וְעָשָׂה בְצַלְאֵל וְאׇהֳלִיאָב וְכֹל אִישׁ חֲכַם לֵב אֲשֶׁר נָתַן ה' חׇכְמָה וּתְבוּנָה בָּהֵמָּה לָדַעַת לַעֲשֹׂת אֶת כׇּל מְלֶאכֶת עֲבֹדַת הַקֹּדֶשׁ לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה'. (שמות לו, א)
Sefer Shmot is basically divided into two main sections. The first half (Shmot-Mishpatim) deals with the Exodus from Egypt, leading up to and including Matan Torah. The second half (Truma-Pekudei) deals with the Mishkan.
The Ramban (הקדמה, ספר שמות) asks why the section of the Mishkan appears in sefer Shmot and not in sefer Vayikra, together with the rest of the Avodah - in the Mishkan?
The Ramban answers that the purpose of the Mishkan was to restore Am Yisrael to the reality of the Avot, that the Shechina was present amongst them, in a perpetual cloud over their tents, that the candle remained lit from erev Shabbat to erev Shabbat and that there was blessing in the bread.
So too was it in the Mishkan, with the Shechina ever present over the Ohel Moed, the Menora constantly lit and the Lechem HaPanim always fresh on the Shulchan.
The Ramban calls sefer Shmot סֵפֶר הַגָּלוּת וְהַגְּאֻלָּה, and says that until this reality of the Shechina being restored, Am Yisrael, although they were physically freed from slavery, were not fully redeemed. This is why the Mishkan is an integral part of sefer Shmot and the culmination of the process of Geulah.
In the latter half of sefer Shmot (Truma-Pekudei) which deals with the Mishkan, we find clear delineation and structure between the parshiyot. Truma, Tetzaveh and Ki Tisa deal with the "planning" phase, i.e. HKB"H's directives and instructions on how to build the parts of the Mishkan. Vayakhel deals with the "execution" phase, when the components were actually made.
The parsha is rife with paragraphs beginning with וַיַּעֲשׂוּ ... וַיַּעַשׂ ... וַיַּעַשׂ etc. for each element in the Mishkan. Pekudei deals with the "summary" phase, an accounting and checklist after the execution.
It is very interesting to note the timeline of the building of the Mishkan as detailed by the Vilna Gaon (פירוש הגר"א על שיר השירים א, ד) and Chazal in the Midrash. The commandment to build the Mishkan was issued on the 10th Tishrei, Yom Kippur, after HKB"H forgave Am Yisrael for the sin of the egel.
From the 11th until the 13th of Tishrei, Moshe called upon Am Yisrael to donate raw materials for the Mishkan. Already by the 13th of Tishrei there was a surplus of donations and Moshe had to tell Am Yisrael to stop donating.
From the 13th to the 14th of Tishrei Betzalel, Oholiav and their assistants began to prepare the materials for the building (sorting, weighing, etc.) and on the 15th of Tishrei they actually began the building process.
On this day the עַנְנֵי הַכָּבוֹד returned for the first time since they had departed following the sin with the egel. This, according to the Vilna Gaon, is why we celebrate Sukkot davka on the 15th of Tishrei, to remember the return of the עַנְנֵי הַכָּבוֹד.
From the 15th of Tishrei the actual building began and ended on 25th Kislev (תנחומא, פרשת פקודי סימן יא, יג). Moshe and Am Yisrael were all ready to assemble it, inaugurate it and begin the Avodah, but HKB"H said "Not yet! Keep the Mishkan components in storage until the 1st of Nisan and only then assemble and inaugurate it and begin the Avodah".
According to the Midrash, HKB"H wanted to wait until the 1st of Nisan, the birthday of Yitzchak Avinu, to assemble and inaugurate the Mishkan. Yitzchak was the first "korban" brought on Har HaMoriah, since Adam offered his sacrifice of a one horned ox, after the sin of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת.
Why did HKB"H tell Am Yisrael to do a "rush-job" on the building to finish by Kislev, if He had no intention of it being assembled and inaugurated until Nisan? The Maharal (גור אריה, שמות כט) says this was atonement for the sin of the egel, where Am Yisrael rushed to sin, וַיָּקֻמוּ לְצַחֵק (שמות לב, ו).
The Midrash (ילקוט שמעוני מלכים א רמז קפד) tells us that to compensate the month of Kislev for not having the Mishkan assembled and inaugurated in it, although it was ready to be – HKB"H gave us the festival of Channukah in the month of Kislev. What about the month of Cheshvan, when the building also took place? The Midrash (ibid.) says that HKB"H compensated Cheshvan that the 3rd Beit HaMikdash will be built in the month of Cheshvan.
