Where, you are wondering, is the photo for parshat Vayakhel-Pikudei? It’s a double parsha (during leap years Vayakhel and Pikudei are read separately). Shouldn’t there be one, if not two, book photos? Indeed, you would be correct. However, the book I have chosen, Hannah’s Sabbath Dress, by Itzhak Schweiger-Dmi’el and illustrated by Ora Eithan, appears to be out of print. Woops.
The book is a lovely folktale about a girl who is delighted to celebrate Shabbat in her brand new white dress, which she accidentally ruins by helping an old man carrying a heavy sack of coal so that he can get home in time for Sabbath. The moon sees Hannah’s tears, and performs a miracle in honor of her generosity. All the coal stains turn into bright shining moon beams making Hannah’s dress even more special. It’s a great book to read with kids on a long Saturday, and I hope it is only temporarily out of print.
In the last two Torah portions of the book of Shemot, both of which are read this week, the importance of Shabbat is reiterated along with the final execution of all the preceding instructions for how to build the temporary temple used in the desert. When it comes time for the implementation, the Israelites bring so many donations that Moses actually has to tell them to stop. It was one of my favorite stories as a kid. Much like Hannah, they were just too generous. Also like Hannah they were rewarded – her with moonbeams on her dress, the Israelites with Gods presence in their midst.