sandy Koufax?

OK, so she's having a kid out of wedlock and the father is not Jewish, but she's promised to bring him up Jewish! But the big picture is that Natalie Portman has become a genuine American Jewish hero, and last week clinched it, between her Oscar and her staunch defense of Jewish pride (out Foxing even Foxman) in the face of an anti-Semitic attack. Read all about it in this parsha packet from this past Shabbat.