Parashat Vayakhel

5 March 2016                  Adar 1  25  5776

Parashat Vayakhel
Exodus 35:1-38:20; 1 Kings 7:13-26; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11
 

In this Torah portion, God commands the Israelites not to do any work in the Sanctuary on Shabbat. The Israelites gather gifts for G-d. They gather so many that they are restrained from searching for more. Moses says that Ohaliab and Bezalel, who are filled with the spirit of G-d, should take the gifts of the Israelites and build G-d’s Sanctuary. What is the role of the mishkan in the lives of the Israelites that caused them to respond so generously?
The Mishkan, literally “dwelling-place,” is the place where G-d and Israel meet. It is here that G-d’s divine presence, the Shekhinah (from the same root as mishkan), dwells in the midst of Israel. It is the means by which HaShem becomes present in the very centre of the Israelite community and in the hearts of the Israelites.
G-d instructs (Exodus 25:8): “let them make me a Mishkan and I will dwell (shakhanti) within them (betokham).” The Sefat Emet, a Polish Hasidic master, reads this as “within them truly” (betokham mamash). That is, G-d will dwell within the very essence of each Israelite.
 

Prior to the Mishkan, the Israelites’ relationship with the divine was with the transcendent, miraculous G-d of the splitting of the Red Sea and the revelation at Sinai. At Sinai, the people trembled in fear at the awesome revelation of the divine and retreated from a direct personal encounter (Exodus 19:16, 20:15-18).
It is only through the Mishkan, the earthly dwelling-place of G-d, that a more intimate encounter becomes possible. Indeed, the Mishkan is not just any meeting place, but a place of great intimacy, the bridal chamber of G-d and Israel, where the truest level of intimacy can manifest after the marriage at Mount Sinai.
The intimate nature of the Mishkan can be seen in the beautiful fabrics and the fine metals which are the adornments of the Shekhinah, the divine bride, and the hangings of Her wedding chamber (Exodus 35:5-8).

Finally, following the midrash, we can see the similarity between the word for “completing” (vayakhel or kalot) the Mishkan and the word for “bride” (kalah), an indication that the completion of the Mishkan was also the consummation of this divine-human marriage.
 

In the process of constructing the Mishkan, then, G-d is transformed from the awesome divine Other, unapproachable and incomprehensible, to the intimate divine Beloved, present in the midst of Israel. It is the act of generosity, the very process of giving that actualizes the opening of the heart that in turn makes intimacy possible.
Again and again in the parasha we are told of the generous of heart and noble of spirit who contributed to the Mishkan. This is a generosity not only of possessions, but one that reaches even deeper, as we are told, “take from yourselves an offering to God, all the generous of heart (Exodus 35:5).”
 

That is, a literal taking from yourselves, your experience, your wisdom and particularity, and offering it to the Beloved. Before, alienated by God’s distance at the peak of Mount Sinai, the people could only express their generosity to the illusion of divinity in the Golden Calf (Exodus 32:3). Now, inviting God into their midst, the natural generosity of intimacy is properly expressed.
 

Just as G-d is ultimately both foreign and intimate, both self and other, both near and simultaneously remote, so this is true of our fellow human beings. We can experience our fellow humans as alienated, even antagonistic, others, or as intimate beloved companions.
Like the Israelites in the wilderness, alienated by G-d’s otherness, it is often easy to feel disconnected and not responsible for those who are most other, most unlike us. This disconnection is apparent between us and our neighbours in the developing world, who are separated from us by distance, wealth, culture, and politics. And, what about those in our midst who think differently to us? Do we not hold them too at a distance?
 

The challenge and promise of the Mishkan is that we can bridge those gaps and extend to our fellow humans, reflections – the possibility – of bearing the image of the divine to them in our actions, so that they too might desire to draw near.

Thank G-d then that He has provided a solution to our impasse by sending Yeshua ahead of us to open the door and make straight a way for us to walk in. And, it is incumbent on us who have entered in, to hold the door open and invite others to draw near and discover the fullness of new life in the Messiah.