Thoughts on Parashat Vayakhel 5785
[maxbutton id=”6″ url=”https://polishjewsreviving.org/wspolnota-w-ruchu/” ] In the parasha for this week, we see the culmination of weeks of careful instructions for constructing the Mishkan. We learned in the previous three parashot about what to do and how to do it, what to utilize and how much to utilize it with, and what specific specifications to utilize for each of the Tabernacle’s sections. Now that we get to read Parashat Vayakhel (and next week Pekudei, we often read together), it is time for action. Plans are useless unless implemented. The Torah presents us with a detailed account of what is done to construct it—because ultimately Judaism is always about action.
The term Vayakhel literally refers to “to gather, to assemble.” It is a lesson in community, in gathering for a cause. Pekudei is about specifics, about individual parts that constitute the whole. This is a necessary dualism of Jewish life: we can never lose sight of the big picture, yet we can never lose sight of each individual action.
Do you know who Betzalel was? An artist who was the person to whom the Eternal entrusted the entire vision and construction of the Mishkan. But what is really interesting is Betzalel is said to be blessed with Ruach Elohim, Godly spirit—this is very rare- this situation occurs in the Torah only four times. In fact, this blessing only happens four times in all of the Torah. Highlighting the fact that It is not something we can expect to rely upon. Divine inspiration does not simply descend upon us. Betzalel also had to act—using his wisdom, his abilities, and his resources. And he did not do it alone—Oholiab was his helper, and with them, the work of all the people.
In this portion of the Torah, we are reminded of a fundamental truth: nothing is accomplished alone. The Israelites did not rise up one morning to find a completed Mishkan. It took planning, it took skilled craftsmen, and it took a whole community to provide resources and time. So much was given that Moshe had to tell people to stop giving—this is the only time in recorded history and probably in modern life where a rabbi had to stop an appeal because too much was contributed!
All of this actually touches the essence of Judaism expressed in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis: Adam (human being) is a partner in the creation of the world. If he abandons this task, his life loses its meaning.
Judaism is a religion of action. In other religions and philosophies there are passive acceptance teachings that teach harmony through doing nothing. Wu-Wei in Taoism is a principle that encourages effortless action and going with nature. In Judaism a thing like that is unthinkable. We do not let things happen to us in this world—we make them happen. For many reasons, one of them is the fact that the world, especially the human world, has never been particularly friendly towards us as a people. We do not take the world as it is—instead, we make it what it can be. We do not sit around waiting for inspiration to strike us—instead, we make it happen.
One of the messages of parashat Vayakhel is that Judaism is founded in community, and community is found in the synagogue. Just as we do not abandon Judaism because we do notlike a particular aspect of it, we do not abandon our synagogue when things are not exactly as we would like them to be. Instead, we take part in shaping it, in strengthening it, in making it a place of meaning and purpose. The Mishkan was not built by a few inspired individuals but by a community willing to work, to give, and to grow. If something is missing, we don’t walk away; we step up. It was not through miracles that the Mishkan was built, but through human hands with God guiding them. Let us all take this lesson and do—never waiting for that special moment to arrive, never waiting for inspiration to hit us, but building and creating and contributing to a passionate Jewish life with our own hearts and hands.
Shabbat shalom!
Rabbi Mirski
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