DON’T JUST GO TO SLEEP
We finally reach the grand finale of the building of the Mishkan at the conclusion of this week’ Parsha, Pikudei. When all the components of the Mishkan were put together and the vessels in their appropriate places, ‘The cloud covered the Mishkan and HaShem’s Honor filled the Mishkan’. The Presence of HaShem finally had Her residence in this world; in the midst of HaShem’s chosen people. With this picture, the Book of our exodus concludes. We have arrived at our destiny. We are the carriers of HaShem’s Presence throughout world geography and throughout world history. We are now ready to be launched.
It is worth noting that even though all the components were ready and Aharon and his sons had their special clothing, nevertheless, HaShem’s Presence did not descend until after the seven days of inauguration were completed. Only on the eighth day, which was the first day of Nissan did His Presence descend. At the end of each day of inauguration the Mishkan was disassembled and reconstructed.
I have difficulty understanding the purpose of disassembling and reassembling every day. If HaShem wanted the Mishkan to have a seven day initiation period before filling it with His Presence why must it be taken down? During this period could the Mishkan not remain standing? It would seem to indicate that not only is the Mishkan to serve as the location of avoda (HaShem’s service) , but the construction itself is an essential part of the avoda. The building of the Mishkan was not just a logistical concern. Therefore, just as those seven days of avoda were necessary for the initiation of the Mishkan, so too, was the taking down and rebuilding of the Mishkan necessary for the initiation of the Mishkan.
Why is the taking the Mishkan down and building it up essential? Perhaps the reason is because the preparation of avoda influences the avoda that follows. The power of our avoda is greatly influenced by the preparation the preceded the avoda. The strength of a building is only as strong as the foundation upon which it is built.
Every word in the Torah is relevant every day of our life in every period of our history. If the Torah spent five Parshios discussing the Mishkan there is certainly relevance to every Jew every day.
Our Sages teach us that every Jew embodies the Mishkan and its vessels. One such example is our heart which corresponds to the innermost Sanctuary in which the Aron haKodesh was kept. The same is true with all of our organs. They all correspond to the components of the Mishkan. Using this model, perhaps we can appreciate the relevance of taking down the Mishkan and building it up.
Every night when we go to sleep, we return our neshama to her Creator. In the morning when we awake she is returned to us and we begin a new day. When we lay down and prepare to return our neshama, we are taking down our Mishkan and when we awake we must rebuild our Mishkan. Our success in using our Mishkan to serve HaShem during the course of the day depends greatly on how we take her down and reconstruct her again.
It is no wonder that there are instructions how a Jew prepares himself to go to sleep and how he prepares himself when he wakes up.
Have a wonderful Shabbos.
Paysach Diskind