At the Speed of Thought
Posted on March 9, 2018 (5778) By Rabbi
Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah
| Level: Beginner
All the gold that had
been used for the work in all the work of the Holy the gold of the waving was
twenty nine talents, seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the holy
shekel. The silver of the community numbers was one hundred talents and one
thousand seven hundred and seventy five shekels, according to the holy shekel.
(Shemos 38:24-25)
There is a spiritual
principle that “blessings cannot be
counted” that is they cannot be quantified.” The Zohar asks, “How is it
possible to count the vessels of the Mishkan? The answer in cryptic terms is
that “from the left side they cannot be counted but from the right side Brocho-
Blessing is relevant!” What in the world does this mean?”
Rabbi Dessler helps
to decode the message and in doing he reveals a very big secret. Don’t worry,
big secrets are not at risk of becoming too well known. They can be shouted out
to the whole world and yet they would remain a secret. The left classically
represents the weaker side and the right the stronger. It’s not so much about
strong or weak but rather about the outer and inner realm. When it comes to
what is visible and what can be counted that is the left side. It is the
physical dimension of things. The right is stronger because it is eternal and
unable to be measured.
There are 88 keys on a piano. How many different types of
songs can be played on a piano with 88 keys? I believe the answer is, “Almost
unlimited!” (What if there are 613 keys!? That’s a different question.) The
piano keys are numbered. That’s the view from the “left”. The infinite forms of
musicality that it can express and the endurance of the compositions it births
is the study of the “right” side. It is the fulfillment of the purpose for
which this instrument was created.
Reb Dessler explains
that that every object or entity in this universe whether big or small, simple
or complex, has a root above and a reason for being that can be connected to
serving The Creator. The Chovos HaLevavos, in the Gate of Serving G-d spells
out that ultimately everything we do is either a Mitzvah or an Aveira,
fulfillment of a Divine Commandment or a Violation! How so?!
Initially there are
three areas of life. 1) Mitzvas which occupy a slim slice of our working days.
2) There are Aveiros – sins which we would hope are not a routine in our
schedule. 3) Then there is the largest part of our lives which is called
R’SHUS- neutral and able to go either way.
R”SHUS may include
sleeping, or eating, or getting dressed, or exercising, or driving to and from
work. They are not Mitzvos and neither are they necessarily Aveiros.
Here’s the shocking
news. At the end of the day, the Chovos HaLevavos states there are only two
realms. Those eight hours of sleep, those two hours of commuting, and all the
time and money spent eating and drinking are either connected to their blessed
and unquantifiable source or they are by default counted amongst the finite
domain of the mundane, to be piled nowhere with last year’s snow.
The real raging
battle of life is the contest for the territory of the “in between”. If one can
connect sleep to the need to get up and serve HASHEM with a refreshed mind then
eight hours have been captured. If one can eat to gain strength to do Mitzvos
then it becomes a Mitzvah, the eating and the food itself. Mitzvos have the
power to rescue buried treasure. With these lenses we can see how the entire
world and all of life is a giant field of opportunity and mine field riddled
with risk.
The son of a very wealthy man once asked me many years ago,
“What is the Torah’s view about having money? I told him, “Money is like
manure! (Please pardon the crude analogy) If it is spread like fertilizer on a
field where Mitzvah have been planted, it can accomplish worlds! If it’s just
sitting around it tends to stink!”
The construction of the Mishkan was from gold and silver and
regular earthly stuff. These are banal objects. A thing by itself is a bag of
nothing until it is properly dedicated. Then suddenly it can be made holy, that
fast, at the speed of thought.
Investing For The Long Term
Parshas
Vayakhel
The master craftsman
who implemented the Torah’s blueprint for the building of the mishkan was an
individual named Betzalel. The Torah tells us that Betzalel was uniquely
endowed with a “spirit of wisdom” that equipped him for this loftiest of tasks.
Mystical sources tell us that the
mishkan, the tabernacle, was a spiritual microcosm of the entire world.
Betzalel was knowledgeable in all areas of esoteric wisdom. He knew the letters
and permutations with which Hashem fashioned heaven and earth; he knew how to
harness this spiritual energy in the construction of the mishkan, Hashem’s
heavenly abode in its earthly form.
Our sages tell us that
Betzalel was a young boy at the time of the mishkan’s construction–no older
than 13. How could such a youngster have a level of wisdom that towered way
above all the greats of his generation?
The Torah alludes to
the spiritual greatness of Betzalel in the pasuk that enumerates his lineage.
“Behold I have called upon Betzaelel, the son of Uri, the son of Chur from the
tribe of Judah,” it says.
Here is precisely where
Betzalel’s greatness lay–in his being a grandson of Chur. Who was Chur and what
was the source of his greatness that he merited such an extraordinary
grandchild? We find scant information about Chur’s life in the Torah. However,
we do find Chur at the tragic scene of the Golden Calf, where the Jewish people
embraced the worship of the golden image.
