New Tablets, Trembling Hands

Friday March 13, 2026/24 Adar 5786/Shabbat Vayakhel-Pekudei Shabbat HaChodesh

Hevre/Friends,

Week after week, our ancient Torah narratives never fail to educate and inspire us as we navigate our modern world. Reeling from multiple violent attacks against North American Jewish communal institutions this last week makes the reflection prompted by this week’s double portion of Vayakhel-Pekudei truly haunting. In the spirit of this continuous revelation, I can’t help but imagine how the Torah of today might read.

Parashat Vayakhel, 3000 years ago:

Take from among you gifts to GOD; everyone whose heart is so moved shall bring them—gifts for GOD: gold, silver, and copper; blue, purple, and crimson yarns, fine linen, and goats’ hair; tanned ram skins, dolphin skins, and acacia wood; oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the aromatic incense; lapis lazuli and other stones for setting, for the ephod and the breastpiece.

And let all among you who are skilled come and make all that GOD has commanded: the Tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its clasps and its planks, its bars, its posts, and its sockets; the ark and its poles, the cover, and the curtain for the screen; the table, and its poles and all its utensils; and the bread of display; the lampstand for lighting, its furnishings and its lamps, and the oil for lighting; the altar of incense and its poles; the anointing oil and the aromatic incense; and the entrance screen for the entrance of the Tabernacle; the altar of burnt offering, its copper grating, its poles, and all its furnishings; the laver and its stand; the hangings of the enclosure, its posts and its sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; the pegs for the Tabernacle, the pegs for the enclosure, and their cords; the service vestments for officiating in the sanctuary, the sacral vestments of Aaron the priest and the vestments of his sons for priestly service. 

Global Jewry, 2026:

And these are the additional items to purchase for your sacred spaces; your synagogues, day schools, camps, and JCCs: locking gates and bullet-proof glass, bollards and barriers, identity badges and digital scanners, cameras and metal detectors.

And place among you armed guards, police vehicles, volunteer security and medical teams, emergency response-trained rabbis and cantors, faculty and staff, students and campers, young and old.

And cultivate allies among law enforcement and elected leaders to hold accountable those who threaten your safety and to help protect your holy places.

And make sure to raise sufficient funds to address current and future risks to the physical safety of your community. 

Parashat Pekudei, 3000 years ago:

And when Moses saw that they had performed all the tasks—as GOD had commanded, so they had done—Moses blessed them.

Global Jewry, 2026:

Don’t be fooled. The work is far from done. But don't despair. Be ever-vigilant, even as we continue to build - as we must - sacred spaces for prayer, for learning, for celebration, for fellowship; even as we continue to endeavor - as we must - to build a world of respect, humility, and collaboration; even as we continue to yearn - as we must - for blessings of security, harmony, and peace. 

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,

Dini

Photo by Ronen Avisror