According to tradition, Moses descended from Sinai (with the second set of tablets) on Yom Kippur (Tishri 10), and on the following morning he assembled (וַיַּקְהֵל) the people together to explain God’s instructions regarding building the Mishkan (i.e., Tabernacle). First, however, Moses reminded the people to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest, and then he asked for contributions of gold, silver, bronze, and other materials for the construction of the sanctuary and its furnishings. Each contribution was to be a “free-will offering” (i.e., nedivah zevach: נְדָבָה זֶבַח) made by those “whose heart so moved him.” As a sign of their complete teshuvah (repentance) for the sin of the Golden Calf, the people gave with such generosity that Moses finally had to ask them to stop giving!
Two men named “Betzalel” and “Oholiav” were appointed to be the chief artisans of the Mishkan, and they led a team of others that created the roof coverings, frame, wall panels, and foundation sockets for the tent. They also created the parochet (veil) that separated the Holy Place (ha’kodesh) from the Holy of Holies (kodesh ha’kodeshim). Both the roof and the veil were designed with embroidered cherubim (winged angelic beings). Betzalel then created the Ark of the Covenant and its cover called the mercy seat (kapporet), which was the sole object that would occupy the innermost chamber of the Holy of Holies. Betzalel also made the three sacred furnishings for the Holy Place – the Table of Bread (shulchan), the lamp (menorah), and the golden Altar of Incense (mizbe’ach ha’katoret) – as well as the anointing oil that would consecrate these furnishings.
Betzalel then created the Copper Altar for burnt offerings (along with its implements) and the Copper Basin from the mirrors of women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting. He then formed the courtyard by installing the hangings, posts and foundation sockets, and created the three-colored gate that was used to access the courtyard.
In addition to the Torah portion I discuss the holidays of Purim and Shabbat Parah, as well as the greater meta-themes of Passover and the Exodus from Egypt.
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“Let them make me a mikdash (“holy place,” “sanctuary”), that I may dwell in their midst” (Exod. 25:8). Though this verse refers to the physical mishkan (i.e., “Tabernacle”), it more deeply refers to the duty of the heart to sanctify the Name of God and bring a sense of holiness to the inner life. This requires that we focus the mind and heart to honor the sacredness of life, taking “every thought captive” to the truth of God in Messiah (2 Cor. 10:5). Since our minds and hearts are gateways to spiritual revelation, we must be careful to not to abuse ourselves by indulging in sloppy thinking or unrestrained affections. God holds us responsible for what we think and believe (Acts 17:30-31), and that means we have a duty to honor moral reality and truth. There is an “ethic of belief,” or a moral imperative to ascertain the truth and reject error in the realm of the spiritual. Since God holds us responsible to repent and believe the truth of salvation, He must have made it possible for us to do so (“ought” implies “can”). And indeed, God has created us in His image and likeness so that we are able to discern spiritual truth. He created us with a logical sense (rationality) as well as a moral sense (conscience) so that we can apprehend order and find meaning and beauty in the universe He created. All our knowledge presupposes this. Whenever we experience anything through our senses, for example, we use logic to categorize and generalize from the particular to the general, and whenever we make deductions in our thinking (comparing, making inferences, and so on), we likewise rely on logic. We have an innate intellectual and moral “compass” that points us to God.
Our Torah portion this week (i.e., 
“The fear of the LORD is the first principle of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and correction” (Prov. 1:7). In this “Daily Dvar” broadcast (see audio below) I discuss how reverence or respect is axiomatic for a genuinely good life. Fearing God expresses the confidence that life is a sacred trust and that each soul is answerable to the Creator. Such godly reverence infers that nothing is trivial or inconsequential, and that all things will be accounted before the bar of divine truth. I hope you will find it helpful, friends.
In today’s “Daily Dvar” broadcast (link below) I discuss the “Torah of the Vine,” that is, the analogy of the Vine and the branches that Yeshua taught his disciples: “If anyone does not live in me, he is cast off as a branch, and withers…” (John 15:6). We find life only as we remain connected to the Source and Conduit of life, who is the Messiah, the Savior and LORD. True life grows out a heart connection with Yeshua, and without that connection our lives become vain and yield no eternal significance. I hope you find it encouraging, friends.
