"And they shall make for Me a Sanctuary

Through His immense mercies, this Shabbat Parshat Terumah as well, we were privileged to have a Shabbat filled with prayers, lessons, melodies, and songs. Together, these amounted to nearly ten hours in the presence of our teacher, the Rav shlit"a (may he live long and good days). On the eve of the Holy Sabbath, the Rav came out for the Mincha (afternoon prayer) exactly at the time of candle lighting (16:48). The Mincha prayer lasted about half an hour. Afterward, the Rav began Kabbalat Shabbat (the service welcoming the Sabbath), where 'Lecha Dodi'—which lasts about forty minutes—is sung together with our teacher the Rav shlit"a and the public with an incomparable Sabbath pleasantness. Following this, the Rav continued the prayer service as usual, Maariv (evening prayer) with all the melodies. Before entering his home, he said the Zemirot (Sabbath songs) of Friday night according to his holy custom. At the end of two and a half hours, he returned to his holy residence at 19:15.

On Sabbath morning, the Rav shlit"a entered for prayer at 4:40 AM. The Shacharit (morning prayer) lasted about two and a half hours, starting from Tikkun Chatzos (Midnight Rectification) and the morning Zemirot, Korbanot (sacrificial readings), and Pesukei D'Zimra (verses of praise) with great vitality. All the melodies were sung with enthusiasm. The innovation this Shabbat was the melody of 'Ein Arach Lecha Hashem Elokeinu...' (There is none like You, Hashem our G-d), which they sang for 17 minutes. Oh, the Sabbath, the pleasantness of souls! The Rav shlit"a stood for the Shemoneh Esrei (the silent standing prayer) at 7:00 AM. After the conclusion of the Chazarat HaShatz (the cantor's repetition), the Rav shlit"a began the Kriyat HaTorah (Torah reading), where various people celebrating joyous occasions and Yahrzeits (anniversaries of passing) were called up one after another, totaling about fifteen people. For the Maftir (the final Torah portion), the Bar Mitzvah boy Nachman Philo may his light shine was called up, and he even pleasantly read the Haftarah (portion from the Prophets), "And Hashem gave wisdom to Solomon...".

Upon the conclusion of Yekum Purkan and the singing of 'Zara Chaya V'Kayama...' (Living and enduring offspring), the Rav stood for the Musaf (additional) prayer. After the Musaf prayer, the Rav shlit"a continued the service as usual, from 'Kaveh el Hashem' (Hope in Hashem) until after 'Aleinu L'Shabeach.' After the prayer, our teacher the Rav shlit"a recited Kiddush (sanctification over wine) over the cup, delivered a very short lesson, and concluded it with Kaddish. At 08:05, our teacher the Rav shlit"a entered his holy residence after three and a half hours of Shacharit, Torah reading, and Musaf. After the prayer, a Brit (circumcision) was held at the residence of our teacher the Rav shlit"a for the son of Rabbi Mendel, son of the Chassid Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Richter shlit"a.

At 17:22, our teacher the Rav shlit"a entered for the Mincha prayer of the Holy Sabbath. What was special this Shabbat was the length of the Mincha prayer specifically. First, our teacher gave a two-minute lesson on the obligation to vote in the upcoming elections for Agudat Yisrael, whose symbol is the letter 'Gimmel'. Afterward, for a full hour (!), those in the know say that for at least a whole year, we have not merited such length in the Mincha prayer of the Holy Sabbath. This was followed by the Torah reading for Parshat Tetzaveh with three people called to the Torah, and the Amidah (standing prayer). At the end of the Mincha prayer, the Rav shlit"a went down to his room to wash his hands for the third meal. Two minutes later, he entered to conduct the Tish (holy table) of the Seudah Shlishit (third meal). For several minutes, the Rav shlit"a distributed Shirayim (remnants of the meal) consisting of various fruits and sweets. Afterward, one of the young men of our community performed a Siyum (completion ceremony) of Tractate Kiddushin. The Rav shlit"a spoke at the conclusion about how there is no craft like the study of Torah and told the young man to say the Kaddish for completions. After the Siyum, he began the Zemirot of the third meal according to his holy custom for about twenty minutes, followed by singing 'Yah Ribbon' (G-d, Master of the World) for about ten minutes. At the end, he began singing "Koh Amar Hashem Matza Chen BaMidbar" (Thus says Hashem, they found grace in the desert) for fifteen minutes. During the singing, the Rav rose from his chair and, together with the public, sang for about half an hour 'Koh Amar Hashem Zacharti Lach Chesed Ne'uraich...' (Thus says Hashem, I remember for you the kindness of your youth). At the conclusion of the singing, the Rav shlit"a led the Grace After Meals over a cup of wine and began delivering a lesson again. This time, it was the weekly lesson in the book 'Pele Yoetz' regarding the section on 'The Awakener of Human Holiness' for about five minutes. The Rav said in the lesson that for all women who take it upon themselves to lengthen their skirts to the ankle, our teacher the Rav shlit"a will pray for them three times every day for a year (!). After the lesson, the Rav began the Maariv prayer of the conclusion of the Sabbath with singing and melodies. After Maariv, the Rav performed Havdalah (ceremony marking the end of the Sabbath) with the singing of 'LaYehudim Hayta Ora...' (The Jews had light). After Havdalah, the Rav washed his hands for Melaveh Malka (the meal escorting the Queen)—which is the meal of David the King Mashiach. They sang all the Zemirot with special vitality and pleasantness. Before the song 'Eliyahu HaNavi' (Elijah the Prophet), he gave a lesson in the holy book 'Chayei Moharan' (The Life of Rebbe Nachman); in this lesson as well, the Rav again exhorted regarding the matter of Tzniut (modesty). After the songs, Grace After Meals was recited, and he entered his holy residence at 21:06, after exactly three hours and forty-five minutes that we were privileged to be together with him. In total, as mentioned, we were privileged to be in the holy shadow for about nine hours and forty minutes during Shabbat Terumah 5784 (2024).

A good week to all the people of the House of Israel!