Vayakhel-Pekudei

Vaayakhel-Pekudei – Shep Rosenman

Shep is a father, husband, musician, and an avid student and teacher of Jewish prayer and Torah. Somewhere in all of this he finds time to practice entertainment law and serve as co-chair of the 2009 LimmudLA Conference.

The Parsha begins with the Mitzvah of Shabbos. Then it describes the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The Israelites donate materials with such enthusiasm that Moses has to tell them to stop. Betzallel and Oholiav are appointed as chief architects and artists. And finally, the work is completed, and God's presence fills the Mishkan.

Jewish tradition teaches us that the home of each Jew is to be a "mikdash me'at" – a little sanctuary, a little Mishkan. This week's Torah portion discusses the building of God's sanctuary and it may be a blueprint for how to warm the home fires so one's home becomes a sanctuary. 

Smack in the middle of that discussion is a brief interlude about Shabbat. What do the sanctuary and Shabbat have to do with each other? The verse "Do not kindle any fire in all of your settlements" (Exodus 35: 3) may form a key to understanding the nexus between Shabbat and the Mishkan. 

The Karaites understood this verse to mean that no fire should burn on Shabbat. The rabbinic understanding of this proscription is more complex. Limited use of existing fire is permitted on Shabbat including for the purpose of bringing sacrifices/korbanot. The root of korban is KRV, meaning "close". In this context, fire is acceptable on Shabbat for the purpose of bringing one closer to God. 

Fire represents a duality: it can destroy or it can create. In last week's parsha, the Israelites' fire and passion caused them to commit the sin of the Golden Calf – this is fire in its destructive mode. In this week's parsha, the Israelites' fiery passion for God is demonstrated by their gifts of materials to build the Mishkan – fire in a creative mode.

Let's back up to Parshat Terumah (which we read two weeks ago). In that parsha, God asks Moshe to build a sanctuary, a "mikdash" for God so that God can dwell among the Israelites. In a midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 12:10) about God's request, Moshe is shown a blueprint for the Mishkan consisting of four fires - red, green, black and white. Moshe is told to make in this world a version of what God made in God’s world. When Moshe asks how he can replicate this otherworldly image, God responds that God uses God's tools and humanity will use its tools. If Moshe succeeds, God's presence will descend to live in our world. 

In this week's Torah portion we are told that Bezalel, the general contractor of the Mishkan, works with fire. Moshe and Bezalel are asked to create in this world (a material world) something that exists in God's world (a world of spirit and fire). Since Moshe and Bezalel are working with two different sets of resources (spiritual and material), the Mishkan created in this world cannot be an exact replica of the one created in God’s world. Instead, Bezalel and Moshe must interpret the vision of four fires. 

We are told multiple times that Bezalel, an artisan, is a man of wisdom, knowledge, understanding and talent. Bezalel must bring something of himself to the equation. He must bring this project to the fire of his imagination to create a real world version of this four-fired model of a house for God. 

Each of us has the capacity to emulate the various roles played in Mishkan construction into an aspect of creating our own mikdash me'at: Like the Israelites, we must tap into our fire, our passion, and give deeply of ourselves in order to create a holy space for God in our homes. Like Moshe, we must work with the multi-fired blueprints God has given us to plan this holy space. Like Bezalel, we must use the fire of our imaginations, wisdom, knowledge, understanding and talent to construct this holy space.

We also must remember fire's duality. If our passions burn too deeply they may destroy. We should not give unthinkingly or out of anxiety, as the Israelites did with the Golden Calf; our gifts should not overwhelm as the Israelites' did when they sought to build the Mishkan. 

Similarly, we must be aware when our passion moves from inspiring others to keeping others away. Our personal fires should create and sustain in God's world  - the world of relationships - but should not destroy. We must create environments in which our friends and family are able to come close (karov) to each other and to God.

If we are able to follow this blueprint, each of us will create a mikdash me'at for friends and family and, perhaps, we then will be treated to what the Israelites experienced at the end of the Book of Shemot: God dwelling among the people in the Mishkan in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.