Parshat Pekudei 5784
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in the first pasuk in this week’s parsha, אלה פקודי המשכן משכן העדת אשר פקד על פי משה. Rashi comments on the words אלה פקודי, these are the counting, that the weights of the precious metals and the vessels of the Mishkan are counted in this parsha. Why does the Torah weigh and count the materials of the Mishkan? The Gemara in Ta’anis 8B teaches, that Bracha isn’t found in something weighed, measured, or counted; אלא בדבר הסמוי מן העין, Bracha is only found in something which is hidden from the eye.
Rashi comments on the words which follow, משכן העדות, that the building of the Mishkan was a testimony to the fact that Hashem forgave Bnei Yisrael for the cheit ha’egel, the sin of the golden calf. The Medrash Rabbah (51,8) on our parsha teaches that Hashem said to Bnei Yisrael, when you made the golden calf you angered me by saying אלה אלוהיך ישראל. Now that you have built the Mishkan with אלה פקודי המשכן I have forgiven you.
The Sfas Emes teaches that the wordsאלוהיך אלה is in the plural form. These are your gods. The downfall of Bnei Yisrael was their descent into a world of פירוד, of separation. They were separated from each other and from themselves; from their essence of being the nation of Hashem. They were totally lacking in unity; in being one nation, and in being connected to the unity of Hashem.
Rashi comments that אלה פקודי המשכן was the counting of the materials of the Mishkan. This seems to suggest a continuation of their being in a state of רבוי, of the many, and of פירוד. How was this אלה, with its focus on highlighting each detail and deemphasizing the commonality, meant to be an atonement for the אלה of the sin of the golden calf?
The Sfas Emes explains that the details are certainly important. And each vessel and measure of gold and silver had its particular place and a significant role. The detail, or the פרט, is very important.
But its significance is only because it’s part of a כלל; it’s part of a greater whole. When there is an understanding that there is something greater than the detail, and it’s that connection to that greater whole which gives the individual detail its worth, then emphasizing its value isn’t a problem. When there is an awareness that the different materials came together and created the Mishkan, a dwelling place for Hashem, then the counting brings a bracha. Instead of the plurality of אלה אלוהיך ישראל, there is the singularity of וזאת הברכה.
The same thing is true of the members of Clal Yisrael. Each person is an individual with his particular talents and significance. And the uniqueness of each person needs to be celebrated and appreciated. But one’s uniqueness only has meaning when he realizes he’s part of something greater than himself. When each person thinks of himself as independent of others and has no appreciation of his essence and of what he is connected to, this is the very destructive state of פירוד. Instead of being connected to Hashem and His people, he creates for himself all sorts of false idols and movements, as we have seen throughout Jewish history. This is a continuation of the sin of אלה אלוהיך ישראל. Bracha for Clal Yisrael only comes when we are united in serving Hashem.
We see this important concept of the כלל and the פרט by the creation of the world. When Hashem created the world, there was something different created on each day. Each day was a detail of creation; each day was a פרט. And in the end of creation, Hashem combined the created into one with Shabbos, the כלל. The Torah states in parshat Bereishis (Chapter 1, Pasuk 31), וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה, and then a few pasukim later, ויכלו וכו' ויברך אלוקים את יום השביעי ויקדש אותו. When Hashem saw all that He had created and completed it with Shabbos, then He blessed it. The bracha comes when the details merge into the whole; when the פרט become unified to the כלל.
The building of the Mishkan by Moshe Rabbeinu paralleled the creation of the world. And the Mishkan was meant to be the maintenance of this world, קיום העולם. And we read in this week’s parsha (Chapter 39, Pasuk 43), וירא משה את כל המלאכה והנה עשו אתה כאשר צוה ד' כן עשו ויברך אתם משה. Just as Hashem looked out over the creation, Moshe Rabbeinu looked out at all the work that had been done. He saw that all the details of gold and silver and of the vessels had been combined together. And it was done as Hashem had commanded. When all the פרטים became a כלל, then there was bracha, as the pasuk concludes, ויברך אתם משה. Moshe was taught by Hashem that when the individuals are focused on using their talents and abilities toward the Clal, and towards serving Hashem, then there is bracha.
Good Shabbos
Print this article