Pekudei: Building towards holiness

ByRabbi Ruhi Sophia Rubenstein

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה

בְּרוּךֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָה שְׁכִינּוּ רוּחַ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדַשְׁתַנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתֶיהֶ וְצִוְתָנוּ לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה

בְּרוּכָה אַתְּ יָהּ אֱלֹהָתֵינוּ רוּחַ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קֵרְבָתְנוּ לַעֲבוֹדָתָהּ וְצִוְתָנוּ לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה

Blessings for learning and studying Torah

Berakhot 11b:

Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu la’asok b’divrei Torah

Nonbinary Hebrew Project:

B’rucheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach ha’olam asher kidash’tanu b’mitzvotei’he v’tziv’tanu la’asok b’divrei Torah

Feminine God Language:

Brukhah at Ya Elohateinu ruach ha’olam asher keir’vat’nu la’avodatah v’tziv’tavnu la’asok b’divrei Torah

שמות ל״ט:ל״ב-מ״ג

(לב) וַתֵּ֕כֶל כׇּל־עֲבֹדַ֕ת מִשְׁכַּ֖ן אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וַֽיַּעֲשׂוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כְּ֠כֹ֠ל אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֧ה יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֖ה כֵּ֥ן עָשֽׂוּ׃ {פ} (לג) וַיָּבִ֤יאוּ אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּן֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶת־הָאֹ֖הֶל וְאֶת־כׇּל־כֵּלָ֑יו קְרָסָ֣יו קְרָשָׁ֔יו בְּרִיחָ֖ו וְעַמֻּדָ֥יו וַאֲדָנָֽיו׃ (לד) וְאֶת־מִכְסֵ֞ה עוֹרֹ֤ת הָֽאֵילִם֙ הַמְאׇדָּמִ֔ים וְאֶת־מִכְסֵ֖ה עֹרֹ֣ת הַתְּחָשִׁ֑ים וְאֵ֖ת פָּרֹ֥כֶת הַמָּסָֽךְ׃ (לה) אֶת־אֲר֥וֹן הָעֵדֻ֖ת וְאֶת־בַּדָּ֑יו וְאֵ֖ת הַכַּפֹּֽרֶת׃ (לו) אֶת־הַשֻּׁלְחָן֙ אֶת־כׇּל־כֵּלָ֔יו וְאֵ֖ת לֶ֥חֶם הַפָּנִֽים׃ (לז) אֶת־הַמְּנֹרָ֨ה הַטְּהֹרָ֜ה אֶת־נֵרֹתֶ֗יהָ נֵרֹ֛ת הַמַּֽעֲרָכָ֖ה וְאֶת־כׇּל־כֵּלֶ֑יהָ וְאֵ֖ת שֶׁ֥מֶן הַמָּאֽוֹר׃ (לח) וְאֵת֙ מִזְבַּ֣ח הַזָּהָ֔ב וְאֵת֙ שֶׁ֣מֶן הַמִּשְׁחָ֔ה וְאֵ֖ת קְטֹ֣רֶת הַסַּמִּ֑ים וְאֵ֕ת מָסַ֖ךְ פֶּ֥תַח הָאֹֽהֶל׃ (לט) אֵ֣ת ׀ מִזְבַּ֣ח הַנְּחֹ֗שֶׁת וְאֶת־מִכְבַּ֤ר הַנְּחֹ֙שֶׁת֙ אֲשֶׁר־ל֔וֹ אֶת־בַּדָּ֖יו וְאֶת־כׇּל־כֵּלָ֑יו אֶת־הַכִּיֹּ֖ר וְאֶת־כַּנּֽוֹ׃ (מ) אֵת֩ קַלְעֵ֨י הֶחָצֵ֜ר אֶת־עַמֻּדֶ֣יהָ וְאֶת־אֲדָנֶ֗יהָ וְאֶת־הַמָּסָךְ֙ לְשַׁ֣עַר הֶֽחָצֵ֔ר אֶת־מֵיתָרָ֖יו וִיתֵדֹתֶ֑יהָ וְאֵ֗ת כׇּל־כְּלֵ֛י עֲבֹדַ֥ת הַמִּשְׁכָּ֖ן לְאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד׃ (מא) אֶת־בִּגְדֵ֥י הַשְּׂרָ֖ד לְשָׁרֵ֣ת בַּקֹּ֑דֶשׁ אֶת־בִּגְדֵ֤י הַקֹּ֙דֶשׁ֙ לְאַהֲרֹ֣ן הַכֹּהֵ֔ן וְאֶת־בִּגְדֵ֥י בָנָ֖יו לְכַהֵֽן׃ (מב) כְּכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֑ה כֵּ֤ן עָשׂוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֵ֖ת כׇּל־הָעֲבֹדָֽה׃ (מג) וַיַּ֨רְא מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶת־כׇּל־הַמְּלָאכָ֗ה וְהִנֵּה֙ עָשׂ֣וּ אֹתָ֔הּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה כֵּ֣ן עָשׂ֑וּ וַיְבָ֥רֶךְ אֹתָ֖ם מֹשֶֽׁה׃ {פ}

