Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei - March 21

In the Torah portion Vayakhel, God commands the Israelites not to do any work in the sanctuary on Shabbat. The Israelites gather gifts for God. Moses says that Ohaliab and Bezalel should take the gifts of the Israelites and build God’s Sanctuary. In Pekudei, Aaron and the priests are given their clothing for work in the Sanctuary. This marks the completion of the Tabernacle construction. Moses anoints Aaron and his sons to make their priestly positions official. A cloud descends upon the Tent of Meeting, and God’s presence fills the Tabernacle. (Exodus 35:1 - 40:38)

- Watch Torah stories on bimbam: https://youtu.be/olEbSzPmgd8; https://youtu.be/fIeB25q9mMo

-Themes: Protesting Unfairness & Completing the Mishkan

-Make a verbal list of the unfair things we see in the world. Ask how you might help fix them.

- Choose together what you want to do as a new tradition for Shabbat. Maybe eat breakfast for dinner, or wear fancy clothing, or take a walk around the block while walking backwards.

-Make parallels to how after the Mishkan was completed, Jews prayed differently. After schools closed, we pray differently too.

-Have your kids help you pick out and create the kiddush snack.

Challenge of the week: Build a Mishkan replica. Post pictures or explanations of your creations in the comments. Here is the floor plan.