Build Your Own Tabernacle
BS”D
Volume 39, No. 22
22 Adar 5785
March 22, 2025
Sponsored by the Katz family on the yahrzeit of aunt Hannah Yeffman (Chana bat Yaakov Shulim a”h)
Nancy & David Broth and Rona & Aaron Lerner in memory of their father Alvin Cohn (Avraham ben Yaakov Hakohen a”h)
Mr. and Mrs. Jules Meisler in memory of Jules’ father Irving Meisler a”h
Most of this week’s Parashah describes the construction of the Mishkan / Tabernacle. R’ Dovid Kahn shlita (the “Toldos Aharon Rebbe” in Yerushalayim) writes: The primary purpose of the Mishkan was to inspire Bnei Yisrael to make a “home” for the Shechinah / Divine Presence in their own hearts. Even today, when there is no physical Mishkan, we can still create a home for the Shechinah within us. We read (Malachi 3:6), “For I, Hashem, have not changed, and you, sons of Yaakov, have not perished.” This verse teaches that just as Hashem is eternal, so the souls of the Jewish People are eternal, and there is no circumstance in which they will become separated from their root above. We do not have the same spiritual powers that our ancestors had, especially when they were led by Moshe Rabbeinu, but the spark certainly remains.
R’ Kahn continues: Every Jew’s actions carry great weight in the Heavens. Every choice a Jew makes literally moves worlds–affecting spiritual worlds above and causing physical manifestations below. As such, one must be very careful in his behavior. Every positive thing that one does for the sake of Heaven, in order to cause satisfaction to G-d, builds one’s personal Mishkan. Notably, R’ Kahn writes, “Mishkan” has the same Gematria (444) as “Middot” / character traits. In order to build his Mishkan, one must purify his Middot–distancing negative traits such as jealousy, desire, and the pursuit of honor, and improving one’s positive traits, such as love and reverence of Hashem. (Derech Edotecha)
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“Moshe assembled the entire assembly of Bnei Yisrael and said to them: ‘These are the things that Hashem commanded, to do them. On six days, work may be done, but the seventh day shall be holy for you, a day of complete rest for Hashem; whoever does work on it shall be put to death’.” (35:1-2)
Our Sages teach that the Mitzvah of Shabbat is juxtaposed to the commandment to assemble the Mishkan in order to teach that assembling the Mishkan does not take precedence over observing Shabbat. But why would one think that assembling the Mishkan does supersede Shabbat, such that the Torah must tell us that it does not? asks R’ Tuvya Ha’levi z”l (Tzefat, Eretz Yisrael; died circa 1605).
He answers: One might reason that since the service in the Mishkan, and later the Bet Hamikdash, may be performed on Shabbat, building the tabernacle within which the service is performed also is permitted on Shabbat. However, writes R’ Tuvya, that reasoning is faulty because our Sages say that the Mishkan and the Bet Hamikdash both miraculously constructed themselves, with all of man’s efforts being for show only. (Commentaries explain that even though Hashem rests His Shechinah on us, we must take initiative to show that we desire His presence.) If man’s efforts were necessary in order to build a tabernacle, perhaps those efforts would be permitted even on Shabbat in order that the Mishkan/Bet Hamikdash be completed as soon as possible. However, those efforts were not necessary; therefore, even going through the motions of assembling the Mishkan or Bet Hamikdash is prohibited on Shabbat.
R’ Tuvya Halevi continues: Specifically because the above reasoning is very subtle and someone might make a mistake, Moshe found it necessary to assemble all of Bnei Yisrael, men and women alike, to teach that assembling the Mishkan is not permitted on Shabbat. He taught them: “On six days, work may be done,” i.e., the work of building the Mishkan. “But the seventh day shall be holy for you,” i.e., even though the Temple service is permitted to be done on Shabbat, the day shall otherwise be holy, and you should not derive from the law regarding the Temple service that the Mishkan itself may be assembled. (Chen Tov)
Others offer the following reason why the service in the Mishkan/Bet Hamikdash may be performed on Shabbat, while building a tabernacle itself is not permitted on Shabbat: The real service that Hashem wants from us is consistency, represented by the Korban Tamid, the offering brought twice daily, day-in-and-day out, with no exceptions. In contrast, serving Hashem in a way that leads to one-time highs, which the construction of the Mishkan and Bet Hamikdash represent, is not the ideal. (Heard from R’ Meir Schlesinger shlita, founder of Yeshivat Sha’alvim)
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“Every wise-hearted person among you shall come and make everything that Hashem has commanded.” (35:10)
How did they know who was a “wise-hearted person”? R’ Yehonatan Eyebschutz z”l (Central Europe; 1690-1764) explains: Moshe did not tell the volunteers every detail that Hashem had commanded regarding the Mishkan. Instead, Moshe gave hints, and whoever was able to “make everything that Hashem has commanded” demonstrated thereby that he was a wise-hearted person.
