TO BE PART OF A COMMUNITY
Vayakhel - Shekalim
What is a community? The dictionary definition describes a community as a group of people who live in the same area or having a particular characteristic in common such as attitudes or interests.
In Torah thought, a Kahal (community) is not merely a conglomerate of individuals who band together with a common goal or for a common purpose.
A Kahal becomes a new entity which transcends the sum-total of its constituent members. A member of a Kahal transcends their individuality to become a part of something greater than themselves. All of the members merge together equally as one to create this magical entity. Each member, irrespective of who they are, is an equal homogenous part of this unity.
For example; a minyan is not just a numeric gathering of 10 individuals. It takes on a new quantitatively different status allowing Dvarim Shebikedusha to be recited and causing a greater manifestation of the Shechina. Each member, the scholar and simpleton alike are equal.
This does not mean that as members of a community we lose our individual identity. Each member of the community is unique. They have their own strengths and talents which they can offer and are obliged to actualise and develop. They retain their own views, interests and opinions.
A member of community exists in two modes; as an individual but also as part of the Kahal.
To become part of a Kahal one is required - on a certain level - to surrender and transcend their differences. We are often required to forgo our personal opinions in deference to the greater good and broader will. But this does not mean that a community is made up of faceless members. There is a level of duality which pervades a Kahal.
One of the metaphors used to describe the unity of the Jewish people is that of a human body. All Jews of each generation and indeed all Jew throughout all generations constitute one macro-body.
A body is a solitary unit. When we look at ourselves in the mirror we see a body, not just a collection of individual limbs. At the same time, the body does comprise individual limbs. Each limb has a unique function. But they all surrender themselves to serve the collective body with their unique function.
Most years, the Parshiyos of Vayakhel and Pekudei are read together. This year the Parshiyos are read separately. The themes reflected in the names of these Parshiyos are diametrically opposed.
Vayakhel means to gather. Coming from the word Kahal, it stresses the unity of the people and how we form one collective. Pekudei on the other hand means to count. Counting something stresses its individual value. Pekudei emphasises the unique nature of each individual.
We are required to “live with the times” by applying the message of the weekly Parsha to our daily lives. When the Parshiyos of Vayakhel and Pekudei are read together, we need to focus on how these two aspects fuse together. Reading them separately gives us the opportunity to focus on the specific message of each Parsha in isolation.
The final sicha that we have from the Rebbe was delivered on Shabbos Parshas Vayakhel 5772. That year, Vayakhel was also read by itself, separate from Pekudei. Two days later on כ“ז אדר the Rebbe suffered a stroke, after which there were no more sichos. This gives tremendous significance to the message of this sicha.
The overriding theme of this sicha is Achdus, unity amongst the Jewish people and unity within Creation. The theme of Achdus is also reflected in the special reading of Parshas Shekalim. Each Jew would give only half a shekel, the message being that every Jew on their own is incomplete, only a half. In order to be whole, to become a Shekel Hakodesh, we are required to unite with a fellow Jew in a manner of ואהבת לרעך כמוך.
The Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of a lack of Achdus. Strengthening our unity will bring Moshiach, when we will have the ultimate gathering that the prophets tell us about. The Rebbe concludes that sicha with these very words; קהל גדול ישובו הנה "a great community will return here", to Yerushalaim our holy city and the Third Beis Hamikdash.
In Torah thought, a Kahal (community) is not merely a conglomerate of individuals who band together with a common goal or for a common purpose.
A Kahal becomes a new entity which transcends the sum-total of its constituent members. A member of a Kahal transcends their individuality to become a part of something greater than themselves. All of the members merge together equally as one to create this magical entity. Each member, irrespective of who they are, is an equal homogenous part of this unity.
For example; a minyan is not just a numeric gathering of 10 individuals. It takes on a new quantitatively different status allowing Dvarim Shebikedusha to be recited and causing a greater manifestation of the Shechina. Each member, the scholar and simpleton alike are equal.
This does not mean that as members of a community we lose our individual identity. Each member of the community is unique. They have their own strengths and talents which they can offer and are obliged to actualise and develop. They retain their own views, interests and opinions.
A member of community exists in two modes; as an individual but also as part of the Kahal.
To become part of a Kahal one is required - on a certain level - to surrender and transcend their differences. We are often required to forgo our personal opinions in deference to the greater good and broader will. But this does not mean that a community is made up of faceless members. There is a level of duality which pervades a Kahal.
One of the metaphors used to describe the unity of the Jewish people is that of a human body. All Jews of each generation and indeed all Jew throughout all generations constitute one macro-body.
A body is a solitary unit. When we look at ourselves in the mirror we see a body, not just a collection of individual limbs. At the same time, the body does comprise individual limbs. Each limb has a unique function. But they all surrender themselves to serve the collective body with their unique function.
Most years, the Parshiyos of Vayakhel and Pekudei are read together. This year the Parshiyos are read separately. The themes reflected in the names of these Parshiyos are diametrically opposed.
Vayakhel means to gather. Coming from the word Kahal, it stresses the unity of the people and how we form one collective. Pekudei on the other hand means to count. Counting something stresses its individual value. Pekudei emphasises the unique nature of each individual.
We are required to “live with the times” by applying the message of the weekly Parsha to our daily lives. When the Parshiyos of Vayakhel and Pekudei are read together, we need to focus on how these two aspects fuse together. Reading them separately gives us the opportunity to focus on the specific message of each Parsha in isolation.
The final sicha that we have from the Rebbe was delivered on Shabbos Parshas Vayakhel 5772. That year, Vayakhel was also read by itself, separate from Pekudei. Two days later on כ“ז אדר the Rebbe suffered a stroke, after which there were no more sichos. This gives tremendous significance to the message of this sicha.
The overriding theme of this sicha is Achdus, unity amongst the Jewish people and unity within Creation. The theme of Achdus is also reflected in the special reading of Parshas Shekalim. Each Jew would give only half a shekel, the message being that every Jew on their own is incomplete, only a half. In order to be whole, to become a Shekel Hakodesh, we are required to unite with a fellow Jew in a manner of ואהבת לרעך כמוך.
The Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of a lack of Achdus. Strengthening our unity will bring Moshiach, when we will have the ultimate gathering that the prophets tell us about. The Rebbe concludes that sicha with these very words; קהל גדול ישובו הנה "a great community will return here", to Yerushalaim our holy city and the Third Beis Hamikdash.