Parsha Mnemonics — Pekudei
The parsha of Pekudei contains 92 Passages and its mnemonics are bli kol (בלי כל).
In truth if you look into an average Chumash you will not find a mnemonic at the end of this parsha. However the Rebbe has suggested that the mnemonics for the portion of Pekudei are the words bli kol. The reason why a mnemonic may not be found in some Chumashim is that bli kol, loosely translated, means ‘without anything’ — i.e., ‘without a mnemonic’. Some typesetters left the mnemonic out of this parsha, as they assumed that bli kol was an instruction that it should be omitted.
Bli Kol
Bli kol is the last mnemonic in the final portion of the Book of Exodus. Therefore it is reasonable to say that the mnemonic not only reflects the theme of Pekudei but also the entire book.
The main highlights in the Book of Exodus (besides the construction of the Mishkan, which is mentioned in our parsha) are the Exodus from Egypt and the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
The Exodus from Egypt was really the beginning of a journey for the Jewish people, not an end. The goal was to enter the Holy Land of Israel. There were 42 journeys in all. Thus our first mnemonic, bli (בלי), has a numerical value of 42.
The second highlight in this book was G‑d’s revelation on Mount Sinai and the giving of the Ten Commandments. From the day after they left Egypt, the people of Israel began counting the days in anticipation for receiving the Torah from G‑d. In this way they prepared themselves spiritually for 49 days, and on the 50th day G‑d gave them the Torah. The second mnemonic, kol (כל), has a value of 50.1
Bli Dai
What connection do these mnemonics have with the actual portion of Pekudei? The words bli kol are synonymous with bli dai, meaning ‘without an end’, ‘non-stop’. Both kol and dai equal 5 in mispar katan, their small numerical value. Moreover, both words allude to the attribute of yesod, the energy-funnel that channels the upper five attributes of blessing down into this world. Therefore, the mnemonic bli kol alludes to G‑d’s unstinting flow of light and blessing through the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, which received and funneled G‑d’s light into the world as a whole.
Amen=92
One who says Amen after one's own blessing is considered haughty. However one can recite Amen after his own blessing when reciting multiple blessings, and we do so in the Grace After Meals.
Amen means ‘true’ and ‘strong’, and thus to affirm and validate everything that has been stated in the blessings, we conclude with Amen. The Book of Exodus ends with the parsha of Pekudei, which contains 92 verses. This number is equivalent to the gematria of Amen (with the kolel), to affirm the contents of the second book of the Torah with a roaring Amen!
Amen is also the gematria of two of G‑d’s names, Havayah and Ad-nai. Havayah refers to G‑d’s transcendence, while Ad-nai refers to G‑d’s immanence. Thus, saying Amein alludes to how G‑d, Who is beyond time and space, rests within the Mishkan, within time and space. This concept is the basic theme of Pekudei and the objective of the Mishkan: G‑d dwelling among humankind.
Placing an Alef in front of a word makes it a future tense. Amen, which starts with Alef, therefore conveys an affirmation that once again we will see G‑d dwelling within the Third Holy Temple, with Moshiach’s arrival. And let us say Amen!
Story
A young couple was distraught after being told by her doctor that she could not have children.
That night, her husband Barry, a non-observant Jew, had a dream. In his dream he saw the Lubavitcher Rebbe wearing teffilin. The Rebbe began to remove the hand teffilin and passed it to Barry. The following morning, Barry resolved to immediately begin putting on tefillin daily and praying at his local Chabad House.
Upon returning home from the Chabad House, he told his wife the dream, and added, “Darling, I know we are going to have children.” She thought her husband had gone crazy.
The following night, Barry dreamt again of the Rebbe. This time, the Rebbe was the sandek at a bris and was holding two babies. Full of faith and excitement, Barry related this second dream to his wife, and insisted that she would one day give birth to twins. Indeed, after Barry had put on tefillin every day for nine months, his wife gave birth to twins: a boy and a girl.
Actions speak louder than dreams!
1. Rabbi Hershel Greenberg commented that the term kol alludes to the leader of the Jewish people as in the Talmudic phrase ”for the Nassi (leader) is kol (everything).” The week of Pikudei, the 27th of Adar just prior to the Rebbe’s 92nd birthday — hinted by 92 passages in this parsha — was when a devastating stroke befell the Rebbe, the Nassi, the Kol. This ultimately led to Gimmel Tamuz when the Rebbe was physically taken from us, leaving us, in a sense, bli Kol.