Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 23 Adar 1, 5784
Parsha Va-Yakhel: (Exodus 35:1 – 38:20)
First Portion: Exodus 35:1 – 35:20

Good morning! We have a new Torah Portion this week!  Va-Yakhel – which means “And he assembled”

What is being assembled together in our lives this week? What have been working on this past year? Where have we celebrated during this month? Who is coming together as we move into the wilderness?  Moses assembles the people – and he provides DIRECTION.  This week, let’s be on the lookout for who is assembling in our lives, and the direction they are giving us!  Let’s dig in:

1Moses called the whole community of the children of Israel to assemble, and he said to them: “These are the things that the Lord commanded to make.

Moses is giving the people directions on what needs to be created. This creation is about bringing Hashem into a space within us.

What is it you are assembling in order to CREATE.  And we are NOT talking about creating IDEAS. We are talking about TANGIBLE creation here it seems.  What’s next?

2Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have sanctity, a day of complete rest to the Lord; whoever performs work thereon [on this day] shall be put to death.

3You shall not kindle fire in any of your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.”

So basically – Moses is saying LET’S GO!!!!!  And. “Hard work ahead, first thing y’all need to know? We are going to take a day off and REST.

This is hard stuff.  That is the message for us. We need to prioritize REST in this process of creation.

What are you working on? What are you creating?  Here is the process for the Children of Israel:

4And Moses spoke to the entire community of the children of Israel, saying: “This is the word that the Lord has commanded to say:

5’Take from yourselves an offering for the Lord; every generous hearted person shall bring it, [namely] the Lord’s offering: gold, silver, and copper;

6and blue, purple, and crimson wool; and linen and goat hair;

7and ram skins dyed red, tachash skins, and acacia wood;

8and oil for lighting, and spices for the anointing oil and for the incense;

9and shoham stones and filling stones for the ephod and for the choshen.

For me? The key is “every generous hearted person.” Are we generous? Then what can we bring to the table to CREATE from? Who are the generous people who have assembled in our lives?

What is it you need from them? The list above seems to connect with materials – almost like an artist gathering paint.  Let’s keep going:

10And every wise hearted person among you shall come and make everything that the Lord has commanded:

11The Mishkan, its tent and its cover, its clasps and its planks, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;

12the ark and its poles, the ark cover and the screening dividing curtain;

13the table and its poles and all its implements, and the showbread;

14and the menorah for lighting and its implements and its lamps, and the oil for lighting;

15and the altar for incense and its poles, and the anointing oil and the incense and the screen of the entrance for the entrance of the Mishkan;

16the altar for the burnt offering, its copper grating, its poles and all its implements, the washstand and its base;

17the hangings of the courtyard, its pillars, and its sockets, and the screen of the gate of the courtyard;

18the pegs of the Mishkan and the pegs of the courtyard, and their ropes;

19the meshwork garments to serve in the Holy, the holy garments for Aaron the Kohen [Gadol], and the garments of his sons [in which] to serve [as kohanim].’ “

Interesting.  Every person had a role. You were either generous or wise in this story it would seem.  The generous people brought the materials, the wise people built the tabernacle.

So here is my takeaway:

• Who are the generous people in our lives who have entered in and can provide the materials we need to create from?
• Who are the wise people in our lives who have entered in and can provide wisdom in putting our creation together with us?

And:

• Whose lives are WE in to be generous towards?
• Whose lives are WE in to be wise for?

Then?

20The entire community departed from before Moses.

Wow. Some powerful thoughts today!

Here’s my Torah thoughts from 2 years ago:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts 19 Adar I, 5782

A new week, a new Parsha! This week we are studying Va-Yakhel – which means “And he assembled.”

The idea this week is the importance of the whole over it’s parts. The components of the tabernacle were valuable on their own; but when put together? The attained their unique status.

What we can learn from this, is that however important we are as a human being, our worth becomes more important when we connect and identify with our people. A Jew is a Jew. But a Jew who identifies in a community of Jews? That’s powerful!

Something to chew on as we enter the week; what identities do we hold that are beyond ourselves as individuals?

Let’s dig in!

The portion today starts with Moses calling the people together, the day AFTER Yom Kippur. Atonement for sin had been made and this was a new day; a new year, and the people were clean.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson wrote some important stuff on this;

Moses caused the whole community of the children of Israel to assemble. He came down from the mountain on the Day of Atonement, and gathered the Jewish people the following day (Rashi, 11′ century).

Rashi concluded that Moses gathered the Jewish people the first day after descending the mountain, based on the principle that “enthusiastic people will perform a commandment at the earliest opportunity” (Babylonian Talmud, Pesahim 4a; Rabbi Elijah Mizrahi, 15′-16’ century).

When the Torah was given at Sinai, the Jewish people were awarded the privilege of causing God’s presence to dwell on earth. However, this did not actually happen until the Tabernacle was built, as the Midrash states, “When did the Divine Presence dwell on earth? On the day that the Tabernacle was erected” (Numbers Rabbah). The building of the Tabernacle was, in effect, the “practical application’ of the giving of the Torah.

Just as the event at Sinai had been preceded by a state of total unity among the nation, having encamped “as one person with one heart” (Rashi to 19:2, above), similarly, the practical construction of the Tabernacle was preceded by an assembly of unity, as described in this passage. In fact, this assembly was superior to the unity at Sinai, in that the latter was a unity of intention (to accept the Torah), whereas this assembly was a unity of action (to construct the Tabernacle).

