THE PRESENT OF HIS PRESENCE
The Jewish people reached their apex in this week’s Parsha, Shmini, with the completion and inauguration of the Mishkan. Finally, after all the preparations and building and practice, the first day of Nissan arrived and HaShem’s Presence will fill the Mishkan, the handiwork of our people. At every step of the process, the Torah testifies that it was all done according to the strict rules and instructions and the proper intentions that HaShem instructed Moshe. In spite of their conscientious dedication to all the details, nevertheless, once everything was done and the inaugural offerings were brought, HaShem’s Presence was nowhere to be seen. Our Sages teach that Aaron was shamefaced. He was certain that HaShem had not accepted his offerings and that the sin of the Golden Calf still hung over him. At that point Moshe and Aaron entered the Mishkan and davened to HaShem that He have mercy on them and rest His Presence on the Mishkan. After that prayer the Shechina descended.
Why did HaShem not bring His Shechina immediately upon the completion? What was the purpose of causing this anxiety?
The Chovos Halvavos teaches us that the pride one has in their spiritual/intellectual achievements can be found in two sorts. The first is the person who identifies his achievements as his own accomplishments. He associates the people who are less accomplished than he as losers. The pride that rests in him is couched in self accomplishment. The second sort of pride is the person who recognizes his achievements as gifts that were granted to him by HaShem. He is proud that he received such gifts and appreciates them as such. The second fellow walks around with an air of gratitude. He knows that he is the recipient of HaShem’s Goodness. He is happy to share it with others and has a positive perspective on other people. The first fellow, on the other hand, has a negative perspective on other people.
There is no greater achievement that Man could aspire to than creating a Mishkan in which HaShem’s Presence re-sides. Perhaps the reason HaShem refrained from settling His Presence immediately upon the completion of the Mishkan was to protect Moshe, Aaron and their people from any sort of inappropriate pride. By holding back His Presence, HaShem demonstrated to all that his Presence did not rest among His people because of their accomplishments, rather it was a gift granted to them by Him.
So often we do everything in our control to elevate our level of serving HaShem and it somehow eludes us. The sto-ry of the Mishkan should be a source of encouragement to us. Even when everything is done perfectly according to the prescribed instructions and nothing is missing, nevertheless, HaShem wants us to daven for mercy and grant success to our efforts. We can be sure that our tefillos will be answered just as He answered us then.
Have a wonderful Shabbos.
Paysach Diskind