This week's reading is twofold: Vaiakhel (gathered) and Pekudei (counts). Both parashot speak primarily of the practical construction of the Mishkan, the portable Temple that the Jewish people used during their journey through the desert.<\/p>\n
Depending on the year, whether it's a leap year or not, these sections are read together or separately. This year, which is not a leap year, they are read together. Each matter, as we've mentioned many times, has a reason for being, and we should look for the hidden teaching behind it. What do we learn from the combination of these parashot?<\/p>\n
A quick analysis reveals a contradiction: Vaiakhel means to gather, that is, to bring together many individuals, while Pekud\u00e9i means to count, that is, given a certain set, to separate its components and individualize them in order to know how many there are: they are two opposites! Given this, how is it that we combined both sections to read them on the same day?<\/p>\n
One possible explanation is that, to a certain extent, both parashot are interdependent: you can only bring together something that is separate, and you can only separate something that is joined. Put another way, a set is the sum of the individuals that compose it. There is a particular, individual identity for each component, plus a group identity, and both identities depend on each other.<\/p>\n
In the Jewish community, we can see this in the concept of the minyan, the quorum of at least ten men over the age of thirteen. Each individual in the minyan has his own identity, but when there are ten, a new minyan identity is created, enabling each member to recite specific parts of the prayer. Each individual is enriched by the group, and the group is formed by the sum of its members.<\/p>\n
This idea is related to an innovation we began this week at Beit Chabad: improving the Shabbat Kiddush (sanctification) at midday. While we have always offered some food to fulfill the mitzvah of eating where one made Kiddush, from now on, thanks to the weekly contributions of the participants, we will all enjoy a (at least slightly) more substantial Kiddush.<\/p>\n
Kiddush itself is a moment when a table is shared with friends and acquaintances. Through each individual's participation and contribution, regardless of monetary value, these separate components (Pekud\u00e9i), gathered around a table, form a community (Vaiakhel).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week's reading is a double portion: Vaiyakhel (gathered) and Pekudei (counts). Both parashot primarily discuss the practical construction of the Mishkan, the portable Temple that the Jewish people used during their journey through the desert. Depending on the year, whether it is a leap year or not, these sections are read together or separately. This year, which\u2026 Read More \u00bbUnion of opposites<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,58,57],"tags":[972,945,1003,973],"series":[],"class_list":["post-1841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editoriales","category-pekudei","category-vaiakhel","tag-mishkan","tag-mitzva","tag-rezo","tag-templo"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Farbrenguen.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/avatar1400.jpeg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"castbox":{"key":"castbox","url":"","label":"CastBox","class":"castbox","icon":"castbox.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/en\/feed\/podcast\/rabino-tuvia-serber","embedCode":"Uni\u00f3n de opuestos<\/a><\/blockquote>