As a Torah reader, these last two weeks of the book of Shemot feel pretty repetitive. In many places, they are word for word and note for note the same as what we read in Terumah and Tetzaveh, just a few weeks ago. It’s easy to roll through them without paying close attention - and while the familiarity of the phrases might be helpful for learning a Torah reading, it’s not great for finding personal meaning. I’ve always been struck, though, with the differences between the instructions for building the Mishkan (Terumah and Tetzaveh) and the actual construction, which we begin reading about this week, in Parashat Vayakhel.
Instructions are theoretical, aspirational. What can begin as a grand vision can turn out, in reality, to be much more prosaic. But with the Mishkan, the execution surpasses the design plan. The people overwhelm the leaders with the generosity of their gifts, providing all of the materials necessary and then some. The artisans, led by Betzalel, craft with precision and skill. I imagine these artisans as both innately talented and extremely well trained. The text tells us several times that Betzalel is blessed with a heart of wisdom for this kind of work - those who worked under him must also have been singularly gifted. At first, the text seems to say just that: “And let all among you who are skilled come and make all that the Eternal has commanded.” (Exodus 35:10) And yet, the focus later on is not on the impressive skill of the makers, but rather on the willingness of their hearts and the generosity of their spirits. Noting this discrepancy, the Netziv (Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, 1816-1893, Lithuania) writes in his commentary Ha’amek Davar, that God would guide those whose spirits moved them to participate in the building of the Mishkan, even if they had never before acquired the skills necessary to craft and create. Their generosity and willingness would invoke God’s presence and enable them to create the components of the Mishkan with artistry and grace. This piece of commentary reminds me of Chevrei Tzedek. We are a community of people whose spirits move us to build and create, to offer our individual gifts generously and with love. While many of our members bring tremendous skill and experience to their contributions to the life of our shul, having that kind of expertise is not a prerequisite for making a mark on our community. We welcome and, in fact, rely on the many different ways each of us contributes to our synagogue life. This past weekend’s installation festivities, which were a beautiful celebration of our community and hopefully the beginning of more wonderful things to come, were an example of the kind of magic that happens when so many people come forward to build and create together. This phenomenon extends beyond special events, though. It is what makes our services meaningful and engaging, what enables us to be there for each other in difficult times, even what keeps the lights on. To borrow from the Netziv’s teaching, something absolutely Divine happens when our volunteers come forward, moved by their generosity and love for the community to contribute. We become inspired artisans, working to build the sacred community that is Chevrei Tzedek. With gratitude for all that last weekend was - Shabbat Shalom.
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