Two Minute Torah Podcast

Vayakhel-Pikudei 5772 by Scott Littky

Shalom, my name is Scott Littky, education & youth director of Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, VA. Welcome to KOACH's Two-Minute Torah; project of the College Department of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

This week's Torah sedra, Vayakhel/Pekude is stacked full of topics to discuss in a D'var Torah. I would though like to focus on the idea of our responsibility to our Jewish community and to the general community at large. We learn this week that we have a requirement and obligation to give a half-shekel towards the building of the Mishkan. Now many a Bar/Bat Mitzvah speech has focused on this issue and many a synagogue President has commented on how they would desire that their congregation's would give so much that they would have to request that their members stop giving. The reality today is that this would never happen.

I think that today we may often forget about our obligation to give to Jewish causes or the giving of Tzedakah. A few years ago I learned this lesson first hand from my rabbi and teacher. I was with my rabbi walking to hear a presentation in Washington, D.C. As we approached the building we needed to enter a "homeless man" asked if we had any spare change. My rabbi gladly reached into his pocket and gave a couple of dollars to the man. When I asked my rabbi about this he told me that he always keeps a few dollars in his pocket for this very purpose. To me this was a very important lesson on our obligation to help others. Some may question this practice because we do not truly know the persons situation but we are taught that it is not our role to question their situation. Our obligation is to give and work towards repairing our world, (Tikkun Olam.)

I hope as we move forward in the Jewish calendar towards the celebration of Pesach we remember that there are those fellow Jews and others who need our assistance and we remember our obligation to give!

Shabbat Shalom.