Interfaith VaYakhel-Pekudei

[pohaikawahine]

If I'm not mistaken this is the last parsha of Exodus (combined VaYakhel and Pekudei) and everything regarding the building of the temple in the wilderness is pulled together .... the term "wise-hearted" is used several times and I still like the description that this is a symbol for a mystic or we might even say a prophet ....36:1 "and Bezalel, and Oholiab and every wise-hearted man in whom the Lord has given wisdom and understanding to know how to do the task of the holy work, shall do all that the Lord has charged."

A commentary on 39:21 is really interesting .... "and they fastened the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the ephod with an indigo strand to be upon the band of the ephod, that the breastplate not slip from the ephod, as the Lord had charged Moses." The commentary says "the Samaritan version and an Exodus text found at Qumran insert here: "and they made the Urim and the Thummin as the Lord had charged Moses." This small change is significant because the Urim and the Thummin are in essence the oracles, the knowers or the seers .... I believe that they actually symbolize the right and left hemisphere of the brain in terms of knowing .... this would certainly, imho, connect with the concept that the "wise-hearted" symbolizes the mystic ....

I read several commentaries about this parsha and it is evident that although at the end of exodus Israel has not yet entered the promised land, redemptin has arrived with the building of the temple and I love the ending "For over the Tabernacle a cloud of the Lord rested by day, and fire would appear in it by night, in the view of all the house of Israel throughout their journeys." If the Tabernalce in the wilderness exists within each of us, then it certainly does follow us throughout all our journeys.

I also read a commentary about this parsha that said G-d's presence is brought down to earth at the end of exodus .... by the seven "tzadikim' ....
Abraham brought it down from level seven to level six, Isaac brought it down from level six to level five, Jacob five to four, Levi to three, Kehan three to two, Ampron level 1, and Moses back down to earth .... G-d's presence rested on earth on the day the tabernacle was erected .... we started out with the 'ascent' of the energy up into mountaintop and then end with the 'descent' of the energy back to earth .... internally this would match the path of the spiralling energy .... up and down the spinal column ....

then I read that "each patriarch had a prophetic experience at the future temple site" .... I think this was related to the temple to be built in the messianic age (am unsure here) .... but I suspect it really means that we will find the temple within and know that the house of G-d has been with us all along .....

Well bandit .... the parsha's may have concluded for Exodus but we have not because we still have work to do on the temple in the wilderness thread .... here is your name in Hawaiian "Mai Ke Awawa" which is roughly a translation of your English name .... but I will give you another name soon .... he hawai'i au, poh