When I was a kid I enjoyed playing baseball. We started at whiffle ball on the
sidewalk and the driveway, graduated to soft ball in the park and when we had
only a few of us, grabbed a broom stick and spalding and headed for the school
yard. The key to hitting in baseball is to make contact. I think the key to the
Seder and to Pesach is to make contact

During the first 12 days of Nissan, we read the korbanot hanesi’im — the offerings brought by each tribal prince during the dedication of the Mishkan (Bamidbar 7). On day 13, we read “Zot chanukat hamizbe’ach.” After that, many communities continue saying the reading each day through day 21, and add names of departed loved ones for merit.

Audits and Public Trust

Parshat Pikudei begins with Moses giving a
complete accounting of all the raw materials collected for the building of the
mishkan along with details on how these materials were used. Realizing that we
already were given this information we ask why the need for an official audit
which seems to be a redundancy. We know that audits typically follow
questionable actions or accusations. So what led to this audit?

The Midrash tell us: “They gazed after
Moses” – People criticized Moses. They
used to say to one another, “Look at that neck. Look at those legs. Moses is
eating and drinking what belongs to us. All that he has belongs to us.” The
other would reply: “A man who is in charge of the work of the Sanctuary – what
do you expect? Do you expect that he should not get rich?” As soon as he heard
this, Moses replied, “By your life, as soon as the Sanctuary is complete, I
will make a full reckoning with you.”

We wonder was this idle chatter widespread
or perhaps only the conversation of a very few? And how could they accuse Moses
of living off the communal till? Ironically they accuse Moses of taking what is
theirs and using those funds to purchase and eat the choicest cuts of meats. I
find the accusation itself the most ludicrous. Recall that the man who ascended
Mount Sinai in order to receive the Torah on their behalf and following the
incident of the Golden Calf when Hashem tells Moses that he will destroy these
people returns to beg forgiveness for them did not eat or drink for forty days
and forty nights.

What do they think that he was making up
for lost time and opportunity? Why even give substance to this ridiculous
chatter by responding to it?

We can add to the question based on
another midrash which asks, “Why did Moshe make an accounting with them when
Hashem trusted him, as the pasuk says:

לֹא־כֵ֖ן עַבְדִּ֣י
מֹשֶׁ֑ה בְּכׇל־בֵּיתִ֖י נֶאֱמָ֥ן הֽוּא׃

“My
servant, Moshe, is not that way; in all My house he is trustworthy” If he has
G-d’s trust, is that not more than enough testimony to his honesty?

I would suggest that Moses may have not
been looking to defend himself. After all, he was neither the storage manager,
nor the artisan, nor the seamstress. Where others might have opportunity to
pilfer a bit of gold here or some silk there, he had none. So perhaps in
seeming to defend himself, he was really looking to avoid any accusation ever
being made against Bezalel, Aholiav and their teams of artisans and he was
setting an example to future leaders involved in any sort of public funding.

Moshe Rabbeynu’s actions teach us that a
leader must avoid even the slightest hint of impropriety especially when it
comes to the public’s money and their trust.

My son in law Moshe Alouf shared this with me this morning. A short thought on appreciating the women in our lives:

A Subtle Purity: The Jewelry Still Worn

In Shemot 35:22, the Torah describes the donations to the
Mishkan:

“וַיָּבֹאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים עַל־הַנָּשִׁים כֹּל נְדִיב לֵב הֵבִיאוּ
חָח וָנֶזֶם וְטַבַּעַת וְכוּמָז...”
“The men came upon the women—all whose hearts moved them brought brooches,
earrings, rings, and pendants…”

Rashi, based on Chazal, explains “עַל הַנָּשִׁים” as “with
the women,” suggesting the men came closely following them. But the Meshech
Chochma (on this pasuk) notices that Onkelos translates it
literally: “while the jewelry was still on the women” (guvraya al
neshaya).

Why emphasize that the jewelry was still being worn?

The Meshech Chochma brings in a powerful halachic framework.
From the laws of Isurei HaMizbeyach, if an object is merely declared for
Avodah Zarah, it's not inherently forbidden. But if any action—like
placing it or shaping it—is done in the service of idolatry, the item becomes
assur (forbidden).

At the time of the Golden Calf, Bnei Yisrael (or at least
the Erev Rav) said: “אֵלֶּה אֱלֹהֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל”—“These are your
gods.” That plural language reflects a desire for multiple powers, and their
contributions of gold were accompanied by physical acts of creation. This could
render any gold connected to the sin invalid for use in holy service.

Enter the brilliance of the women. When Aharon asked
for their jewelry to delay the Egel, they refused to give. That gold
remained pure.

So when it came time to build the Mishkan, the men didn't
just bring gold. They brought the women themselves—with the jewelry still on
them—to show clearly: this gold was never involved, never tainted. It
was still “על הנשים”—on the women, not given over for sin.

A Thought to Take With Us

From this detail, we learn that not participating in
a wrong is itself a form of powerful avodah. The women’s refusal to give to the
Egel became the very foundation of their gift’s kosher status for the
Mishkan.

A Story to Illustrate

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l once walked into a room full
of people discussing whether certain donations could be accepted by a yeshiva
due to questionable sources. He said gently, “Sometimes the most valuable gift
is not the donation itself, but the way it was held back when it could have
gone to the wrong place.”

Just like the gold that remained on the women until it could
be offered to Hashem.

Bezalel is one of the most fascinating figures in the Torah. Despite being only 13 years old, he was entrusted with the immense responsibility of constructing the Mishkan and its sacred vessels. His wisdom, connection to divine inspiration,
and spiritual legacy offer profound lessons. We have given a number of classes
on Bezalel over the years and they are available in podcasts. I have an
affinity towards Bezalel due mainly to my father’s admiration of him and how my dad and for generations before him were craftsmen of holy objects. You can hear more about that in the previous classes posted.

This class will explore Bezalel’s unique role through some key themes: his wisdom, and I would like to specifically explore the power of the Aleph Bet on a level joining the spiritual and the physical, his connection to Hur and the concept of Ibbur and reincarnation or the Ruach of Chur entering him at the age of 13, his approach to constructing the Mishkan which seemed to differ from Moshe’s instructions where we will review an approach from Above to Below, vs Building up Below to Above, And perhaps the personal lessons we can learn from Besalel