This sheds light on a number of details:

(a) Money is one of the greatest causes of dispute. Here, however, the people willingly gave of their possessions for the construction of the Tabernacle.

(b) The assembly occurred on the day after the DAY OF ATONEMENT, a day of friendship, unity and forgiving.

(c) The assembly occurred on the day AFTER the Day of Atonement indicating that the spirit of the holy day was being channeled into the mundane weekdays.

(d) The assembly was made by Moses, since every one of us has a “spark” of Moses, and it is through revealing this spark that the people are brought to a state of unity.

(Break in quote from Rabbi Schneerson)

Rabbi Schneerson also finishes with a comment on the next line of the Torah; where Moses starts off with reminding them of the sabbath and the critical importance of the sabbath.

(e) Moses mentioned, first of all, the commandment of the Sabbath, since Sabbath observance is based on the belief that God provides a person with his sustenance, a belief which also prevents financial disputes between man and his fellow.

(End quote)

This is some powerful stuff concerning the first two lines of this portion!

But there’s more! Rabbi Moses Sofer wrote about the mention of the Sabbath as well:

Moses prefaced the commandment to construct the Tabernacle with the warning not to transgress the Sabbath, in order to indicate that its construction does not override the prohibitions of the Sabbath (Rashi, 11’h century).

The children of Israel were forbidden to desecrate the Sabbath by building the Tabernacle, which was a testament to God’s glory. By contrast, Jewish law obligates us to desecrate the Sabbath if a life is in danger. This distinction illustrates the sanctity of the people, that they are more precious to God than the construction of the Tabernacle. God’s presence rests primarily in the soul, even more so than in the Holy Temple.

(End quote)

Think about this! We are more precious than the tabernacle is Hashem’s eyes! That’s something to really sit with and wrestle with and feels counter to what I have always understood about the Torah!

Let’s keep going;

Moses mentions not kindling a fire in any of our dwelling places on the sabbath day. Now; the cynic and questioner in me asks “what about fire OUTSIDE the dwelling places? Is dwelling places like “a city or village” or is dwelling places like “a home.” Something to chew on.

Moses then speaks to the entire community of Israel; (paraphrasing); “God told me to tell you to collect an offering for the tabernacle. Everyone who feels called to generosity should bring the following to God; gold, silver, copper, turquoise, purple and crimson wool, linen and goats hair, rams skin dyed red, multicolored tachash skins, and acacia wood; oil for the external lamp, spices for anointing oil and incense fumes, shoham stones and filling stones for the apron and the breastplate.”

There does seem to be a contradiction in what Moses is saying – everyone should bring (which sounds like we are obligated to bring) and then “those who feel called to generosity” which sounds like a voluntary thing.

Rabbi Ephraim of Luntshits wrote this;

“From this we see that there were in fact two types of contributions: compulsory and voluntary.

There are two possible attitudes to the acquisition of wealth. Some see their financial gains as the result of their own effort and skill, and so they find it very difficult to part with their money. Regarding these people, the command came to forcibly collect materials for the Tabernacle, transferring it from their ownership to God’s.

Others, however, were aware that everything belongs to God and that even their earned wealth is not really their own. Hearing that materials were needed for the Tabernacle, their hearts inspired them to donate even before the collectors arrived. Parting with their wealth for a good cause came naturally to them, for they saw it as giving to God what was always His–as the verse states that they brought, “God’s contribution””

Rabbi Samuel Jaffe Ashlenazi adds to this;

The construction of the Tabernacle was a commandment which God gave to the Jewish people to achieve atonement for making the Golden Calf.

Practically speaking, we see that this atonement was achieved by the donations of the Jewish people to the Tabernacle. Previously they had given their gold enthusiastically to build an idol; now they gave with even greater enthusiasm for the sake of God. The people brought “much more than (is needed) to do the work which God has commanded”

Some interesting thoughts on these verses! Let’s keep going;

The portion closes with Moses laying out what Hashem had shared with him about the tabernacle; all of the items they needed to build and put inside. Then, the community left Moses’ presence.

We can see that the tabernacle was ONLY going to be constructed if the people worked together.

Let’s close with this spiritual vitamin from the Torah version I’m reading:

“A person who excels in his individual area of endeavor will generally be limited, or even useless, in another area. Who can say which is more important, which individual contributes the most? Only a harmonious partnership and the use of all human resources will contribute to the overall good of society.”

Again; we cannot be whole unless we see our connection to others of the upmost importance.

I’m also reading another book called the “Rainbow of Liberated Energy” (thank you Amber Rickert and there is a quote that has been stuck with me that relates to all of this;

“We seek assurances from life that confirm the unconfirmable: that we are solid separate, permanent and continuous.”

The truth of the matter is we are not solid; we are fluid and spacial. We are not separate a we are interconnected into a tapestry like the tabernacle. We are not permanent; as the tabernacle was not permanent. And we are not continuous- on our own; only through the community we are in does our energy continue.

Blessings on this Sunday as we enter a new week; may we all be reminded of our worth and value beyond what others tell us about their experiences with our behaviors.

Would love your thoughts in the comments below!