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DVAR TORAH
 
Parashiot Vayakel and Pekudei discuss the fulfillment of the earlier directive to build the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. After Moshe announced that the collection will take place, the Torah tells us (36:5) that Bnei Yisroel responded too generously, and they in fact had extra materials. This generosity is even more impressive when you consider the context in which it was donated. The Torah says in Devarim that it was only an 11 day journey from Har Sinai to Kadesh Barnea. From there, Bnei Yisroel sent the spies and were supposed to enter the land 40 days later. Instead, after the sin of the spies, they wandered the desert for 40 years and ultimately had to conquer the land of Israel, and the Mishkan lasted 480 years. In reality, the Mishkan was originally only supposed to last a few months, not hundreds of years. 
 
Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetsky points out that the temporary nature of the Mishkan highlights the incredible gifts of the Jewish people at this time. They could have easily excused themselves from sizable gifts based on the temporary nature of the Mishkan. Instead, they gave in excess, never questioning the importance of their gifts. Bnei Yisroel realized that the Shechina resting among them in the Mishkan is of the highest priority, so they donated materials generously and enthusiastically, despite the temporary nature of the Mishkan.
 
In life, we often do not want to put a lot of time or effort into matters that seem temporary in nature. However, this can be very short sighted, as most of our pursuits are in fact ephemeral, and if we never go "all in" on these pursuits, we will ultimately not be fulfilled. Additionally, just as the Mishkan lasted hundreds of years longer than it was supposed to, you never know which short term pursuits will develop into permanent institutions. For example, many business have been started based on college research projects, and entire sefarim have been written that started as simply researching one Tosefot or Rambam. We must strive for excellence in  all of our pursuits and put forth our best effort in everything that we hoe to accomplish.


Shabbat Shalom
 
Rabbi Weinberg, Principal



NEWS & VIEWS





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DVAR TORAH
 
By Rivka Kaminsky
 
 
Rabbi Daniel Glatstein, in the beginning of his speech called "Purim To Parah : 'COW FIX' - It Worked For Achashveirosh," addresses the question of whether or not Vashti had a tail. According to one opinion in the Gemara, she didn't physically have a tail; rather, when deciding not to go to Achashveirosh's party, she remembered that women were supposed to be modest, because the first woman, Chava, was created from the tail of Adam.

There's a story in the Gemara about a poor Jew who sold his cow to a non-Jew. The cow refused to work on Shabbos no matter how much the owner hit it, so he went to the Jew and asked him to take the cow back. Instead, the Jew spoke to the cow and told it it could work on Shabbos because it didn't belong to a Jew anymore, and the cow listened. The non-Jewish owner was so amazed that he converted and became a Tana, a Rabbi in the time of the Mishnah, and his name was Yochanan ben Torasa, meaning Yochanan the son of a cow. The Rama MiPano says that this cow was a gilgal of Vashti. She made Jewish women work on Shabbos, so she didn't work on Shabbos in the form of a cow. You could also say the Vashti did have a tail; she was a cow! He also says that R' Yochanan was a gilgal of Achashveirosh.

The Medrash asks how does it make sense for a cow to be the one to cause someone to convert? Through this story we see that cows are very powerful. We also know they are powerful because their ashes make people pure after being in contact with a dead body.

The connection between Purim and Parshas Parah is that even though at the end of the Megillah Achashveirosh is taken over by badness and he put a tax on the Jews, later, he encounters a cow and converts and becomes a great Rabbi. We see the power of the parah, the cow, through Achashveirosh in the form of R' Yochanan ben Toraso.

Just like the cow had the power to bring someone closer to Hashem, we, as people, can bring, if not someone else, at least ourselves closer to Hashem by learning Torah and setting a good example to those around us.

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The previous issue of the Humans of Hillel featured an article about AJ Edelman, a religious skeleton racer working to achieve his dream of representing Israel and his people on the international sporting stage by participating in the 2018 Olympics. Skeleton racers like Edelman experience the 5Gs, a pressurized weight that is also felt by fighter pilots and astronauts, as they plummet head-first down a steep and treacherous ice track on a tiny sled with no brakes or steering devices at speeds reaching 75mph.Edelman represented Israel in international competition for three seasons, training to qualify Israel for the first time in the sliding sport.
 
On January 17th, Edelman was officially selected to represent Israel in the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea! As one of ten members of the Israeli Olympic team, Edelman was the only one competing in the skeleton races. Other sports in which Israel  competed included Men's Singles Skating, Pairs Skating, Ice Dancing, Alpine Skiing, and Short Track Speed Skating.
 
Edelman's Olympic journey has relied entirely on donations and is self-funded. He says "There are no riches in skeleton. The only thing we get is the legacy we leave afterwards." To him, the most crucial piece of this is to make a Kiddush Hashem (to make G-d's name great). "What I've been given is a responsibility, a blessing, it's an honor and I don't take that lightly... Israel has given me the chance to represent them and I will try to do my best with the gift they have given me."
 
At the Olympics, the competition was was made up of four races, with this year's 30 racers taking turns speeding down the slope, on three runs each. The 20 racers with the lowest total combined times in the first three races were qualified to continue on to a fourth round, where they competed for medals. Edelman finished the third run in 28th position in a time of 52.35 seconds, which was 2.17 seconds slower than leader Yun Sungbin of Korea. Although he was not eligible to win a medal, Edelman became Israel's first Olympic skeleton athlete and was visibly moved to tears as he waved to the crowd after finishing his last run. Edelman described the experience as "an honor unparalleled in my life."
 
While AJ has accomplished his personal goal of competing at the Olympics, he hopes to continue to inspire more Jewish and Israeli participation in sport, and to use the Olympics as a springboard to launch a foundation to aid Jewish and Israeli athletes in their athletic pursuits. He strongly believes that "Jewish and Israeli athletes act as ambassadors of their community, people and homeland, and there are far too few." 

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ANNOUNCEMENTS




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Did you know the Bnot Sheirut have their own Facebook page? It's filled with lots of pictures and videos! Check it out at:  www.facebook.com/PittsburghBanot

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When you  #StartWithaSmile , Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh. Bookmark the link and support us every time you shop.  https://smile.amazon.com/ch/25-1067130   



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At Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh, we educate young men and women with unlimited capacity who compete in a superior manner in all challenges undertaken. Our students are Torah observant models of exemplary character, who love G-d, the Jewish people, and the land of Israel. To say that our students possess a love of learning, confidence and the ability to think critically, merely highlights the value of a Hillel education. What we ultimately achieve each day, and have been achieving for 70 years, is the gift of instilling each student with the foundation for a life spent actively serving and leading the Jewish community and society.


Micki Myers, Editor | Hillel Happenings | 412 521-8131 | hillelhappenings@hillelpgh.org |www. hillelpgh.org