After forty days on Mount Sinai and the forgiveness of the sin of the Golden Calf, Moshe descended on Yom Kippur. The next day, the 11th of Tishrei, Moshe gathered the entire nation. The Torah uses the word vayak’hel — to assemble — because this moment was meant to unify the people again after
Parashat Pekudei opens with what might seem like dry accounting: a detailed record of the gold, silver, and copper used in the construction of the
“A sacrifice begins with thought, continues with words, and ends with action — the same path by which sin itself is formed.”
Parashat Tetzaveh focuses on the sacred service of the Mishkan and later the Beit HaMikdash, especially the role of the Kohen Gadol. Unlike ordinary