This is not the first time in the Torah we have a "project" that is split into the planning and execution phases.
In the Gemara (ראש השנה י, ע"ב – יא, ע"א) we have a machloket between R' Eliezer and R' Yehoshua regarding when the world was created רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר בְּתִשְׁרֵי נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם... ר' יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר בְּנִיסָן נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם. Each brings proofs to substantiate their claims. Tosfot (ראש השנה כז, ע"א) tries to reconcile the conflicting opinions by saying דְּבְתִשְׁרֵי עָלָה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה לִבְרֹאות וְלֹא נִבְרָא עַד נִיסָן. In other words, there was a "planning" phase and an "execution" phase. In Tishrei, HKB"H drew up the "plans" for creating the world and in Nisan He actually created it.
In fact, there is an uncanny similarity between the process of building the Mishkan and HKB"H creating the world. If we follow the shita of Tosfot above - in Tishrei HKB"H "planned" the creation and in Nisan, the 6 days of creation mentioned in Breishit, He did the actual "building".
However, the building was not actually fully "assembled" until the 6th day when Adam HaRishon was created. The Gemara (חולין ס, ע"ב) says that although HKB"H created the plants on the 3rd day, they remained below the surface of the ground (in "storage") until the 6th day when Adam was created.
Only after Adam was created and he davened to HKB"H, did it rain, the plants emerged and the earth was finally "assembled".
The Tanchuma (above) says that the לֵיצָנִי הַדּוֹר (scoffers, people of little faith) in Am Yisrael were impatient to assemble the Mishkan already in Kislev, so they tried themselves to assemble it and failed. They told Betzalel and Oholiav to assemble it, and they too failed.
Finally, on the 1st of Nisan HKB"H told Moshe "You assemble it!". HKB"H wanted to reward Moshe, who did not participate in the donations for the Mishkan, nor in the actual building process, that he would be the one to finally assemble it.
Moshe said to HKB"H "I do not know how to assemble it". HKB"H said to Moshe "Take it in your hands and it will assemble itself!" And that is how it was. How do you get a solid wooden beam, בְּרִיחַ הַתִּיכוֹן to bend around corners, threading itself through all the קְרָשִׁים in the Mishkan? It was all miraculous.
This is how HKB"H runs His world, in cycles of planning, execution and culmination. HKB"H wants only לְהֵטִיב עִם הַבְּרִיאוֹת and to heap beneficence upon us. All He asks from us is one simple thing "Believe in Me and do what I ask of you (what is written in the Torah)".
Humans being humans, however, sometimes we mess up and cannot follow that one simple request (for whatever reason). This necessitates adjusting the timing of the cycles or adding additional cycles, because HKB"H never gives up on us, He always gives us another chance.
The first cycle in Gan Eden never reached culmination, because Adam and Chava could not follow that one simple request.
HKB"H tried another cycle during דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל, but that too failed. Instead of embracing all the miraculous bounty that HKB"H gave them they rebelled and were destroyed in the Flood.
The next cycle was with Am Yisrael leaving Egypt and Matan Torah. This too failed. Am Yisrael sinned with the egel. If they had not, they would have entered Eretz Yisrael with Moshe Rabbeinu directly, the Beit HaMikdash that they sang about in Shirat Hayam would have been built by Moshe Rabbeinu (the Mashiach) and would have endured forever.
HKB"H gave us another chance, to build the Mishkan in the Midbar and to fulfil the cycle, but again we sinned with meraglim, who could not see the "big picture", the true destiny of Am Yisrael – living in Eretz Yisrael, being מְקַדֵּשׁ שֵׁם שָׁמַיִם and doing תִּקּוּן עוֹלָם.
They preferred to remain in their comfortable cocoon in the Midbar. So, the timeline of the cycle changed and we wandered around the Midbar for 40 years, until that generation was gone and the new generation was ready and willing to embrace their destiny.
Am Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael with Yehoshua and thus began a series of repetitive cycles of abiding by HKB"H's request and defying it. Throughout the period of the Shoftim we have these repetitive cycles - וַתִּשְׁקֹט הָאָרֶץ אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה ... שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וכו', never truly fulfilling our destiny and reaching culmination.
Then we begin a new set of cycles, those of the מְלָכִים. Shaul, from the tribe of Binyamin, has one simple job "Believe in Me and do what I ask of you". HKB"H asks him to destroy Amalek, but Shaul yields to popular pressure and fails his mission.
