From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2007 3:57 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas Vayakheil - Pekudei, 5767




                                         Turning the Clock Ahead

                By Rabbi Joshua (sacrificially known as The Hoffer) Hoffman


  In parshas Pekudei, we read that the mishkan was erected on the first day of the first month, or, in current parlance, the first of Nissan (Shemos 40:2). The Midrash Rabbah notes that even though the actual work of the mishkan was completed on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, God wanted to delay its erection until the birthday of Yitzchok. We need to understand why Yitzchok, more than the other patriarchs, had a special connection to the erection and dedication of the mishkan. Although we have, in the past, offered our own explanation for this connection, I would like to present and expand upon the explanation offered by Rabbi Yosef Salant in his Be'er Yosef.


  Rabbi Salant explains that since the main activity in the mishkan was the bringing of sacrifices to God, and these sacrifices entail, according to Ramban, imaging oneself actually being brought on the altar, it was uniquely Yitzchok who served as a paradigm in this regard. Yitzchok was the only one of the patriarchs who was brought on an altar as a sacrifice to God. Even though, in the end, Avrohom did not literally slaughter his son, the mdrash tells us that God sees, as it were, his ashes laying before him on he altar, and counts Yitzchok's willingness to offer himself as a sacrifice to Him as a merit for the Jewish people. The aim of the mishkan is to bring God's presence down among the people through the medium of the sacrifices brought there, which signify the people's willingness to offer their lives in dedication to God. Therefore, Yitzchok, who actually did this, has a special connection with the erection of the mishkan, and that is why the mishkan was erected in Nissan, the month during which he was born.


  With Rabbi Salant's explanation in mind, we can proceed to consider another problem in our parsha, raised by the commentators. The Torah tells us the exact amount of gold, silver and copper that was used in the construction of the mishkan. Why is it important for us to know these details? The Ohr Hachaim, in his comment on the Torah's listing of the amount of gold given, notes a certain redundancy in this verse. The verse begins, "All the gold that was used for the work - for all the holy work…" The words 'for all the holy work' seem to be unnecessary ; since we were just told that the gold was for the work. The Ohr HaChaim answers that this apparent redundancy is actually teaching us that every bit of the gold that was brought as a donation to the mishkan was used in its construction. Even though, usually, when someone makes something out of a metal, there are strips and shavings of it left over at the end, due to cutting things to size, etc., in the case of the metals donated to the mishkan, this was not the case. Everything that was contributed to the mishkan was used for a holy purpose in the mishkan's construction.

  Expanding on the idea of the Ohr HaChaim, perhaps we can say that the Torah, in parshas Vayakheil and parshas Pekudei, repeats in great detail the construction of the mishkan and the making of the priestly garments in order to drive home the message that every little detail had a purpose, and was used to serve God. This message takes on greater meaning when we view the mishkan as a vehicle towards offering our lives in dedication to God, as symbolized by the erection of the mishkan during the month of Nissan, when Yitzchok, the only one of the patriarchs to offer himself as a sacrifice to God, was born. By dedicating ourselves to God, striving to fulfill the Mishnaic charge of performing all of our acts for the sake of heaven, we are following the example of Yitzchok in his service of God.



  Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.

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