This class was presented on Tuesday, 25 Adar, 5785, March 25, 2025, Parshas Pekudei, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

Why did Moshe feel compelled to account for every coin he received? Did people think Moses packed away some of the cash to buy real estate in Saudi Arabia or purchase his private jet? Even if it is important to know that Moses gave an accounting to teach us transparency, the Torah could have simply said that Moses gave an accounting of all the gold, silver, and copper contributed to the Sanctuary project.

The theme of the entire second book of the Torah, Shemos, is dedicated to nation-building. In Genesis, we are referred to as “benei Yisroel,” the children of Israel; we are a family, and a fragmented one as such. It is only in Exodus, when we are first called an “Am,” a nation. This is the pervading thread of the entire book of Shemos. While the narratives of Genesis focus on individuals—Adam, Eve, the snake, Cain, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Lot, Hagar, Ishmael, Isaac, Rebecca, Esau, Jacob, Rachel, Leah, Judah, Joseph etc.—Exodus is a book about a people, a nation. Individuals are mentioned, of course, but all these names are discussed as representatives of a nation or assisting the formation of a nation. Shemos is about the collective, not the individual.

Here comes a profound challenge. Does nation-building, by definition, come at the expense of the individual? Sure, you can’t have a nation without individuals joining together, but perhaps the value of the individual is only insofar as he or she becomes a part of the whole. The value of my “I” is only because it contributes to the “We.”

The class explored the profound need for each of us to be seen, and to be able to truly see others, especially our children and students, see them in their full power and presence.