The last two portions of the Book of Exodus, known after their Hebrew opening words as VAYAKHEL, “And [Moses] assembled”, and PEDUDEY, “[These are the] Accounts”, are in some years read in the synagogue on separate Sabbaths, while in others they are read together on the same Sabbath. (This depends on how the Torah calendar reconciles the lunar months with the annual solar cycle in different years.)

Previously we learned about the design of the wilderness Sanctuary which God instructed Moses to make (Terumah, Exodus 25:1-27:19) and the design of the priests’ garments and how their ceremonial induction was to be conducted (Tetzaveh, Exodus 27:20-30:10) . Now in VAYAKHEL and PEKUDEY we are shown how Moses led the children of Israel in the execution of this great collective national enterprise in the actual material world. We learn how the people donated the various materials and how the skilled craftsmen prepared all the components, culminating in the erection of the Sanctuary at the foot of Mount Sinai and its consecration on the first day of the month of Nissan, one year after the Exodus from Egypt.

Treasures: Each makes a unique contribution

All whose hearts aroused them and all whose spirits made them willing came and brought HaShem’s offering for the work of the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought nose-rings, ear-rings, signet-rings, girdles, all jewels of gold… And everyone who had blue, purple and scarlet dyed wool and fine linen, goats’ hair, rams’ skins dyed red and sealskins brought them … Everyone that set aside an offering of silver and brass brought HaShem’s offering; and everyone who had acacia-wood for any work of the service, brought it … . The children of Israel brought a freewill-offering to HaShem; every man and woman whose heart made them willing to bring for all the work which HaShem had commanded through the hand of Moses to be made (Exodus 35:21-24, 29).

The various different physical materials that different men and women had in their possession and contributed for the construction of the Sanctuary correspond to the unique personal attributes and powers possessed by each and every individual.

Moses’ call to all the people – the men and the women – was for each and every one to discover and understand his or her own unique personal treasures, skills and abilities and to contribute them for the glorification of God through His chosen Sanctuary, so as to bring harmony and peace into all creation.

The later Chassidic sage Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) called these personal treasures one’s “good points”, urging us to search after the redeeming good attributes each one of us possesses so as to know how we can make our own contribution to bless God’s creation through our efforts in this life.

These “good points” are not to be understood as static attributes but rather as dynamic “power points” that bring us to perform practical ACTIONS in the real material world so as to make our own individual contributions to bring about God’ greater purpose.

In the present age more than ever before we live in a world of enormously complex organizations involving intense specialization at all levels of society, in industry and commerce, education, communications and most other spheres of life, such that every person has his or her unique contribution to make.

So too in the spiritual sphere each has a unique role in constructing the great Temple that is constructed out of each and every person’s unique good deeds, prayers and even the simplest acts and gestures of virtue for the sake of God. Much of the good that righteous people do may go unseen by the eyes of flesh and blood and unreported in the media, but God knows and registers everything, and no good thought, word or deed is ever lost.

In the words of the Mishnaic sage Ben Azai: “Do not be scornful of any person and do not be disdainful of anything, for you have no person without his hour and nothing without its place” (Avot 2:3).

Written by :

Ray