* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
Mazal tov! This Shabbat we will be finishing Sefer Shemot.
The final parsha of this book, Parshat Pekudei, marks the end of a long journey: from the exodus from Egypt, through the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, to the Sin of the Golden Calf. And now the people start to construct a Mishkan (Sanctuary), a spiritual center that will accompany them throughout their 40-year sojourn in the desert. Instead of contributing their gold and silver for a calf, they are now donating their gold and silver for the building of a Mishkan. What a difference!
Over hundreds of verses, the Torah describes in great detail the tremendous output of effort and energy exerted by the people to complete this holy task; there were so many mitzvot to fulfill and so many instructions to follow, a huge burst of activity. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks summarizes it in this way: “The theme of this book (Sefer Shemot) is the transfer of responsibility from God to human beings. It is not God’s power that takes center stage in this story but God’s empowerment of people. God shows us the way but expects us to follow it on our own.”
If we look at Sefer Shemot from a “zoom-out” perspective, a clear pattern unfolds: It begins in a state of chaos and unconstrained evil but ends with the building of the Mishkan, with a united people working together to achieve a common spiritual goal in an organized manner.
Sefer Shemot describes a national process that took place in Egypt long ago and is taking place in Gaza today in which the Jewish people must bring order to a chaotic world. But this journey is also true on a personal level. Each person is called upon to move from slavery to freedom: to take control of one’s desires and inclinations and slowly, slowly build a moral life based on the eternal values of the Torah.
Shabbat Shalom from Israel!
