Help us continue to do the great work we have been privileged to do by sponsoring a shiur or by making even a small donation. For more information please email us at Nitzotzos@gmail.com Many years Vayakehl and Pekudei are read as one double parsha. The connection between these two parshiyos is obvious as both deal with the Mishkan but when we look at the names of these two parshiyos we see that there is an interesting contrast. Vayakhel means "and he gathered"while Pekudei means "accounting."One cannot help but notice that Vayakhel connotes a focus on the gathering together of individuals to form a community whereas Pekudei connotes the individual being counted as a unique and disparate entity. So which one are we? Are we all individuals with our distinct personalities, talents etc... or are we only meaningful when we use our individual talents to become a part of a larger community and contribute to the greater whole? What is strange is that these parshiyos seem to have switched names. Vayakhel begins with Moshe gathering together the people to give them the Mitzvah of Shabbos and the Mitzvah of the building of the Mishkan. These are the two centers of community in Jewish life, one is a community in time and the other a community in space. On Shabbos we set aside our creativity and come together as a community in our Shuls (modeled after the Mishkan) where the community has its home. But Parshas Vayakhel mostly deals with the individual details of the building of the Mishkan
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