Alternatively, he writes, the phrase “make everything that Hashem has commanded” was a commandment that every volunteer participate in every task so that there would be no jealousy or one-upmanship amongst the volunteers. (Tiferet Yehonatan)
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Pesach
R’ Moshe ben Maimon z”l (Rambam; 1135-1204; Spain and Egypt) writes: The 157th Mitzvah is that Hashem commanded us to relate the story of the Exodus from Egypt at the beginning of the night of the fifteenth of Nissan, each person according to his story-telling ability. The more one says–elaborating on what Hashem did for us, on the injustice of what the Egyptians did to us and on their cruelty (in Hebrew: “Chamas”), and on how Hashem took us out of Egypt and took revenge on the Egyptians for what they did–and the more one thanks Hashem, the better it is. So our Sages say (in the Pesach Haggadah): “The more one tells about the Exodus, the more he is praiseworthy.”
Rambam continues: The verse in the Torah that teaches this commandment is (Shmot 13:8), “You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of this that Hashem acted on my behalf when I left Egypt’.” Our Sages explain (in the Midrash known as Mechilta): I might think that one should begin from Rosh Chodesh–therefore the Torah says, “On that day.” If so, I might think that one should begin while it is still day [i.e., on Erev Pesach]–therefore it says, “Because of this” [i.e., Matzah and Maror], meaning: I only said to perform this Mitzvah when Matzah and Maror are before you [i.e., on the Seder night].
Rambam quotes the Mechilta further: Since the Torah says (Shmot 13:14), “It shall be when your son will ask you,” I might think that the Mitzvah applies only if your son asks you; if he does not ask, you need not tell him. Therefore it says (Shmot 13:8), “You shall tell your son”–even if he does not ask you. Still, I might think that the Mitzvah applies only to those who have children. How do I know that one must perform this Mitzvah even if he is alone? For this purpose, the Torah says (Shmot 13:3), “Moshe said to the people, ‘Remember this day on which you departed from Egypt’.” He commanded them to remember it, just as we are commanded to remember Shabbat [whether one is alone or with children]. As you already know, Rambam writes, our Sages say (in the Haggadah): “Even if we are all wise, we are all understanding, and we all know the entire Torah, it still is a Mitzvah for us to relate the story of the Exodus, and the more one relates, the more he is praiseworthy.”
The laws of this Mitzvah, Rambam adds, are explained at the end of Tractate Pesachim. (Sefer Ha’mitzvot: Asin 157)
R’ Dovid Yitzchok Eizek Rabinowitz z”l (1896-1979; Skolye Rebbe in Brooklyn, NY) writes that remembering the Exodus is equated with remembering Shabbat (see above) for another reason also: Just as Shabbat reminds us that Hashem is the G-d of the universe Who created the world, so the wonders at the time of the Exodus awaken our belief that He is the One Power who controls everything. (Mekor Ha’berachah: Mitzvat Aseh 21)
R’ Moshe Schick z”l (1805-1879; a leading rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva in Hungary) writes: From where did Rambam derive that the Mitzvah is “at the beginning of the night”? He explains: Since this Mitzvah applies equally to one who has children and one who does not, why does the Torah say, “You shall tell your son”? Because of this question, Rambam understood that the Torah is telling us to perform this Mitzvah when children are still awake, i.e., at the beginning of the night. (Maharam Schick Al Taryag Mitzvot #21)
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Date: March 20, 2025
