“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”�Matthew 7:7-8, NKJV
"These are the accounts of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, as they were recorded according to the commandment of Moses, by the service of the Levites, under the hand of Itamar son of Aaron the kohen.”�Exodus 38:21
אֵלֶּה פְקוּדֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן
פָּקַד (v) heb
“…the Hebrew word for "count," pakod, which also means to "remember" and "be concerned with."
Nachmanides, cited at Chabad.org
“…the word פקד / pakad is a crucial term in the Torah. While it can mean “to pay attention” or “to attend to,” it especially means “to know something or someone as an individual.” Therefore, there is special poignancy in Genesis 21, when we read, “God pakad Sarah” after so many childless years, and she conceived a son. The same word is used when God pakad Hannah (1 Samuel 2:21). Similarly, pekudimare all the specifications and accoutrements of the wilderness Mishkan (Ex. 38:21).”
The Secret Code, R’ Neal Gold, Hebrew College
וַיַּשְׁבַּ֣ע יוֹסֵ֔ף אֶת־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר פָּקֹ֨ד יִפְקֹ֤ד אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶתְכֶ֔ם וְהַעֲלִתֶ֥ם אֶת־עַצְמֹתַ֖י מִזֶּֽה׃
“So Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, �saying, “When God has taken notice of you, �you shall carry up my bones from here.”
Genesis 50:25, Sefaria.org
G‑d will surely remember you (50:24)
“The children of Israel were given this sign: whoever comes and says pakod yifkod (“surely remember”) is their true redeemer.”
Midrash Tanchuma cited at Chabad.org
לֵ֣ךְ וְאָֽסַפְתָּ֞ אֶת־זִקְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֤ אֲלֵהֶם֙ יְהֹוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י אֲבֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ נִרְאָ֣ה אֵלַ֔י אֱלֹהֵ֧י אַבְרָהָ֛ם יִצְחָ֥ק וְיַעֲקֹ֖ב לֵאמֹ֑ר פָּקֹ֤ד פָּקַ֙דְתִּי֙ אֶתְכֶ֔ם וְאֶת־הֶעָשׂ֥וּי לָכֶ֖ם בְּמִצְרָֽיִם׃
“Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: יהוה the God of your fathers’ [house]—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said, ‘I have taken note of you and of what is being done to you in Egypt….”�Exodus 3:16, Sefaria.org
“The phrase “Pakod pakadti” seems to be a secret codeword! These are the words that an authentic redeemer will use, so that the slaves will know that this time is for real—it’s not a false hope destined for disappointment. So Moses is very careful to quote these precise words to the leaders of the slave community when he returns to Egypt. When he says “Pakod pakadti”—that I, God, have taken note of your suffering—the slaves say to each other, “Those are the secret words! Freedom has finally arrived!”
The Secret Code, R’ Neal Gold, Hebrew College
פָּקֹ֤ד פָּקַ֙דְתִּי֙
בְּבִיאַת הַמָּשִׁיחַ
אור לישראל
בְּסֵפֶר גְּאֻלָּה וִישׁוּעָה
אליהו הנביא זכור לטוב השנה הזו
אליהו באחרית הימים
Pakod pakadti = 778
“One must know that the redemption has two appointed stages (Zohar 119a)…the first stage and is called pekidah…the second stage and is called zechirah.”
R’ Moshe Chayyim Luzzato, Ma’amar HaGeulah, Secrets of Redemption, translated by Rabbi Mordechai Nissim, Feldheim Publishers, pgs. 273-275
“When he came near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But now, they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come on you, when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side, and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn’t know the time of your visitation.”
Luke 19:41-44
לֹא יָדַעַתְּ עֵת פְּקֻדָּתֵךְ
“As we arrive at the end of the Book of Shmot (Exodus), we are left with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the book seems to have a happy ending. Any reader who appreciates the hopelessness of the situation of the Israelite slaves in Egypt as they are described in the book's early chapters, and contrasts their plight with the end of the book, where the people are free and spiritually attuned, must declare Shmot an exceptional narrative of liberation, a victorious tour de force. . . Shmot ends as the Glory of God fills the Mishkan, in the midst of this unique nation. Was this, in fact, the way the book was supposed to end? At first glance, the question seems absurd; what better final chapter could we have hoped for? The Glory of God Himself had descended into the completed Temple (Mishkan). The entire camp was transformed into a place of holiness, like no other known to mankind. The Children of Israel stood poised to continue their journey, to fulfill their destiny. . .