Life in this evil world can be suffocating at times. And though we may not be under the oppression of a cruel Pharaoh, we are affected by the “princes of this age” who spurn the message of the Messiah’s redemption and love, and we are still subjected to bondage imposed by taskmasters who defy the LORD and who seek to enslave us by means of lies, propaganda, and threats of violence… The devil is still at work in the hearts and minds of many of his “little Pharaohs” that serve the world system. Nevertheless “there is no fear in love” (אין פַּחַד בָּאַהֲבָה), especially since we know that ein od milvado — there is no real power apart from the LORD (i.e., He is the only true Power in the universe). Indeed, Yeshua is elyon lemalkhei-aretz (עֶלְיוֹן לְמַלְכֵי־אָרֶץ) – the “Ruler of the princes of the earth” (Rev. 1:5) – and that means that they will answer to Him (Psalm 2). If you belong to the Messiah you are not part of this world and its matrix of deception but instead serve the King of Kings (Col. 1:13; Acts 26:18; 1 Pet. 2:9). Therefore set your thoughts on things above, not on things of this world (Col. 3:2). In the end all things born of the lie will be exposed and forever put away from us (Eccl. 12:14). ”The great Day of the LORD is near; it is near and hastening quickly” (Zeph. 1:14). “For though the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end — it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay” (Hab. 2:3).
Our faith separates us from the visible and temporal realm to reveal the invisible and eternal realm — faith hears (shema) the “yes” of the LORD in the midst of worldly dissipation and despair. This “Daily Dvar” broadcast discusses the walk of faith and how we need to remain focused on what is real in the midst of the ups and downs of our daily lives. I hope you find it helpful…
It is not “I obey, therefore I am accepted,” but rather, “I am accepted, and that is the obedience (ὑπακούω) of faith.” The opposite of sin is not virtue but faith, as Paul said: πᾶν δὲ ὃ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως, ἁμαρτία ἐστίν, “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). Putting it the other way around, trust is the means of attaining God’s righteousness and blessing (Eph. 2:8, Rom. 3:20-27). Paul calls this the “law of faith” (i.e., torat ha’emunah: תּוֹרַת הָאֱמוּנָה). Accepting that God is “for you” and “with you,” and trusting that you are accepted — despite your unacceptability — is the first and most fundamental step of faith, since this honors the love and blessing of God. It is not your wisdom or cleverness that enlightens your way in the truth, however, but the miracle of disclosure from heaven. It is all a gift: you need God to even see that you need God! Right thinking is indeed a path to God, but it is the givenness of truth that enables the seeker to seek; it is the reality of the Teacher (the Savior) that is all-important. By itself true belief does not conjure divine favor, and indeed it may hide the deeper truth that the heart exists in untruth despite the head’s “true” doctrine. Likewise, while goodness is indeed a path to God, true goodness is found in God’s righteousness that makes the way right for the trusting heart… Genuine obedience to the truth of God – inner connectedness rather than merely outer obedience – marks the divine mercy of transformation.
Those who know the Lord Yeshua understand that He is none other than the very Lawgiver and King of Israel, and it was He who spoke to Moses at Sinai regarding the moral will of God. His is the Voice of God (קוֹל אֱלהִים) speaking from the midst of the fire (Deut. 4:33). Yes of course (and thank God) that Yeshua is also our Savior who graciously died for us to be pardoned from the verdict of the law, but he did NOT die so that we should continue to sin but rather to be delivered from sin’s power in our lives…. We are never “perfected” in this life, and each of us will struggle with sin, but we should never allow sin to become a regular practice, and we should never live a secret and double life of hypocrisy… If we struggle, fair enough — we need to be honest, confess the truth, and get help, but we should never hide the truth about who we really are, since that leads to sickness of the heart and self-destructive despair. May God have mercy and help us all be on guard from the deceptions of the enemy of our souls.