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Parshas Vakahel-Pekudei

Gentiles to Bring Sacrifices on Sukkot

The Torah goes into exacting detail to describe the construction of the Mishkan, the temporary edifice (Tabernacle) built by the Jews during the time they traveled in the desert. G-d began describing how to build a house of worship to Him three parshas ago in Parshas Terumah. The description continued in the following two Parshas and is reviewed in this week's double portion of Vakahel-Pekudei. Finally, at the conclusion of Pekudei, which is also the conclusion of the book of Shemos, the focus of a huge proportion of the Torah, the holy Tabernacle, is finally constructed:

"It was in the first month of the second year on the first of the month that the Tabernacle was erected."1

The prophet Isaiah notes who is to serve G-d in the Holy Temple:

"And the foreigners [gentiles] who join themselves to Hashem to serve Him and to love the Name of Hashem to become servants unto Him, [and of the Jewish people,] all who guard the Sabbath against desecration, and grasp my covenant tightly--I will bring them to my holy mountain, and I will gladden them in my House of prayer; their Olah offerings and their feast offerings will find favor on My Altar; for My House will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."2

In other words, the Temple is a place of service for all who follow G-d's law, i.e., for the gentiles who follow the Seven Universal Laws and for the Jews who follow the special commandments only given to them, such as observance of the Sabbath. If a person so qualifies, his or her sacrifice will "find favor on My Altar." In fact, the sacrifice of the gentile Noach was so perfect that Hashem decided on the spot to never again curse the world:

"So Noach went forth, and his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives with him. Every living thing that moves on earth came out of the Ark by their families. Then Noah built an altar to Hashem and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered Olah offerings on the altar. Hashem smelled the pleasing aroma, and Hashem said in His heart: 'I will not continue to curse again the ground because of man ....'"3

Noteworthy is the fact that the offering brought by Noach was the Olah offering, the holiest of all offerings. Since the Olah is brought as the continuous offering on a daily basis, and as the additional offering on holidays, Chassidic Gentiles will have no shortage of opportunities to bring offerings when the Temple is rebuilt, as Maimonidies makes clear in chapter 3 of Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbanot - The Laws of the Sacrificial Procedures.

And during the holiday of Sukkot, the right of gentiles to bring sacrifices is elevated to an obligation:

"And it will be that all who survive from all the nations who came against Jerusalem will go up, year after year, to bow down to the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Festival of Sukkot. If, however, any of the families of the earth will not go up to Jerusalem to bow down to the King, the Lord of hosts, no rain will fall upon them ....On that day will be [written] on the horse's bells, 'Holy unto Hashem'; and the pots in the Temple of Hashem will be as [numerous] as the bowls before the altar. Indeed, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts, and all who will offer sacrifices will come and take of them, and cook [the sacrifices] in them."4

Rashi explains that the phrase, "On that day will be [written] on the horse's bells, 'Holy unto Hashem,'" means that the need for sacrifices will be so great during Sukkot that the horses' bells will have to be melted down to make additional vessels to carry the sacrificial offerings--little wonder considering there will be billions of Chassidic Gentiles bringing sacrifices.

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1Shemos 40:17
2Isaiah 55:6-7
3Bereishis 8:18-21
4Zechariah 14:16-21

 

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