Torah Bites for Your Table: Parshat Vayakhel-Pekudei

Shalom Hevre,

Apologies about there being no Torah Bites last week. On my way to teach at a synagogue in Virginia, I had some car trouble that kept me from writing my weekly email. But now I'm back, and on to the parasha of the week...

It is incredibly interesting to think about the juxtaposition between the building task in which the Israelites are engaging in this week's parasha, namely the building of the Mishkan (tabernacle), and the command they receive to observe Shabbat, which, among other things, would prohibit them from doing certain forms of labor even to build sanctuary for God.

Regarding Shabbat, the Torah states that, "Moses convoked the whole Israelite community and said to them: These are the things that the Eternal has instructed you to do: On the Seventh day shall be for you a Sabbath of complete rest for the Eternal. Whoever does work on it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire throughout your settlements on the Sabbath day" (Exodus 35:1-3). In this case, the Israelites are all commanded to refrain from work on the Shabbat, and the fact that this cessation of work includes the work of the Mishkan tells us something incredibly important about Shabbat.

On this subject, the Sefat Emet, a 19th century Hasidic Commentator from Poland, writes the following:

"Six days shall work be done (Exodus 35:2). This refers also to the six directions, the four "winds" and above and below. All the powers and qualities gather together to build a palace for the innermost place, the Sabbath. This is the true building of the Mishkan, of which it says, "Where is the house you will build Me?"" (Isaiah 66:1).

In this passage, we see the Sefat Emet making a fundamental connection between Shabbat and Mishkan, because while the Mishkan may be a palace in space, Shabbat is, to use the famous of words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a palace in time. Both Shabbat and the Mishkan connect us to God in different ways, yet both are bound up in the same essential task of bringing God's presence into our everyday lives. May we have the merit of creating that presence through how we create holiness in space and time.

Shabbat Shalom,
Josh

1. Parents: What do you currently to create "holiness in space" in your life? What about "holiness in time"? How might you bring one or both to the life of your family?
2. Children: What is the most special place in your life? What makes it special?
   
3. Seekers: Do you think most Jews place more emphasis on time, or space? What might Judaism look like if we gave them equal weight?