Exodus 39:32-43

(32) Thus was completed all the work of the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting. The Israelites did so; just as יהוה had commanded Moses, so they did. (33) Then they brought the Tabernacle to Moses, with the Tent and all its furnishings: its clasps, its planks, its bars, its posts, and its sockets; (34) the covering of tanned ram skins, the covering of dolphin skins, and the curtain for the screen; (35) the Ark of the Pact and its poles, and the cover; (36) the table and all its utensils, and the bread of display; (37) the pure lampstand,*pure lampstand See note at 31.8. its lamps—lamps in due order—and all its fittings, and the oil for lighting; (38) the altar of gold, the oil for anointing, the aromatic incense, and the screen for the entrance of the Tent; (39) the copper altar with its copper grating, its poles and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand; (40) the hangings of the enclosure, its posts and its sockets, the screen for the gate of the enclosure, its cords and its pegs—all the furnishings for the service of the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting; (41) the service vestments for officiating in the sanctuary, the sacral vestments of Aaron the priest, and the vestments of his sons for priestly service. (42) Just as יהוה had commanded Moses, so the Israelites had done all the work. (43) And when Moses saw that they had performed all the tasks—as יהוה had commanded, so they had done—Moses blessed them.

From Rabbi Dr. Erin Leib Smokler, "Inviting God Into God's House" at https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/421789.16?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en
As Pekudei unfolds and the Tabernacle, the site of so much devotion and ritual, opens for business, we are all cautioned to take note of this paradoxical reality. Even when following God to the letter of the law ("just as the Lord commanded")--or, perhaps, precisely when following God to the letter of the law--there is a great danger that we just might lose contact with God in the details, in the distractions, in the process. Moshe's blessing thus resonates through time. "Yehi ratzon she'tishre Shekhinah b'maaseh yadei[nu]." "May it be [our] will that the divine Presence rest in the work of [our] hands." May we all be blessed not to lose God in our pursuits of God.

שמות מ׳:כ״ח-ל״ה

וַיָּ֛שֶׂם אֶת־מָסַ֥ךְ הַפֶּ֖תַח לַמִּשְׁכָּֽן׃ וְאֵת֙ מִזְבַּ֣ח הָעֹלָ֔ה שָׂ֕ם פֶּ֖תַח מִשְׁכַּ֣ן אֹֽהֶל־מוֹעֵ֑ד וַיַּ֣עַל עָלָ֗יו אֶת־הָעֹלָה֙ וְאֶת־הַמִּנְחָ֔ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶת־מֹשֶֽׁה׃ {ס} וַיָּ֙שֶׂם֙ אֶת־הַכִּיֹּ֔ר בֵּֽין־אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד וּבֵ֣ין הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חַ וַיִּתֵּ֥ן שָׁ֛מָּה מַ֖יִם לְרׇחְצָֽה׃ וְרָחֲצ֣וּ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ מֹשֶׁ֖ה וְאַהֲרֹ֣ן וּבָנָ֑יו אֶת־יְדֵיהֶ֖ם וְאֶת־רַגְלֵיהֶֽם׃ בְּבֹאָ֞ם אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֗ד וּבְקׇרְבָתָ֛ם אֶל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ יִרְחָ֑צוּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶת־מֹשֶֽׁה׃ {ס} וַיָּ֣קֶם אֶת־הֶחָצֵ֗ר סָבִיב֙ לַמִּשְׁכָּ֣ן וְלַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ וַיִּתֵּ֕ן אֶת־מָסַ֖ךְ שַׁ֣עַר הֶחָצֵ֑ר וַיְכַ֥ל מֹשֶׁ֖ה אֶת־הַמְּלָאכָֽה׃ {פ}
וַיְכַ֥ס הֶעָנָ֖ן אֶת־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וּכְב֣וֹד יְהֹוָ֔ה מָלֵ֖א אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּֽן׃ וְלֹא־יָכֹ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה לָבוֹא֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד כִּֽי־שָׁכַ֥ן עָלָ֖יו הֶעָנָ֑ן וּכְב֣וֹד יְהֹוָ֔ה מָלֵ֖א אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּֽן׃

