The cloud of HaShem was upon the Mishkan

(Exodus 40:38)

Adar 26, 5777/March 24, 2017

With the reading of the double Torah portion of Vayak'hel-Pekudei this Shabbat, we bring the book of Exodus to a close. But the conclusion of the book of Exodus doesn't simply mark yet another chapter in the annals of man's relationship with G-d. It marks a whole new beginning. Or more precisely, it marks a whole new end of the beginning, a whole new end of "In the beginning... "

When G-d completed the work of creation and saw that it was good, He blessed and sanctified creation. The work of creation was finalized, according to G-d's will. All was good, indeed, but for one small fly in the ointment. Man had defied G-d's will. By eating from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, man was essentially casting a stone in the primordial waters of creation and "the spirit of G-d [which] was hovering over the face of the water" (Genesis 1:2) was no longer reflected in its perfection in creation. The ripple effect of man's declaration of independence from G-d would be felt and would be magnified as man began his long walk through history.

Man, challenged to walk as one with G-d, became equally challenged to walk as one with himself, and brother turned against brother, as testified by the book of Genesis. The reparation of the tear in the perfect fabric of creation began to be mended when Avraham rendezvoused with G-d, but the enmity between brothers only grew more extreme, culminating in the generation of Yosef and his brothers.

The reconciliation between the brothers in the concluding chapters of Genesis would lead to the reconciliation between Israel and G-d which began when G-d heard Israel's cry in Egypt and reached a climax at Mount Sinai where G-d made a covenant with Israel. The dissonance between man and G-d had ended and the troubled waters of creation stilled, at least for the moment. The debacle of the golden calf, however, was a stinging reminder that the reunification between man and G-d could easily be disturbed.

But G-d had a plan which He first shared with Moshe at Sinai, but in fact, was an integral part of the original blueprint of creation written in G-d's primordial will from before the beginning. That plan was the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, that would be created by Israel and serve as a resting place for G-d's presence in creation, a place where man's independent will would once again be fully integrated into G-d's will, where the distance created between man and G-d by Adam in Eden, would be eliminated, not in a once-in-creation get together, as at Sinai, but in a permanent fashion, every day throughout every generation, within the confines of the Tabernacle, and eventually, the Holy Temple.

This final chapter in creation, however, needed to be achieved via man's desire, and not just G-d's. Man, who had turned away from G-d in Eden, now needed to turn back toward G-d, with all his heart, his soul and his might. And the way to do this was by inviting all of Israel to participate in the creation of the Tabernacle, so that its very essence would be an eternal expression of Israel's desire to dwell with G-d. Parashat Vayak'hel-Pekudei testifies to Israel's rising to the occasion.

The entire nation came forth to supply both the raw materials for the Tabernacle and to take those raw materials and transform them into an expression of love for G-d. This is reflected in the language used to describe the building of the Tebernacle. In Vayak'hel-Pekudei, the word "heart," the center of man's being, is used fifteen times in describing the wisdom and energy and desire of the men and women of Israel to fulfill G-d's will and build the Tabernacle. Various forms of the Hebrew word, echad, meaning "one," is used thirty eight times throughout the double parashah. While describing on a physical level the assembly of the Tabernacle, this word, signifying unity, also describes the unified heart and purpose of Israel which informed and animated the Tabernacle itself, elevating it from a simple construction on a physical level to a metaphysical expression of the turning of man's will toward G-d's. This is further accentuated by the use of the word vav, meaning "hook" or "connector" in the description of the construction of the Tabernacle. Six times the word chishukim which also signifies "connection" is used, but which is based on the root word cheshek which means "desire." Israel's desire to connect with G-d on a permanent basis is thusly woven into the very fabric of the Tabernacle itself.

The conclusion of the work of creation, which takes place with the completion of the Tabernacle, marks the beginning of a new reality in which man and G-d dwell together once again. Man's free and independent will is once again woven into G-d's will, united through a common desire to reconnect. The troubled waters of creation are stilled at last and the "face of the spirit of G-d" is once again reflected in creation. Man and G-d, together again.

-The Temple Institute