Jews all over the world will read tomorrow, Shabbat, in synagogue the "Pkudei" Torah Portion (Exodus 38:21 - 40:38). This is the last portion in the book of Exodus, and starting next week we will read the Portions from the book of Leviticus. The book of Exodus tells the story of the slavery and exodus from Egypt and the first few months in the desert. It ends with a few Portions concerning the Mishkan (tabernacle; sanctuary; portable Temple), in which the instructions to build the Mishkan are given in detail.
The word Mishkan (משכן) shares the same root as the word Shkhina (holy spirit; שכינה). So the Mishkan is the focus point of G-d's holy spirit. Why do we need a physical place for the Shkhina to dwell in? If we read back, we realize that G-d commanded us to build the Mishkan only after we sinned by making for ourselves a golden calf, a foreign idol, to worship. It could be that G-d wanted to channel our need for a physical item to focus our spiritual energies on in a proper way. Instead of worshiping golden calves, we will have a sanctuary to commune with G-d.
The Mishkan is a place of sanctity. The Shabbat day is a time of sanctity. Since the commandment to observe Shabbat appears twice during the episodes of the Mishkan, we understand that the Shabbat's importance is much greater than that of the Mishkan. On Shabbat we are commanded to stop from making any kind of work, even from building the Mishkan.
This week's portion starts with a list of all the expensive materials that were used to build the Mishkan. Our rabbis teach that a person's true richness and assets are only those things that he gave to others. If you have $1,000,000 in your physical bank account but gave very little to others, you are considered poor, poor in the only currency that matters: poor in good deeds. If you have very little money in your bank account, but you gave a lot to people in real need, then you are considered rich: rich in good deeds. Good deeds are the only currency that matters - in this world and in the next. People don't take their material riches with them to the grave or to the next world. But their good deeds will always have a ripple effect.
Readers who read the portion superficially might think that it is just a technical description of architecture and items of service. But the Torah ALWAYS conveys a deeper meaning. Beyond the surface level there are always deeper levels of meaning that can teach us moral, psychological and philosophical lessons that we can learn from in our day and age as well.
The description of the Mishkan and all the vessels in it is repeated again and again for about 15 chapters! First, the details appear in G-d's instructions to Moses, then they appear in Moses' instructions to the people, then they appear again in the performance of the job, then they appear in the conclusion of the job, and then they appear again when G-d instructs Moses what to do with those items. Why all the repetition? Why all the technicalities? When someone repeats the same details again and again in speech or writing, we know that those details are important to him. When someone says the same things again and again, it shows that he wants the listeners to really hear and internalize what he is saying and not take it lightly. In fact, there are people, Torah scholars, who sit and study these details of the Mishkan and its vessels in depth in order to construct the exact same vessels to be used in the Holy Temple, when it will be peacefully built in the future.
One more repetition that calls our attention is the fact that every time that an instruction was performed in our portion, the phrase: "...as G-d commanded Moses" appears. Again and again. If you count these repetitions, you find that this phrase appears 18 times in the story of the Mishkan. Eighteen is a number with a special meaning in Judaism. If we convert its digits to letters, we get the word חי (chai, or: alive) in Hebrew. So the number 18 symbolizes life. For example, when Jews give money to charity, they like to give money in multiples of 18 (180 sheqels, 360 dollars, 540 euros, etc). And hence the important lesson: if we really want a life that is good and meaningful, we have to do things as G-d commanded Moses... The Torah is our guide book to life. In it you can find values and morals that are eternal and good. If you read a verse in it and it looks outdated and irrelevant for us today, it is because you stay on the surface level. A good advice would be to read deep commentaries about it by our Sages, explaining how things are truly eternal and meaningful for all ages.
Each of us should build a Mishkan, a tabernacle, within our hearts. We should do it by adhering to divine morality, by thinking of G-d's commandments and follow them even when it's hard. Especially when it's hard. Wherever there is hardship, there is also a tremendous gift to glean from it. Hardships are what makes us close to G-d, because it's usually when we are down that we look up and seek Him, and in the process we become much better people.
The person in charge of the construction of the Mishkan was Bezalel. In Hebrew, his name means: "in the shade of the Lord". Bezalel is the prototype of an especially gifted artist. It is no coincidence that his name means "in the shade of the Lord". Every true and honest artist (unlike many so-called artists today) is truly in the shade of the Lord, receiving inspiration from the master of the universe, Who is truly the greatest artist of all.
The book of Exodus ends with this verse: "... the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and there was fire therein by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys". I like this verse a lot, because it shows how even when everything in our lives is clouded and dark and we see no way out, the fire of G-d is bound to appear and show us the way to our promised land. If we only open our eyes and see it.
Shabbat Shalom!
Revital
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