Parsha “Pekudei” (Exodus 38:21 through the End of the Book) is the last Torah portion in the Book of Exodus. It does sound quite a bit like something we’ve heard before, not even that long ago (and there’s no doubt a point there…) and seems to have some OTHER ‘redundancy’ as well (OK, arguably for a similar point.)
Most of us have probably heard the claim that, especially since this is all “old” testament, and now everyone is the ‘temple of God’ anyway, none of this matters. Besides, it’s not “salvific.” Scripture ‘as Written’ says something very different. And this parsha is a pretty good proof of it.
The Erev Shabbat overview of the whole parsha :
The Sabbath day teaching this week – as it probably must – picks up where He left off. We do see the completion of all the things He has laid out for them, and commanded to be done, via Moshe. And vitally, it seems- because He repeats the phrase no less than EIGHTEEN times in this Torah portion alone! – they finished the mishkan (tabernacle) “according to ALL that YHVH commanded Moshe, so did they,” and then also erected it “as YHVH commanded Moses.”
But it’s some of the connections in this parsha, both to others that precede, and prophecies that follow, and to very current events, that will prove most…thought provoking.
Some will find this discussion refreshingly blunt, some will be offended. (But on that score, we have been warned: Matthew 11:6, 13:57, 15:12, 24…and many others.)
It appears that the Book of Exodus ends with another ‘atbash,’ an “open and close” set of verses which dramatically underscores whatever is nested withing. But this one is particularly poignant NOW, ‘for such a time as this.’ In so many ways.
“Pekudei: A Great Big ATBASH around ‘El Kanah’ – Why?”
The combined two-part podcast is here, via Hebrew Nation Radio.
