Holding Back

This week we conclude Sefer Shemot and with it the Torah’s prolonged description of the Mishkan.  Toward the end of the Parsha, as the work on the Mishkan is complete, there is a seeming redundancy in the Torah that bothers many of the commentators.  In Shemot 39:32 we read, All the work of the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, was completed, and the Children of Israel had done everything that Hashem commanded Moses, so did they do.  The pasuk  seems to repeat itself – if they did “everything that Hashem commanded,” then what is added by the phrase “so did they do”? 

The Netziv offers a fascinating explanation of the significance of the phrase.  He explains that because the Jewish people had such an intense desire for the Divine Presence to reside in their midst, they may have done more than was required or expected of them.  The Torah therefore emphasizes that they “’did everything that Hashem commanded…so they did’ – and “not a jot more.”  Part of the greatness of B’nei Yisrael’s participation in the construction of the Mishkan was their capacity to restrain themselves and their spiritual yearnings to accord with Hashem’s desires.   

In this regard, we must contrast B’nei Yisrael here with the Torah’s description of Nadav and Avihu in their efforts to consecrate the Mishkan on its first day of operation.  We know that Nadav and Avihu were killed because they “offered strange fire before HaShem, which He had not commanded them” (Vayikra 10:1).  The Ohr ha-Chaim understands their death as resulting from their efforts to seek out closeness to God and a spiritual experience that was beyond the scope of Hashem’s intentions.  As he writes: “We are thus taught to reject the notion of a violent bid for closeness to the Divine even at life’s expense.  This occurs when man has set his heart and soul on the attainment of a goal even if it entails the loss of one’s life.” 

Nadav and Avihu could not control their personal spiritual yearnings and acted in a way counter to what Hashem had desired.  For this they were killed.  B’nei Yisrael, on the other hand were able to control themselves and channel their spiritual yearnings to meet God’s commandments.  There is a danger of allowing one’s sincere spiritual yearnings to cause that person to act selfishly.  It is key to remember that true Jewish spirituality is to follow the ratzon Hashem – the will of God – even if it runs counter to our personal intuitions.  Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch writes about Nadav and Avihu: “There is no room for any subjective discretion in any part of the sacrificial service in the sanctuary.  Precise limits and forms are prescribed even for the free-will offerings which must be strictly adhered to.  The closeness of and approach to God, which we seek with every offering may only be found through obedience and acceptance of God’s will.”   

As we prepare for a second Shabbat of social isolation and the inability to be in shul with our community, the message of the Mishkan is especially resonant.  We have a strong desire to connect with Hashem and with our holy tzibur.  Sometimes that requires us to hold back and refrain from doing that which might bring immediate emotional or personal satisfaction.  It is hard to believe that Hashem truly wants us to stay home and daven without a minyan, miss kriyat ha-Torah or to spend Shabbos alone.  But the Torah’s message is that we must be able to hold back and show restraint when that is demanded of us.  The Mishkan was the precursor of the Beit ha-Mikdash.  The Beit ha-Mikdash in turn is the paradigm for our modern day shuls, which are called mikdash me’at (mini-Temples).   In the interest of the health an wellbeing of our members, our community and the broader society our task this week is to show restraint by holding back from our normal Shabbos observance.  In doing so we are living the lesson of this week’s parsha and internalizing the message of the Mishkan.  Shabbat Shalom.

.