He is replaced by David, who unlike Shaul, does listen to what HKB"H tells him, every time and therefore (surprise) merits the task of building the Beit HaMikdash that Am Yisrael sang about in Shirat Hayam, the everlasting Beit HaMikdash and is awarded the כֶּתֶר מַלְכוּת for his descendants forever.
But then David sins with Batsheva and the task is deferred to his son Shlomo. Shlomo finally builds the Beit HaMikdash and the Shechina rests in Am Yisrael during his reign. But alas, we are not done with the cycles.
We yet again encounter a series of cycles of future descendants of David, kings of Am Yisrael, some who listen and some who don't to the word of HKB"H, another repetitive cycle of וַתִּשְׁקֹט הָאָרֶץ over and over again, in a downward spiral, finally resulting in the destruction of the 1st Beit HaMikdash and exile.
Another cycle begins, in Shushan, a cycle that ends with the rebuilding of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash, but this time it is diminished and HKB"H's Shechina does not reside in it. We have a repeat of the meraglim who preferred to remain in Bavel and not return to Eretz Yisrael and fulfil their destiny. This 2nd Beit HaMikdash lasts for a longer time than the first, but is also afflicted by a downward spiral resulting in its destruction.
The final cycle begins. The most prolonged cycle of them all.
The longest cycle prior to this one was between Adam HaRishon and the דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל – 1656 years. This last cycle, our cycle, the one which we are currently in, has been going on so far for 1956 years! Unlike all the other cycles, however, this one has to end well, because there is a time limit on it, called בְּעִתָּהּ.
HKB"H, Who is ever forgiving and always gives us a chance to fix our errors, understood in His infinite wisdom, that unless you put a "cap" on this, these cycles will go on forever and thus placed a time limit on the process - 6000 years.
During these 6000 years mankind has had repeated opportunity to reach final culmination of the process, אֲחִישֶׁנָּה, but we muffed it every time, with the "same old, same old", self-defeating, repetitive patterns.
We are now in year 5786, there are only 214 years until the 6000 years are up and we have reached the next nexus.
How many generations were privileged to live during the period of a nexus? Most of the generations in the last 6000 years lived in the interim periods between nexuses, suffering the sins of their fathers. Few and far between generations have had the privilege to be nexus generations. We are one of these generations.
I have always imagined what it must have been like to live in the generation of Noach, Moshe Rabbeinu, Yehoshua, Shmuel, David, Shlomo, Mordechai, etc. Our generation has become the nexus generation.
The pattern is clear. It is the same pattern the Ramban described above – Galut followed by Geulah, followed by building of the Mikdash. The Gemara (סנהדרין כ ע"ב) says רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר שָׁלֹשׁ מִצְוֹת נִצְטַוּוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּכְנִיסָתָן לָאָרֶץ לְהַעֲמִיד לָהֶם מֶלֶךְ וּלְהַכְרִית זַרְעוֹ שֶׁל עֲמָלֵק וְלִבְנוֹת לָהֶם בֵּית הַבְּחִירָה וְאֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ אֵיזֶה מֵהֶן תְּחִילָּה.
To achieve the final Geulah we need four criteria. First, we need to enter Eretz Yisrael. We have already passed that stage. The next three stages are to establish a king (or government?), to destroy Amalek and to build the Beit HaMikdash. R' Yosi in the Gemara (above), who the halacha is according to, is unclear in which order these three stages occur.
If we examine the מְצִיאוּת, we see in front of our very eyes that we have obviously not yet built the Beit HaMikdash and it is questionable whether we have established מַלְכוּת or not yet. As we have seen in the past few decades, it is questionable whether the government is really a government that wields full power or not. It appears that this is something we have yet to achieve.