“And therein lies the rub: This entire generation will never make it to the Promised Land. Likewise, their leader Moshe will never step foot in the "Land flowing with milk and honey.” . . . the ending of the book is a bittersweet tale of missed opportunity. What we thought was a story of triumph becomes a description of failure. Shmot concludes as the temporary temple, the Tabernacle or Mishkan, is consecrated. In fact, the Mishkan should never have existed…�As originally scripted, the "screenplay" was quite different: After a short stopover at Sinai, where the people would gain the spiritual focus and energy that would carry them forward to their final destination, Moshe should have led the glorious march that ended in Jerusalem. There, the Presence of God would have filled the newly-built Temple, the Beit HaMikdash, the eternal seat of God on earth. The Word of God should have rung out from Jerusalem, as teachings of decency, peace and freedom began, first as a ripple but soon as a tidal wave of righteousness, to sweep across and enlighten the world."
R’ Ari Kahn, M’oray Ha’Aish: A Happy Ending, Aish.com
“Whenever a person works for the sake of G-d, even if he is engage in mundane tasks, his actions are considered to be analogous to building the Tabernacle.”�
Rebbe Nachman’s Torah, Volume 2, �Breslov Research Institute, pg. 293
The glory of G‑d filled the Tabernacle (40:34)
What is the meaning of the verse (Song of Songs 5:1), “I have come into My garden, My sister, My bride”? This means [the G‑d says, “I have returned] to My bridal chamber, to the place which has been My principal abode from the very beginning.” For was not the principal abode of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) in the terrestrial regions? For so it is written (Genesis 3:8), “They heard the voice of the L‑rd G‑d walking in the garden” . . . But when Adam sinned, the Shechinah betook itself to the first heaven. When Cain sinned, it betook itself to the second heaven. When the generation of Enosh sinned, it ascended to the third heaven. When the generation of the Flood sinned, it rose to the fourth heaven. When the generation of the Tower of Babel sinned, it moved up into the fifth heaven. When the people of Sodom sinned, it rose into the sixth heaven. And when the Egyptians sinned, it ascended into the seventh heaven…
“Then arose seven righteous people who brought the Shechinah down from the celestial to the terrestrial regions: Abraham brought it down from the seventh heaven to the sixth, Isaac brought it down from the sixth to the fifth, Jacob brought it down from the fifth to the fourth, Levi brought it down from the fourth to the third, Kohath brought it down from the third to the second, Amram brought it down from the second to the first, and Moses brought it down from the celestial to the terrestrial region. . . . When did the Shechinah come to dwell on earth? On the day when the Tabernacle was erected, as it says, “The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of G‑d filled the Tabernacle.”
Midrash Rabbah cited at Chabad.org
“The Tabernacle was the vehicle for revealing Godliness. Godliness is everywhere and can be found in every single thing and place. But Godliness is revealed only when a person looks for it and seeks it out. The Tabernacle corresponds to the level of “Ayeh? Where is the place of His glory?” (Mussaf Kedushah). In every place that a person finds God, that is where he erects his tabernacle, for there Godliness is revealed (Likutey Halakhot VII, p. 51a).”
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. REBBE NACHMAN'S TORAH: EXODUS-LEVITICUS - Breslov Insights into the Weekly Torah Reading (Function). Kindle Edition.
“It is not the righteous people who dwell in Gan Eden. It is Gan Eden that dwells within them... Seek not a Gan Eden which lies somewhere out there, in the beyond your Gan Eden lies deep within you.”
The Inner Temple, R’ Yehoshua Starret, �paraphrasing Likutey Moharan I,191
“The Kingdom of God does not come with observation. Neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.”
Luke 17:20-21
“He that seeks will not rest until he finds; and he that has found shall marvel; and he that has marveled shall reign, and he that has reigned shall rest.”�Gospel of the Hebrews�Cited in Clement Stromateis 2.9.45.5
Excerpted from Ron Cameron in The Other Gospels: Non-Canonical Gospel Texts �(Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1982), pp. 85-86, cited at EarlyChristianWritings.com
חֲזַק חֲזַק וְנִתְחַזֵּק
Be Strong, Be Strong and let us be strengthened!