"We Were Once Strangers": Rabbi David Ingber on Parshat Pekudei, 5782

Every week we turn to the Torah for clues on how to lead a life well-lived. Elsewhere in the Torah, the word pekudei and its root appear at moments of great hope, community, and sacred duty. Now, as we learn the pekudei of the tabernacle, we know we are not simply given a list of tasks, but rather actions with divine promise. Rabbi Ingber extends the tabernacle as a representation of the world and suggests that the Torah is in fact reminding us to be mindful, to keep promises, to be guardians, and to foster hope. Not only that, but as we observe Refugee Shabbat during a time of great crisis in Ukraine, we recognize how crucial it is to never allowing another to be subject to what we endured as strangers in Egypt.