As for the war with Amalek. This war began anew when we returned to Eretz Yisrael in the 1800's and has continued to this very day. At this very moment we are at a critical juncture in this war. The Midrash (פסיקתא רבתי, לא, א) says –
אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק שָׁנָה שֶׁמֶּלֶךְ הַמָּשִׁיחַ נִגְלָה בּוֹ כָּל מַלְכֵי אוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם מִתְגָּרִים זֶה בָּזֶה מֶלֶךְ פָּרַס מִתְגָּרֶה בְּמֶלֶךְ עַרָבִיָּא וְהוֹלֵךְ מֶלֶךְ עַרָבִיָּא לְאֶדוֹם לִיטּוֹל עֵצָה מֵהֶם וְחוֹזֵר מֶלֶךְ פָּרַס וּמַחֲרִיב אֶת כָּל הָעוֹלָם כּוּלּוֹ וְכָל אוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם מִתְרַעֲשִׁים וּמִתְבַּהֲלִים וְנוֹפְלִים עַל פְּנֵיהֶם וְיֶאֱחוֹז אוֹתָם צִירִים כְּצִירֵי יוֹלֵדָה וְיִשְׂרָאֵל מִתְרַעֲשִׁים וּמִתְבַּהֲלִים וְאוֹמְרִים לְהֵיכָן נֵלֵךְ וּלְהֵיכָן נָבוֹא וְאוֹמַר לָהֶם בָּנַיי אֶל תִּתְיָירְאוּ כָּל מָה שֶׁעָשִׂיתִי לֹא עָשִׂיתִי אֶלָּא בִּשְׁבִילְכֶם מִפְּנֵי מָה אַתֶּם מִתְיָירְאִים אַל תִּירָאוּ הִגִּיעַ זְמַן גְּאוּלַּתְכֶם וְלֹא כִּגְאוּלָּה רִאשׁוֹנָה כָּךְ גְּאוּלָּה אַחֲרוֹנָה כִּי גְּאוּלָּה רִאשׁוֹנָה הָיָה לָכֶם צַעַר וְשִׁיעְבּוּד מַלְכֻיּוֹת אַחֲרֶיהָ אֲבָל גְּאוּלָּה אַחֲרוֹנָה אֵין לָכֶם צַעַר וְשִׁיעְבּוּד מַלְכֻיּוֹת אַחֲרֶיהָ.
R' Yitzchak says, the year in which the Mashiach will be revealed, all the leaders of the nations are provoking one another. The king of פָּרַס (literally Persia, i.e. modern-day Iran. It is unclear whether this is referring to the country פָּרַס or a coalition of countries with the rashei teivot פרס, i.e פרס-רוסיה-סין, Iran-Russia-China) will provoke the king of Arabia (Saudi Arabia) and the king of Arabia goes to Edom (the world superpower/USA) to get advice from them.
And the king of פָּרַס goes and destroys all of the world. And all the nations of the world are clamoring and are filled with panic and falling on their faces and are gripped by pains akin to labor pains. And Israel is clamoring and are in a panic and ask 'Where shall we go and from where shall we come' and I (HKB"H) say to them 'My sons do not be afraid, all that I have done has been for you alone.
What are you afraid of? Do not fear, the time of your redemption has arrived. And this final redemption will not be like the first (prior) redemption(s). The prior redemption(s) were accompanied by grief and were followed by subjugation to the nations of the world. However, this final redemption has no grief and will not be followed by subjugation to the other nations.
No, this is not a Fox News "breaking news" report, it is a prophecy from the Midrash, written in the 6th century, 1500 years ago. However, it could just as well be a Fox News report!
Iran destroying the whole world? Isn't that exactly what this modern manifestation of Amalek have been doing. Sending tentacles of destruction and terror to every corner of the globe, infesting Europe, the Americas, southern Africa and Australia with radical jihadist populace and sleeper cells.
In the last week we have seen them lash out with their ballistic missiles and drones to every neighboring country in the region, as far away as Cyprus (that gave the Europeans a wake-up call!). Imagine if their diabolical plan to acquire a nuclear weapon had been successful, what degree of destruction we would be seeing, Rachmana litzlan.
The world (on the opposite side of the פרס coalition) is starting to wake up and clamor. The פרס coalition is also gripped with fear because it looks like Trump is about to checkmate them with the world oil supply.
Israel is clamoring and asking 'Where shall we go and from where shall we come'. Only someone who is running multiple times every day and night for the last week to the mamad (bomb shelter) can truly understand what that sentence means.
We are knee deep in the battle with Amalek and things are looking up, because HKB"H has our backs and is mobilizing the world superpower and the rest of the "free" world to help us. It is a time of clarification and everything is becoming clear. No more haze, no more smoke and mirrors. We are seeing with exquisite clarity exactly where everyone stands, who is friend and who is foe. No more Purim masks.
We have a potential Shaul HaMelech waging this battle, from the tribe of Binyanim (you think it is incidental that his name is Binyamin?). Only the children of Rachel (Yosef and Binyamin) can defeat Amalek. The question is if he is going to repeat the same fiasco with the last Shaul and not finish the job all the way to the end for real, bowing to pressure and ending it prematurely again?
I prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt that he will see it through. I believe that since October 7th, Netanyahu has woken up and realized his calling. The Vilna Gaon says that each of us have a degree of ruach hakodesh and that our neshama nudges us in the direction of the purpose for which HKB"H put us in this world.
Netanyahu, from the beginning of his political career has been drawn to the Iran issue, traveling all over the world and waving red flags. Until October 7th though, he most likely didn't understand why. Now I think he does. When someone finally understands the purpose for which HKB"H put them on this earth it causes an awakening.
