Vayakhel

 בס״ד

Vayakhel

The mitzvah of Shmiras Shabbos appears,

At both ends

 Of the chet of the Egel.

Only after we fall,

 Are we taught something new:

On Shabbos no fire is kindled.

We descend in a flash from a level so high,

Attainable but by a few,

But then from the ashes,

An ember,

 Revived,

 Rekindled, to shine forth anew.

Thus each day of the week must be lit,

 With great care,

Though the glow may be hard to distinguish,

But the Ner of Shabbos,

 Which gathers our sparks,

Always burns, and is never extinguished.

Ki Sisa

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Ki Sisa

They’ve been extracted from Mitzrayim,

Yet Egypt’s roots ensnare this people.

And though they left  פַּרְעֹה֮ behind,

פְרָעֹ֣ה* is Aharon about the Eggel.

Thirst has been their constant grumble,

As wandered they this arid waste,

Now a draft of calf they’re forced to drink,

To wash Egypt from their taste.

* lets them get out of control (32:25)

Tetzaveh

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Tetzaveh

I would venture to say, one could see it this way,

That the Mishkan “enclothes” the Shechina,

And the Kohanim’s clothes,

From their heads to their toes,

Are designed with a similar bina.

The Bigdei Kehuna are specifically made,

To bring kedushah to all their eivarim,

It’s conceivable that they,

Correspond in some way,

To the Mishkan and the Kodesh Kedoshim.

How that might be, I really don’t know,

Haven’t found it in any payrushim,

But could ruchnius dwell,

In that physical shell,

So adam gashmi could be clothed in ruchanim?

Terumah

בס״ד 

Terumah

Gifts and praise that do not come,

From truly knowing the recipient,

Are very nice, as far as they go,

But are nonetheless defici-ent.

So “Take for Me Terumah”, but keep in mind,

The details that I mention,

Those whose hearts are moved to give,

From among this startup Nation.

And the Torah gives us the details, 

Of the offerings that matter to Him,

Specific gifts, for His dwelling place,

Not based on one’s personal whim.

He wants us to come to know Him,

Through the particulars that He tells,

And we show Him we want to know Him,

By paying attention to details.

Mishpatim

 בסיד

Mishpatim

“A Life for a Life: an Eye for an Eye…”,

This Mishpat we’ve heard before,

But I never noted the context,

I neglected to explore.

Two fighting men collided with,

A woman who was pregnant,

As a result, she lost her life,

What should be the payment?

First, the Torah speaks in general,

“A Life for a Life”, we’re told,

But then adds the limiting details,

Before the posuk’s very old.

“From Clal to Prat”, says Rebbe Yishmael,

Since the limbs are specified,

“A Life for a Life” here means something else,

It’s the value of the one who died.

Yisro

 

בס״ד

Yisro

The people saw all of the thunder and smoke,

The fire and lightning, too,

“We’re terrified to hear words directly from G-d,

Please let us hear them through you”.

To Moshe He speaks in words loud and clear,

Not in riddles or pictures or dreams,

His words are too much for us regular folks,

Not even Nevi’im, it seems.

So words must be mightier than splitting the sea,

Or the Well, or the Quail, or the Mon,

The myriad plagues that brought Pharaoh down,

The killing of Egypt’s first sons.

The world was created through the speech of HaShem,

Through His letters and words and phrases,

Yet the Voice of creation is beyond us to hear,

As it echoes down through the ages.

Beshallach

בס״ד

 Beshallach

The Sea of Reeds was neatly split,

By Shamayim’s mighty squalls,

Israel advanced through a drying sea,

Between raging, watery walls.

Withal, Yisroel must contend,

With existential threats,

The matza’s gone, the food runs out,

Their gullets dry, not wet.

It’s true HaShem comes through for us,

Both time and time again,

Yet a People born to slavery,

Pushes Moshe to wit’s end.

Alas…our birth can yet be stillborn,

Because now, for Heaven’s sake,

Though newly delivered from Pharaoh,

We plunge into Amalek.