This week's parsha deals with sacrifices offered in the Tabernacle and subsequently in the Temple. The Rabbis take notice of the out-of the-ordinary opening verse of the parsha - "And God spoke to Moshe, saying: command Aharon and his sons, saying: this is the instruction for the burnt-offering". It is rare for the Torah to tell us that God told Moshe to "command" his brother Aharon about the ritual in the Temple. Usually the Torah simply says that God told Moshe to tell Aharon what to do.

This week we begin the Book of Vayikra - Leviticus - which focuses on the ritual in the Mishkan, the Tabernacle in the desert. By the end of the previous book, the Book of Exodus, the Tabernacle has been completed, and has been filled with the Divine Presence, the clouds of glory which indicate the presence of God. The central ritual which takes place within the Tabernacle, the regular offering of sacrifices, is now the first order of business.

This week it all finally comes together: The Tabernacle in the desert, whose planning and construction we have been hearing so much about in recent weeks, is finally complete - totally up and running. As the long, detailed process of its construction draws to a close, we are told that "Thus was completed the work of the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting. And the people of Israel did all that God commanded Moshe, so they did. And they brought the Tabernacle to Moshe, the tent and all its vessels, its clasps, its beams, its bars and its columns and sockets."

The beginning of this week's parsha is one of a number of occasions when the Torah juxtaposes keeping the Shabbat with the building of the Mishkan - the Tabernacle in the desert. In Va'yakhel the connection between the Mishkan and Shabbat goes like this:

This week's parsha, Ki Tissa, contains the story of the golden calf. Moshe is due to return from the summit of Mt. Sinai, where he has been learning Torah from God. The People of Israel, nervously awaiting his return, believe that the promised forty days and forty nights of Moshe's absence are over, and yet there is no sign of him. It is this delay which, the Torah tells us, precipitated the people's demand for a new leader, a new God, and led to the creation of the golden calf:

In this week's parsha, Tezaveh, we get into the details of the Tabernacle, including the garments to be worn by Aharon, the high priest, and the other priests. Early in the parsha, God commands Moshe to make "sacred clothes for Aharon your brother, for honor and glory." The Torah then goes into some detail about each article of clothing, including a number of garments which contained gold and precious stones.

This week we begin the long description of the building of the Tabernacle - a portable Temple - by the Israelites in the desert. The Torah, over the next few parshas, will go into great detail about the materials used and the vessels and furnishings that were fashioned for this movable holy place.

As I write this, we here in Israel have just gone to the polls to elect a new government. One of the many issues which has emerged in the campaign is, somewhat surprisingly, Shabbat. Tommy Lapid's secular Shinui party has campaigned on a platform that calls for an end to the prohibition, which is currently in force in most cities in Israel, against public bus service on Shabbat, as well as the opening of shops and other businesses on the day of rest.

This week's parsha, Yitro, contains the dramatic giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. This event is prefaced by a dialogue which takes place between God and the Jewish people, mediated by Moshe, in which the Israelites agree to accept the Torah and thereby become God's treasured, holy nation.