Have you noticed in his press conferences how much more he uses the phrase "be'ezrat Hashem" (and it is not to win favor with the charedi parties). He certainly has not been the best prime minister the country has ever had, he has made many errors and is partially responsible for the polarity in Israeli society.
However, the one thing nobody can take away from him is that he has done more hishtadlut with the Iran issue than any other person on the planet. HKB"H rewards those who fulfil their life purpose and do maximum hishtadlut (I have experienced this personally with the Lechem HaPanim) and is therefore letting him finish the job, which I believe he will.
We have to realize though that Amalek does not end with Iran. Their spirit is alive and well in all the antisemites worldwide who are now popping out of the woodwork. Like "Tucker", like Qatar (ever notice that Tucker/Qatar are a kind of an anadrome?).
Qatar is perhaps even more dangerous than Iran, because their poisonous, powerful tentacles and blood money reach even further, infesting the media, the academia, the government, etc. on every continent, but invisible to the naked eye.
Also, the proxies Hamas/Houtis/Hizbollah (the three chet's, חֵטְא) who will probably wither and die, if Iran falls - with a little assistance from HKB"H and us. Like Turkey, who, unlike Iran, is a one-man-show. Perhaps HKB"H will assist in this regard, with a little medical intervention, like a heart attack/stroke/etc.
With HKB"H's help we have returned to Eretz Yisrael and with HKB"H's help we are hopefully going to accomplish this second mission of destroying Amalek. That makes two out of four.
What is left, is to establish מַלְכוּת in Eretz Yisrael. Government based on Torah values with real executive power and not the current situation where the government is neither Torah based, nor does it have executive power. Israel is in all honesty being currently run by a "shadow government" of civil servants who are not democratically elected. They hold key positions in every cornerstone of power (courts, military, academia, economy) and they dictate reality and policy.
The democratic majority vote of the people is merely an illusion and does not affect reality. This, based on מְצִיאוּת, seems to be the third item on the list. With HKB"H's help, hopefully this issue can be resolved peacefully, with goodwill.
After the above three, the fourth item, building the Beit Mikdash, will follow as a natural continuation.
It seems such a simple and reasonable request from HKB"H, "Believe in Me and do what I ask of you". It is obviously not that simple in reality, or we would not be in year 5786 (out of 6000) of the creation, not yet having merited the final Geulah.
One thing the 5786 years have done is give us a learning curve. We have the knowledge base from which we can draw and learn not to repeat old mistakes again. Am Yisrael is learning and improving. We see it even in the most mundane things.
In previous battles with Amalek in Gaza, we used to call the military operations names like עוֹפֶרֶת יְצוּקָה, cast lead (see last week's shiur on Ki Tisa 2026 regarding אֱלֹהֵי מַסֵּכָה and making "idols" out of casting).
We are now calling the operation שַׁאֲגַת הָאֲרִי, lion's roar. The word אֲרִי hints to the Beit HaMikdash. The ulam, the tall building in the Mikdash, is called the Ariel, because it resembles a crouching lion. The fire on the mizbeach in Bayit Rishon resembled a crouching lion. We are moving away from the אֱלֹהֵי מַסֵּכָה and are reconnecting with our roots, even if subliminally.
We have our yetzer hara and almost 2000 years of galut and contamination by foreign cultures and values to contend with. No simple task battling an angel and our upbringing.
In the end it all boils down to one thing. In every choice situation we are faced with in life – we must choose to do the right thing. Not the easiest thing, the most logical thing, but the right thing. In each choice there is only one most right thing. Another name for this is – derech eretz. Derech eretz comes before the Torah, דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ קָדְמָה לַתּוֹרָה, because unless you lead your life this way, Torah is meaningless.
We are privileged to be a nexus generation. It is at once exhilarating and frightening, because with the privilege also comes the responsibility - to transcend our normal selves and make a concerted effort to break the chain of previous failures from past generations. All we need is to do our maximum hishtadlut, without excuses and HKB"H will do the rest אָמַר הקב"ה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל: בָּנַי, פָּתְחוּ לִי פֶּתַח אֶחָד שֶׁל תְּשׁוּבָה, כְּחוּדָה שֶׁל מַחַט, וַאֲנִי פּוֹתֵחַ לָכֶם פְּתָחִים שֶׁיִּהְיוּ עֲגָלוֹת וְקַרְנִיּוֹת נִכְנָסוֹת בּוֹ (שיר השירים רבה ה, ב).
We are the nexus generation and we are on the brink of the Geulah. How do we want to be remembered by future generations?
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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