BY ARIEL KARP
Parshat Pekudei is a parsha that is usually overlooked. It is never read alone. On a non-leap year it is grouped together with Parshat Vayakel and this year it is being read with Parshat Shekalim. Pekudei however, is the last parsha in Sefer Shemot (The Book of Exodus) and in many ways the culmination of the entire book. The parsha begins with the completion of the Mishkan(Tabernacle). Moshe gives a thorough account of all the contributions to the Mishkan and of all the Mishkan’s parts and components. He then blesses Beni Yisrael, and a cloud rests upon the Mishkan showing the Divine Presence settling amongst Bnei Yisrael.
The entire account of the building of the Mishkan, and in fact the whole building process itself is extremely detail- oriented and physical. Every vessel, every piece of cloth, and every design is accounted for. The Torah recounts the building of the Mishkan four different times. The question is: Why? Why are these details so important and why is the Mishkan’s appearance so significant?
Details signify importance. There is beauty in detail, and our attention to detail shows how invested we are in what we are doing. When you go for a really important job interview, you carefully put together your outfit and practice what you are going to say. You have your outfit down to every last accessory and your answers planned out to the last word. Since you care about the interview, you prepare for it down to the very last detail. You would never go to the interview unprepared or unkempt. The same is true for the Mishkan. The construction of the Mishkan was very intricate in order to emphasize its importance and holiness.
Details signify importance. There is beauty in detail, and our attention to detail shows how invested we are in what we are doing. When you go for a really important job interview, you carefully put together your outfit and practice what you are going to say. You have your outfit down to every last accessory and your answers planned out to the last word. Since you care about the interview, you prepare for it down to the very last detail. You would never go to the interview unprepared or unkempt. The same is true for the Mishkan. The construction of the Mishkan was very intricate in order to emphasize its importance and holiness.
It is still very interesting that we find such an intense emphasis on the physical makeup of the Mishkan. It could have been a very plain building yet retained the detailed rituals and practices, and thereby still be seen as important and holy. It is not the rituals performed inside the Mishkan that are repeated over and over in the Torah but the Mishkan’s physical building, its outer appearance. The materialism displayed by Bnei Yisrael is in strict contrast to the materialism of Egypt, from which Bnei Yisrael had just escaped. Egypt had a very lavish materialistic culture that emphasized the physical aspect of things, having a beautiful building for the sake of a having a beautiful building. They lacked a purpose, they lacked depth. Taking this physical, detail- oriented materialism of Egypt and using it to serve Hashem truly reflects the transformation of Bnei Yisrael in Sefer Shemot. The book begins with Bnei Yisrael leaving the impurity of Egypt, but they were basically on the same level as the Egyptians spiritually. However, by the end of Sefer Shemot Bnei Yisrael are completely transformed. They are able to take this materialism and use it to serve Hashem. They are able to use the physical, which was a root of all the impurity and greed of Egypt, and elevate it for use in the spiritual service of Hashem in His dwelling place amongst the people.
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