VAYAKHEL, EXODUS 35:1-38:20 and PEKUDEI, EXODUS 38:21–40:38

 VAYAKHEL-PEKUDEI

I have a compulsion for which I apologize.  In the words of Rav Kook, the 1st Chief Rabbi of Israel: “I don't speak because I have the power to speak; I speak because I don't have the power to remain silent.”  

קְרָא בְגָ'רוֹן אַל-תַּחְשֹׂךְ, כַּשּׁוֹפָר הָרֵם קוֹלֶךָ; וְהַגֵּד לְעַמִּי פִּשְׁעָם, וּלְבֵית יַעֲקֹב חַטֹּאתָם

“Call with a בְגָ'רוֹן, do not spare, like a shofar raise your voice, and make known to My people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins”. Isaiah 58:1

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This week we have a double Torah portion:

 VAYAKHEL, EXODUS 35:1-38:20 and PEKUDEI, EXODUS 38:21–40:38

In this week's double portion, Vayakhel-Pekudei, Moses gathers the Jews and relays to them all the details regarding the construction of the Mishkan, its vessels, and the priestly garments.

 

The actual construction and assembly is also described. This portion repeats many of the details described in the Parshaot of Terumah and Tetzaveh, in which Hashem instructs Moses regarding the assembly of all these objects.

 

The Mishkan is erected, and Hashem’s Presence finds a dwelling space.

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Parsha Vayakhel begins:

וַיַּקְהֵל מֹשֶׁה, אֶת-כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

 “And Moshe assembled all of the congregation, the Children of Israel…”

You can see in the word וַיַּקְהֵל  the root of קהלה . It means assembly or community.

That is why Olim in my home town of Nahariya are the קהילת עולים נהריה , the Nahariya Olim Community.

 

We also see the word עֲדַת, congregation. Many synagogues have  עֲדַת as part of its name, similar to  קהילה.

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In Parsha Vayakhel the Mishkan is finally constructed.

There are commentators who are of the opinion that the construction of the Mishkan parallels the construction of the universe.  And oddly enough there are commentators who find parallels between the Mishkan and the Jewish home.  

What do you think and why?

 

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In regard to the construction of the Mishkan at 35:1 Moshe begins.

 

אֵלֶּה, הַדְּבָרִים, אֲשֶׁר-צִוָּה יְהוָה, לַעֲשֹׂת אֹתָם

"… These are the things that the Lord commanded to make".

 

Moses then prefaces the discussion of the details of the work of the Mishkan with the warning to keep the Sabbath. By doing so he denotes that the work of the Mishkan does not supersede the Sabbath.

 

                                         

He then conveys Hashem’s instructions regarding the making of the Mishkan. The people donate the required materials in abundance, bringing gold, silver and copper; blue-, purple- and red-dyed wool; goat hair, spun linen, animal skins, wood, olive oil, herbs and precious stones.  

 

Would you believe, Moses has to tell us to stop giving!

 

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The Tabernacle in the Wilderness (illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible)

 

On this Shabbat we conclude the reading of Sefer Shmot with the concluding Parsha, Pekudei. 

There is a 19^th century saying attributed to Lord Acton that goes as follows: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men..."

 

It would seem what is very much true now, was also true in the time of Moshe Rabeinu.   Moshe, our greatest leader, gives an accounting before the people of the gifts and donations brought by B’nei Yisrael in conjunction with the construction of the Mishkan.  For Moshe there is complete transparency. For Solomon there is enough information to condemn him for his travesty.

 

Psalm 24:3-4: “Who shall ascend into the mountain of the LORD? and who shall stand in His holy place?  He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;  who hath not taken My name in vain, and hath not sworn deceitfully.”

This week’s parsha concludes with the Mishkan being completed. All its

components are brought to Moses, who erects it and anoints it with the holy anointing oil.  Moses initiates Aaron and his four sons into the priesthood. A cloud appears over the Mishkan, signifying the Divine Presence, the Shekinah, has come to dwell within it.  

May it continue to do so.

We conclude our reading of the Book of Exodus with:

חזק חזק ונתחזק

Be strong; Be strong, and let us strengthen one another.

Chazak Chazak Ve-Nit’Chazek 

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The haftarah for the parashah when there is no special Sabbath is for Sephardi Jews: 1 Kings 7:40–50 and for Ashkenazi Jews: 1 Kings 7:51–8:21

Both the parashah and the haftarah report the leader's construction of the holy place—Moses' setting up the Tabernacle, and Solomon's building of the Temple in Jerusalem. Both the parashah and the haftarah report that the builders finished the work:

 "Moses finished the work" וַיְכַל מֹשֶׁה, אֶת-הַמְּלָא  in Exodus 40:33, and "so Hiram made an end of doing all the work" וַיְכַל חִירָם, לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת-כָּל-הַמְּלָאכָה‎,  in 1 Kings 7:40.

Do you see a difference?

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Rabbi Beryl Wein comments on the Torah portion:

The book of Shemot that began with such high drama just a few months ago ends this week on a rather bland and apparently purely technical note. The Torah once more reviews and recounts for us the details of the construction of the Mishkan and an exact accounting of the material goods that were used. 

 

Through the ages, the commentators have dwelt long and hard on these parshiyot in the holy Torah, where every letter and word is eternal, in an attempt to justify this seemingly superfluous repetition. I will not attempt to review all of the different approaches to explain this issue. They are all satisfactory and yet somehow short of the mark as well. There is an obvious teaching that all of the commentators agree with that does derive from this review and repetition regarding the construction of the Mishkan. 

 

The Mishkan had the miraculous quality of being built exactly and unwaveringly according to its original plan. Many times in life people and institutions set out to create structures, organizations and policies that will be of great benefit to society upon completion. Rarely if ever does the finished product match exactly the plans and true intentions of those who initiated the project. 

 

All human plans and blueprints are subject to change, alteration and even to cancellation. The plans for the Mishkan, shrouded in the spirituality of God’s commandments, were not subject to such changes. Bezalel and Ahaliav and the Jewish people were complimented for their strict adherence to the original plans given to Moshe for the construction of the Mishkan.

 

Every detail of the construction of the Mishkan is reviewed in the parshiyot of this week. All builders are aware of the importance of detail in their work. A missing screw, nail or hook can lead to later disaster. This is true in the physical mundane life of people and is doubly true regarding the spiritual and moral character of a person and a community. Only in the completion of the details is the whole person or project seen. 

 

The measure of an artist, whether in pictures or music, is always in the nuances - in the details. The avoidance of shortcuts that invariably lead to shabbiness is the true hallmark of the gifted performer. Moshe lovingly records for us every piece of material that came together in the holy Mishkan. In kabbalistic thought, every detail in the construction of the Mishkan is truly an influence on the general world at large. 

 

Though the Mishkan is no longer physically present with us, its lessons and greatness still abide within the Torah we study and in our value systems. By reading the Torah’s description of the Mishkan and studying the underlying principles that it represents, it gains life and influence within us individually and collectively. May we be strengthened by this eternal knowledge.

 

Chazak chazak v’nitchazek

Shabat shalom

 

Rabbi Berel Wein