Actoverts
Posted on March 11, 2021 (5781) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah | Level: Beginner
And he
made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. And he inserted the
poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark. And he made an
ark cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
(Shemos 37:4-6)
There’s a helpful writing tool that is good for giving children
feedback on writing and it creates beautiful word art. It’s called WORDLE. When
one plugs in a given text the most often used words are amplified and made
larger in proportion to the frequency of use. Right away the theme of an essay
can be detected or the over usage of a word is on open display. I’ve applied it
to the Megillah and you won’t be surprised to discover that “HaMelech” is the
BIG WORD of that document! Now if we were to insert the Parshios of this week,
verbs would dominate by far, the words, HE MADE and THEY MADE would crowd the
Word Cloud by far. Why!?
There a few dynamics at play here. The entire Jewish Nation is
collaborating harmoniously to create a place for HASHEM in this world. It is
unique in its unanimity and maybe only comparable to the time of the giving of
the Torah when the all of Israel said, “Naase v Nishma”. The construction of
the Mishkan follows the Sin of the Golden Calf, and after Moshe broke the
Tablets and went back up to Har Sinai twice to pray for his people for 40 days
and 40 nights.
Only then
after Yom Kippur were the instructions for building such a structure that would
invite HASHEM into their midst was delivered. The building of the Mishkan is an
exercise in Teshuvah. Everyone is doing whatever it takes to realign himself
with The Creator! Nothing is more uncomfortable and dangerous for a person or a
nation than to be out of sync with his Maker!
I once heard a clever phrase like this, and I find it to be very
practical, especially when dealing with children in school, and trying to
carefully measure out consequences so that mistakes can become converted to
lessons learned. “You can’t talk your way out of a problem you acted your
way into!” Doing an offensive act does not lend itself to being mended by a
mere expression of “Sorry!” If somebody broke something he has to fix or build
it anew! If a relationship was shattered by action it makes sense that it has
to be rebuilt with action!
Here’s another phrase I find particularly meaningful and practical,
and it has backing from the Ramchal and the Sefer HaChinuch. The Ramchal says,
“External actions arouse the internality.” The Sefer HaChinuch gives most often
for the reason-flavor of a Mitzvah, “A person is affected by his actions”.
So the agreeable quote is, “It’s easier to act your way into a better way of
feeling than to feel your way into a better way of acting.” The best way to
create change with ourselves is to get up and do. Actions speak louder than
words, even to ourselves!
There’s an old time debate that’s probably still alive and well. The
question is, “Is it better to be an introvert or an extrovert?” A mentor of
mine recently explained to me that defining whether or not one is an introvert
or an extrovert is a matter of asking one’s self, “Where do I get more
energized!” If being still and reading a book or being contemplative juices
your life, then maybe you are an introvert. If interacting with people and
working a crowd jazzes your day then maybe you are an extrovert. I heard
recently that a study was done and the most successful people are “ambiverts”.
They get excitement from both, like a tree that has roots in the private realm
and branches reaching out to the world, being both intro and extro
symbiotically and healthfully feed each other.
I would like to propose a 4th category, “Actoverts”. I meet kids
that love to help and do. Being active gives them life. This is more so if the
task they perform is seen as truly meaningful. Building the Mishkan awakens in
us aspects of a nation of actoverts.
Parshas Vayakhel
Posted on February 23, 2022 (5782) By Rabbi Shlomo Jarcaig
| Series: Kol
HaKollel | Level: Beginner
When commanding us to
observe the Shabbos (Sabbath), the Torah says, “On six days, work may be done,
but the seventh day shall be holy for you, a day of complete rest for G-d;
whoever does work on it shall be put to death.” (Shemos/Exodus 35:2) Just as
G-d created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, similarly we
emulate Him by “creating” for six days and resting on the seventh. The Torah’s
“work” is not an issue of effort, exertion, or difficulty. The Talmud explains
to us (Shabbos 70a) that the work the Torah prohibits are the 39 categories of
creative labor utilized in building the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Why did G-d
tell us specifically to refrain from the activities of building the Mishkan in
order to emulate him?
Rabbi Chaim Friedlander
(1) expounds that when G-d created the universe He created something from
nothing. There had previously been no physical properties, but with creation
G-d generated them. In contrast, when we create physical edifices we are
creating something from something. We are merely manipulating the preexisting
physical properties to generate a new functionality. But mankind, in its own
way, is also capable of creating something from nothing. When the Jews built
the Mishkan, they used physical devices and created a spiritual home for the
Divine. The process of building the Mishkan is the paradigm of how we can
use the physical world to foster spiritual growth.
We say in our Shabbos
prayers that the Shabbos is the purpose of creation. On Shabbos we cease from
our creative activities and focus on the spiritual goals behind them, just like
G-d ceased His mundane creating and focused on the purpose behind it all. Shabbos,
therefore, is a time to focus on the creative activities we normally perform
throughout the week, and to think about the real reasons for doing them. In
this way the Shabbos can affect all of our physical activities throughout the
week, and turn them into spiritual ones.
Have a Good Shabbos!
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