Parasha Guide » Vayakhel

There are no direct references to hunger in this Torah portion.

Moses calls together the people and they bring forth the precious items required to make the Tabernacle of which there is an overabundance.  Those with skills create the particular objects. 

The Israelites are living in encampment and preparing to set out on their journey to the Promised Land.  Due to horrible political situations in parts of the world, there are thousands of people living in encampments as refugees.  Jewish World Watch is an organization that seeks to advocate for grassroots change in the Darfur region of Sudan and in Chad where many of the refugees live in camps.  One project of the organization is  the “Solar Cooker Project.”  Women in the refugee camps are provided with materials and taught how to create solar cooking ovens because the search for firewood outside of the protected campground makes them vulnerable to attack.  Using these ovens eliminates the need for the firewood search.  In addition to going to Jewish World Watch to find out about current advocacy campaigns to support the people of Darfur, consider purchasing solar cookers as one of your Tzedakah donations for the year.