Pekudei 5776 - English

By Rabbi Daniel A. Kripper

Beth Israel - Aruba.

This section concludes the calculations for the construction and furnishing of the Mishkan, the portable tabernacle built in the desert.Other temples have been built and destroyed throughout our millenary history, and their memory has been preserved in the collective consciousness of Israel.  

Today’s synagogue is a modern legacy of those magnificent temples of yore, proof of the spiritual devotion of our ancestors throughout time.  

Historical circumstances have changed, but the motivation for what is holy remains untouched, the same that inspired our ancestors to build “tabernacles” to meet with the Divine.  

Our Parashah concludes with these words: “And when Moses saw that they had performed all the tasks — as the Lord had commanded, so they had done — Moses blessed them.” (Ex. 39:43)

According to Rashi, Moses’ blessing is reflected in Psalm 90: “May the favor of Adonai our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.”

The reason this blessing stands out is the spirit of gratitude that inspires the people to congregate in the temple and to gladly bring offerings.  

Centuries later as the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem was finished, Solomon offered a masterful prayer for its inauguration.  In it, he refers to different circumstances that bring people closer to the sanctuary to pray:

“When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple…

When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you… 

When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain… When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers…

then hear us from heaven.”

Solomon lists some critical situations for the individual and for the nation, which can motivate a call for help in the venerated Temple of Jerusalem.  

Both biblical motivations are present in our prayers and devotional liturgy: pleas in moments of unrest, discomfort or mourning, like those cited by Solomon in his prayer, and prayers that highlight gratitude in times of joy and prosperity.  

In our tradition, both motivations complement each other and create a multicolor fabric that resounds in the soul of each person at different moments of their lives.  

Gratitude is highly valued in the traditional prayer book.  For example, in the repetition of the Amidah, everyone recites de modim prayer (the prayer of recognition and gratitude) by himself or herself.

Someone else may represent us in a plea for help, but the gratitude prayer is eminently personal.  

The birkat hagomel is recited as an expression of gratitude after successfully overcoming a dangerous situation.  The Talmud claims that innumerable miracles happen to us on a daily basis without us realizing it.  For this reason, every day we recite the mizmor letoda (Psalm 100), instead of the gratitude offering that was made at the Temple.  

The Midrash declares that in the future, while all sacrifices will be abolished, prayers and offerings of gratitude will remain strong.  

True gratitude comes from the heart, expands our consciousness and motivates our best actions. 

And as the famous mystic Meister Eckart says, “If the only prayer you say in your life is the one for gratitude, that will be enough.”

Rabbi Daniel Kripper

Beth Israel Aruba