Exodus 40:28-35

Then he put up the screen for the entrance of the Tabernacle. At the entrance of the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting he placed the altar of burnt offering. On it he offered up the burnt offering and the meal offering—as יהוה had commanded Moses. He placed the laver between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing. From it Moses and Aaron and his sons would wash their hands and feet; they washed when they entered the Tent of Meeting and when they approached the altar—as יהוה had commanded Moses. And he set up the enclosure around the Tabernacle and the altar, and put up the screen for the gate of the enclosure. When Moses had finished the work, the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Presence of יהוה filled the Tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud had settled upon it and the Presence of יהוה filled the Tabernacle.

רש"י על שמות ל״ט:מ״ג:א׳

ויברך אתם משה. אָמַר לָהֶם יְהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁתִּשְׁרֶה שְׁכִינָה בְמַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵיכֶם, וִיהִי נֹעַם ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ עָלֵינוּ וְגוֹ', וְהוּא אֶחָד מִי"א מִזְמוֹרִים שֶׁבִּתְפִלָּה לְמֹשֶׁה (ספרא):

Rashi on Exodus 39:43:1

ויברך אתם משה AND MOSES BLESSED THEM — He said to them “May it be the will of God that His Shechinah rest upon the work of your hands; ‘and let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us’” (Psalms 90:17.) (Sifra, Shemini, Mechilta d'Miluim 2 15) This (from ויהי נועם onward) is part of one of the eleven Psalms (90—100) that are in the section beginning with, תפלה למשה; (Numbers Rabbah 12:9).

בראשית ב׳:א׳-ג׳

וַיְכֻלּ֛וּ הַשָּׁמַ֥יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ וְכׇל־צְבָאָֽם׃ וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹהִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃ וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ {פ}

Genesis 2:1-3

The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. On the seventh day God finished the work that had been undertaken: [God] ceased on the seventh day from doing any of the work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy—having ceased on it from all the work of creation that God had done.

from Rabbi David Kasher, "The Invisible Palace" at https://hadar.org/torah-tefillah/resources/invisible-palace
The parallel between the Sabbath and the sanctuary slowly becomes clear. We engage in work to build the mishkan, and then we refrain from just that work when it is completed—and then, as promised, God dwells among us. This mirrors the way that God engaged in work to build the world and then refrained from that work when it was completed. The name for that completion was “Shabbat”—the Sabbath day. And so, it turns out that this structure, the thing we have been building now for five weeks of parashiyyot, is in fact Shabbat herself. It is she who will be the eternal sanctuary, in which both God and Israel shall dwell.
The mishkan was intended to be temporary, only lasting through the desert journey. And the Temple turned out to be temporary; physical buildings can always be destroyed. But Shabbat is to carry us through time.
These links forged with the words of the Torah—first, broadly, between the creation of world and the building of the mishkan, and then, specifically, between Shabbat and the completion of the mishkan—lend new force to R. Abraham Joshua Heschel’s famous phrasing in his book, The Sabbath:
The seventh day is a palace in time which we build.²
He may have meant that poetically, but now we are able to understand it literally: we actually build ourselves a Shabbat. It was not enough to create a sanctuary in space for God to dwell in, as God had done once for us. We then had to finish all the work we had done, to step back and see it completed, and then to rest and be refreshed on the seventh day—as God also once did.