Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei 5783 – Shabbat HaChodesh

by Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields

This Shabbat’s Torah Reading is the double portion of Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei, and concludes the book of Exodus, Sefer Shemot. The Children of Israel gather to see the completion of the construction of the mishkan, the Tabernacle. It was very important for  the Children of Israel to see the fruits of their labor, and gather together to see the completion of the mishkan, the dwelling place of God. We are gearing up to gather together, as sisters, at our triennial Women’s League for Conservative Judaism Convention, in July 2023. I hope you are all as excited as the Children of Israel must have been in our Torah reading. We too will be together, in the dwelling place of God, as we see our sisters, who we have not seen in years. Our little zoom boxes will come alive, and truly God will gather amongst us as well, as we look into the eyes of our sisters, and see in each other the face of God! I cannot wait !  Chazak v’Ematz – Be Strong and Courageous!