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ב"ה

Vayak'hel 5763 - February 28, 2003

The Glory of the Single-Minded Person

Single-minded people aren't much fun. We wouldn't want to be like them -- well, maybe just a little bit...
Parshah
Vayakhel in a Nutshell
The Jewish nation donates the necessary materials to the Tabernacle, and Moses has to tell them to stop giving. Moses reiterates the laws of Sabbath observance. The Tabernacle and its vessels are built by a team of artisans.
Story
The Shabbat that Kept Rose

Rose felt like a leaf caught between heavy gusts of wind with no anchoring force to answer her question: To keep her job, or keep the Shabbat?
Parenting
The Power of Acceptance

One of the reasons for the ancient Jewish custom to cover a bride's face during the marriage ceremony is to symbolize the complete acceptance that is integral to any enduring relationship
The Astronaut

"Yesterday, an event took place that had no known precedent in human history: a manned spacecraft approached the moon, orbited it several times, and returned safely to earth. What can we, as Jews, learn from this event?"
All of a person's earnings are predetermined in Heaven [in the beginning of the year] between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, except for the expenses of Shabbat and the festivals and the expenses of teaching one's children Torah. Regarding these, if one spends less, it is deducted from his earnings, and if one spends more, it is added to his earnings
— Talmud, Beitza 15-16