Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Studies Primary

Weekly Torah Portion:

Parashah פקודי ויקהל Vayakheil-Pekudai Exodus 35:1 – 40:38.

Moshe reminds the people to maintain Shabbat as a day of rest, including a cessation of all creative work and the prohibition against kindling fire. The parashah continues to tell the story of the building of the משכן Mishkan. At Moshe’s bidding, the people voluntarily offer the necessary materials and the appointed craftsmen, Bezalel and Ohaliab, begin the work. Moshe eventually had to stop the voluntary offerings, as they were too plentiful. Parashat-Pekudei, the final portion of the Book of Exodus, begins with Moshe’s full accounting of all the materials used in the construction of the משכן / Mishkan. A census of males over the age of 20 also takes place, where each person was required to give a half shekel for the benefit of the community. Once the משכן / Mishkan was completed according to God’s instructions, Moshe inspects it and blesses the people. The משכן / Mishkan is then assembled for the first time, and the Divine Presence, manifesting as a cloud, fills the Sanctuary, serving as a guide for the people in their journey through the wilderness.

Family Discussion

• Shabbat is set aside as a day of rest. What does rest and relaxing look like to you?
• The ancient Israelites give with a generous heart to help build the Mishkan. What does a generous heart mean to you? What do we have that we can be generous with and with whom?

Yiddish Word of the Week:  קוועלKvell

Kvell means being extraordinarily pleased, bursting with pride and delight, often used in relation to one’s children or grandchildren. According to Merriam-Webster, kvell is derived from Yiddish kveln, meaning “to be delighted,” which, in turn, comes from the Middle High German word quellen, meaning “to well, gush, or swell”.

“It is lovely to kvell over the success of our friends and family”

“I am just kvelling seeing my little one read that book all by herself”

You can check out the following Jewish website for moms (and mums) and parenting www.kveller.com

 Hebrew Word of the Week: נדיבות Nedivut – Generosity

In this week’s parashah we encounter the concept of נדיבות nedivut generosity, as the Israelites gave materials for the building of the משכן Mishkan with ‘נדיב לב’ nediv lev – a generous heart. In Jewish tradition, נדיבות – nedivut / generosity, is about giving of oneself voluntarily, with a positive attitude that engages one’s heart and mind. It entails an outward focus on the world and towards others, sharing our unique gifts with others. One of our school values is Generosity – encapsulated in the Jewish virtue of נדיבות. Judaism teaches that generosity enriches the lives of both the recipient and the giver.

נדב – Nadav: one of Aaron’s sons, contemporary Israeli Hebrew name for males meaning ‘generous’

נדיב – Nadiv: contemporary Israeli Hebrew name meaning ‘noble’ or ‘princely’.

נדיבות – Nedivut: Generosity. An important virtue and value in Jewish tradition.

רמת הנדיב- Ramat HaNadiv: “Benefactor’s Heights’ – a nature reserve in Northern Israel named after Baron Edmond de Rothschild, the great benefactor of the Zionism pre-state. He was called הנדיב HaNadiv – ‘The Benefactor’.

 Emanuel’s Purim Messages Reach Israel

We received a reply from Shira Stein at the 10,000 Letters for 10,000 Soldiers campaign to whom Ms Tritch’s class wrote Purim cards. This is what the reply said: “The beautiful cards that the Emanuel School made gave joy and a strong feeling of appreciation to the soldiers they reached. On a more personal note, it was quite a moving experience watching these brave young men and women, burst into smiles as they opened the cards made by children all over the world. Below is a picture so that you can also see their smiles!”

Thank you again for joining us in this beautiful project, and we hope that Emanuel School students will join us again next year!

Morah Gaida