Individual Efforts, A National Project3 min read

Parshas Vayakhel deals exclusively with the construction of the various parts of the Mishkan with the exception of one, seemingly unrelated, commandment. Before introducing the opportunity for each and every member of the Jewish nation to contribute materials and skills toward this national project, Moshe Rabbeinu commands klal Yisrael once more regarding Shabbos, saying, “For six days, work may be done, but the seventh day shall be holy for you, Shabbos for Hashem.” On a simple level, Chazal explain that this commandment was necessary to teach the Jewish people that the building of the Mishkan would not push away Shabbos. In addition, they derive from this juxtaposition between Shabbos and the Mishkan that the 39 categories of labor utilized in the construction of the Mishkan are forbidden on Shabbos. The holy Ishbitzer tzaddik reveals that, on a deeper level, this juxtaposition hints to an incredibly beautiful idea.

The Mishkan, as well as the general mission of the Jewish nation it serves to symbolize, was a national project. No single Jew was charged with its construction. Even Betzalel, who was appointed over the entire project, needed a team of men and women who had been endowed with special skills to assist in constructing the various parts of the Mishkan’s complex structure and vessels using the material that had been donated by each member of the Jewish nation. Focused solely on the overwhelming national desire for Hashem to dwell in their presence, the Jewish people saw this project as a collective goal to which they were all equally committed, and which was far greater than the sum of its parts. This feeling came to expression when all the different parts of the Mishkan came together in a single structure of aesthetic and spiritual magnificence. If in a momentary lapse of focus, an individual craftsman grew proud over the expert work he had done on a specific segment, when he saw his segment in the grand and complex setting of all of the other parts of the Mishkan, he was immediately reminded of the true goal that reached so much further than his work alone –providing the Master of the world with a dwelling place in the lower dimensions of reality.

The Mei HaShiloach explains that the Mishkan is a microcosm of the Jewish nation’s collective avodas Hashem, their mission throughout the generations. Much like the Mishkan, there are many different areas of expertise in avodas Hashem; many kinds of craftsmanship among the plethora of mitzvos, derachim, areas of Torah study, and kavvanos. However, the enormity and vastness of this perspective makes it difficult to harbor. More often than not, we think of avodas Hashem as a personal endeavor – priding ourselves on our “expertise” and seeking honor for the area of avodas Hashem we are drawn to attending. Lacking the expansive focus on the collective national mission of which our avodah is merely a small – albeit crucial – part, our avodas Hashem becomes spiritually relegated to “the six days of the week”; holy and powerful, but lacking the essential focus on the true goal. However, when we realize the extent of the mission in we are blessed to play a small role as sparks in the grand torch, cells in the complex body, and drops in the expansive ocean of the Jewish story, we emerge from the constricted consciousness of limited perspective and behold the Mishkan in all its glory. When we attain this awareness, our avodas Hashem becomes filled with the spirit of Shabbos, the spirit of humility, oneness, and God-consciousness.

This, explains the Ishbitzer, is a deeper reason why the commandment of Shabbos is juxtaposed to the building of the Mishkan. In making this connection, the Torah is teaching us that Hashem desires for our engagement with avodas Hashem to be “Shabbosdik”, bursting with expansive consciousness and the realization that our avodah is only part and parcel of a national project that reaches far beyond each individual – spanning all of history and touching the ultimate purpose of the world’s very creation.