Female LessonParashat HashavuaSeries'LibraryPiskei Din (Hebrew)Test YourselfAmong the various items used to build the Mishkan, the verse tells us that our ancestors used something called "tachash skins" for the outer covering of the Mishkan and as a slipcover for the holy vessels while they traveled in the desert. The exact identity of the tachash has been a matter of great speculation. Some say it was a (reddish or violet) dye used to color skins or cloth in the Mishkan, but most say it was an animal. Which one? Among the opinions: Ermine, badger, a one-horned animal called a keresh; an antelope, giraffe, the narwhal (whose left tooth developed into a single horn-like appendage); the sea cow or seal, okapi or zebra. Most say it was a non-kosher animal, but others (Rav Moshe Sofer) say it was miraculously made kosher just for use in the Mishkan. The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that the uniqueness of the tachash is that it is the only creation that was used exclusively for holy purposes. Thus, the tachash illustrates that the ultimate purpose for all of creation is to be used only in service of Hashem. This will be fully realized with the building of the Third Temple, may it be speedily in our days!
DO WE DESERVE REDEMPTION? “Blood, Covenant, and Return”- Parshat VaEra
Are we today so much greater than say the Rambam's generation? Why is G-d returning us to Israel & doing so many salvations and victories over Hamas, Hizballah, Syria and Iran in recent years, even if we haven't done Teshuva & seemingly don't deserve it?
The class deals with how to cleave and strengthen the G-dly trait of "Truth", the need to pray for Teshuva, the importance of returning that which was wrongly taken before saying Viduy, and other aspects of Teshuva.
Rav Kook explains why that which is learned on Shabbat is considered so much greater than that studied during the week, and why creativity is that much greater on Shabbat, for better or for worse!