Chur was appalled at
their behavior and stood up to admonish them. The frenzied mob was carried away
by a wave of hedonistic behavior and anarchy. They silenced Chur by brutally
killing him.
When we consider these
tragic events, we can’t help but ask ourselves why Chur chose to admonish and
oppose the people who were bent on defying reason? Surely he saw it was futile,
that they were determined to carry out their degenerate plans. Why endanger
your life, Chur, where is your common sense? Wait a bit until the people’s
senses return and then they will be more receptive to your sobering message.
The commentaries explain
that Chur was motivated by something nobler than practical common sense. He saw
the Jewish people hovering at the edge of an abyss. Just one day before, the
nation was the connecting bolt between heaven and earth; now that divine bond
had been ruptured. The people were plunging wildly downward.
His grief over this
downfall was so great that he was willing to sacrifice his life even if his
action could not prevent catastrophe.
Whenever we act for
the sake of Heaven, our self-sacrifice calls down Divine reciprocity. Although
we may not see this cause and effect immediately, the reward for such mesiras
nefesh will be great.
Chur was willing to
give up his life to secure the Divine connection between heaven and earth; his
grandchild was therefore given transcendent wisdom far beyond his age and
capacity to absorb. He merited the Divine mission of repairing that sublime
connection between heaven and earth through the medium of the mishkan.
Oftentimes I look at
students in the yeshiva who hail from families that are so distant from our
Torah heritage. These students persevered against all odds and miraculously
found their way back to their spiritual source. From where did they draw the
courage and inspiration?
Very likely there was a
grandmother in their family tree who cried copious tears for her children’s
spiritual safety when lighting the Shabbos candles. They were off to the
‘Goldene Medina’ and she prayed that they would not succumb to the temptations
that abounded there.
The answer to those
heartfelt prayers may not have come in her own lifetime. But when we see
evidence of it in her grandchild and perhaps much further down the line, in a
great-great grandchild, we can be sure of what its source is–the pure prayer of
a devout, beseeching heart.
Let’s invest our heart
and soul into our spiritual undertakings and do our best to ensure that we will
reap the dividends of our good deeds for many years to come.
Wishing you an
inspiring Shabbos.
Rabbi Naftali Reich
Text Copyright © 2014
by Rabbi Naftali Reich and Torah.org.
Rabbi Reich is on the
faculty of the Ohr Somayach Tanenbaum Education
Center.
Repetition is the Soul of Honesty
Parshas
Vayakhel
Posted on March 8, 2010 (5770) By Rabbi
Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein
| Level: Beginner
The book of Shemot is
reaching its conclusion in this week’s double parsha. The final review of all
of the artifacts, construction and costs of the mishkan is detailed before us.
The transparency that we all claim to long for in governmental spending and
budgets is realized in the Torah’s exquisite detail in accounting for all
income and spending on the mishkan.
This is an example of
the soul of public trust and accountability as it should be practiced. The fact
that this occurs in relation to holy purposes – the construction of the mishkan
and its artifacts – only intensifies the lesson that impeccable integrity is
necessary in such matters. Too many times people think that for holy projects
and Torah welfare somehow corners can be cut and that the responsibility for
funds donated and used can be juggled.
The torah itself
clearly does not tolerate such ideas and behavior. The Torah many times over
warns us of the danger of corruption, even so-called “holy” corruption. It
blinds us and distorts all of our achievements and accomplishments. Even the
great Moshe whose face shines with the radiance of heaven itself must be
publicly held accountable.
I think that is why
after so many millennia after the disappearance of the mishkan from the midst
of Israel these parshiyot are still read publicly in our synagogues. The
message of accountability and transparency in public monetary matters is the
keystone to holiness. The holiness of the mishkan is dependent upon these
principles and values.
Another idea present
here is the importance of repetitiveness in these matters. The Torah recounts
in detail what it has already told us earlier regarding the construction of the
mishkan and its artifacts. Since reading a budget or studying a data sheet is
not necessarily the most fascinating reading in the world, the Torah’s
insistence upon recounting these matters is at first glance most puzzling. But
it is the repetition as much as the content itself that is the Torah’s message
to us.
Repeating the
accounting of the construction of the mishkan – its expenses and labor and
talent – emphasizes to us that the holy mishkan was crafted efficiently and
honestly. There is no longer any question regarding its probity when the Torah
lists for us the materials and work once more.
The second accounting must coincide exactly with the first
description of the materials and work involved. And repetition is the soul of
honesty. One must train one’s self to be honest, to resist temptation and
shoddiness. Goodness and truthfulness are conditioned by habitual behavior more
so than by inspired sermons and learned treatises.
In Yiddish there was a folk saying that “truth is the best
lie.” A lie requires many other lies to cover its tracks. Truth stands pristine
and strong always. Therefore it is not only the first accounting that is
important in public and holy matters but the later accounting is also of equal
if not even more importance. This week’s double parsha certainly drives this
point home.
Shabat shalom.
Rabbi Berel Wein
No comments:
Post a Comment