The long-awaited construction of the Mishkan
begins in this week’s parsha, Parshas Vayakhel. Moshe finally instructs Bnei
Yisrael to bring all the necessary materials. He also appoints Betzalel as the chief
architect and recruits a team of experts from among the people to serve under
him. And with that, the donations begin to roll in. But before the command is
given, there is one set of instructions that must still be told over.
We discussed last week how Hashem
commanded Moshe to remind Bnei Yisrael of the prohibition of working on Shabbos
and the importance of mentioning this together with the Mishkan’s
construction. And Moshe does just this. Before instructing them on the Mishkan,
the parsha begins with Moshe reminding the Nation about Shabbos. Rashi explains
like he did in Parshas Ki Sisa, the reason why they were instructed about
Shabbos by the building of the Mishkan is to let them know that even with the
importance of the Mishkan, it does not supersede the obligations of Shabbos.
However, he adds a small detail which the commentaries key in on.
Rashi explains in our parsha that the
reason why Moshe commands Bnei Yisrael about Shabbos before giving them the
instructions for the Mishkan is how we know its construction does not supersede
Shabbos. This is the key point, the positioning of the commands. There’s just
one problem with this. While Hashem’s instructions to Moshe about Shabbos come
at the beginning of Parshas Ki Sisa, they are in fact only given at the end
of the Mishkan instructions. The last piece of the Mishkan, the specifications
for the Kiyor, is given right before the Shabbos command! It’s only now, when
Moshe gives over the instructions from Hashem, that he changes the order and
tells Bnei Yisrael about Shabbos first. Rashi explains why he does that, in
order to show them the importance of Shabbos; but what about in Parshas Ki
Sisa? How do we see the importance of Shabbos over the construction of the
Mishkan when Shabbos is only said all the way at the end?
The Kli Yakar uses Rashi’s explanation
to share a beautiful thought. The reasons for celebrating Shabbos are almost
completely about Hashem. We celebrate the fact that He created the world from
scratch in six days, then rested on the seventh. He designated this day as a
day of pure holiness. The Mishkan, however, is about the people. Hashem is
quite all right with not having a presence in this world; He had done it for a
few thousand years. But for the Bnei Yisrael, for His chosen Nation, He changed
the nature of the world and had them build a sanctuary, a place in this world
for Him to be present. The Mishkan is all about the honor of Bnei Yisrael.
Now we can understand the pesukim. Each
party was more concerned about the honor of the other. When Hashem gives over
the instructions to Moshe, He discusses the Mishkan first and then Shabbos. He
places the honor of Bnei Yisrael above His own. But when Moshe gives over those
instructions, he changes the order. He places the honor of Hashem above that of
Bnei Yisrael; thereby reminding them of the importance of Shabbos.
Shabbat Shalom!
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