Vayakhel – Stop, Think, Contemplate

Rabbi Ezra Friedman

This week’s Parsha begins with the commandment of Shabbat:

וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֶֽת־כָּל־עֲדַ֛ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אֵ֚לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יְהוָ֖ה לַעֲשֹׂ֥ת אֹתָֽם׃שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִים֮ תֵּעָשֶׂ֣ה מְלָאכָה֒ וּבַיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י יִהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֥ם קֹ֛דֶשׁ שַׁבַּ֥ת שַׁבָּת֖וֹן לַיהוָ֑ה כָּל־הָעֹשֶׂ֥ה ב֛וֹ מְלָאכָ֖ה יוּמָֽת׃ לֹא־תְבַעֲר֣וּ אֵ֔שׁ בְּכֹ֖ל מֹשְׁבֹֽתֵיכֶ֑ם בְּי֖וֹם הַשַּׁבָּֽת׃

Moses then convoked the whole Israelite community and said to them: These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do: On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.You shall kindle no fire throughout your settlements on the Sabbath day.

 

Immediately afterwards, the Torah relates the blueprint of the Mishkan in detail. Our Sages discuss the order of Shabbat followed by the Mishkan. They explain that their juxtaposition comes to teach that it is not permissible to build the Mishkan on Shabbat. The Torah could have explicitly prohibited building the Mishkan on Shabbat, however the Torah wants to teach us an important lesson through the order in which this commandment was presented. The Torah could have also brought other commandments that are prohibited on Shabbat. However, there is a very deep message from the connection between Shabbat and the Mishkan.

The Mishkan is a very holy structure and therefore the Torah, as we have read the last couple of weeks, spends a number of chapters discussing its details. The Mishkan represents Hashem’s presence in this world. When Am Yisrael built the Mishkan they infused it with holiness. However, no matter how holy the project was, it had to be based on the ideal of Shabbat. Shabbat represents the most important ideal in Judaism, the purpose of humanity. Our role as the most advanced beings in the universe is to build, create and enhance our world. The world is putty to be molded as we see fit. If we don’t grasp the message of Shabbat, there comes a great danger, the danger of forgetting Hashem. In order to truly fulfill our destiny it is fundamental to realize that we are Hashem’s creations and our job is to enhance the world according to his desires.

This idea might sound simple, but it is not. The difference between Man and animal is man’s ability not to act on instinct, as we have the gift of self-control. When we use our ability to contemplate why we perform the actions we act upon, it has an immense impact on us. One of the reasons why the Talmud exclaims that intense anger is similar to idol worship is because when one is angry, he loses his most valuable spiritual tool – his ability to control his actions, to think before he acts.

The construction of the Mishkan, as holy as it might be, must still be based on acting with the right mindset. It is not enough to build the Mishkan for Hashem; it must be built on the foundation of Shabbat. The Torah, in its juxtaposition to the commandments of Shabbat and the Mishkan, teaches us the essence of Shabbat. This idea is so fundamental that even during the fashioning of the holiest vessels, work must be paused for the Shabbat.

Shabbat is meant to be a day of rest. However, the term “rest” has been used very loosely. Shabbat is not just a time to sleep or enjoy a clean home and a delicious meal. Shabbat is meant as a time for us to rest from our daily activities and strengthen our minds and ideals. The message of Shabbat is to realize that as powerful and creative as we might be, we are doomed to failure if we don’t know the purpose of what we are doing.

Science has always been focused not on the question of “why”, but on “what” or “how”. Shabbat is meant for us as Jews to delve into the “why”. Why are we here? What direction is the world going in? What can we do to improve our lives on a deeper level. The idea to stop, think and contemplate is so important that Shabbat is one of the most complicated, difficult, and severe commandments in the Torah. In order to truly keep Shabbat, one must read and become familiar with a large amount of Jewish text. One must understand all 39 Melachot that are prohibited on Shabbat, as well as their derivatives. Someone who premeditatedly desecrates Shabbat can receive capital punishment. The purpose of all of the prohibitions of Shabbat is for Jews to pause all material actions and really think about the purpose of our existence in this world. Once this objective is accomplished, it needs to be reiterated week in and week out. Through this virtue, our world changes. The important decisions we make, all spring from the message of our holy Shabbat.

We can relate to this concept in a very simple manner. Every human being is challenged in life to think before acting. Everyone has that opportunity to decide to stop and contemplate how he or she should act. In some situations, we fail – we act without thinking. All of us have said or done things we regret. We have hurt our friends and family because we didn’t think first.  If we can internalize that we must contemplate our actions, this will happen much less often. If we immerse ourselves in our thoughts and hearts, we will speak and treat our loved ones differently. Although this difficult attribute is molded over time and comes with maturity, everyone can develop it on their own personal level. This is the same message as Shabbat. We must be reminded every week to think and with our hearts and develop our minds. Without this process, we are lost. Let us learn from our holy Shabbat that in order to truly achieve in life, we must always stop, think, and contemplate.