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.
Emotional
Parshas Vayakhel
Posted on March 23, 2006 (5766) By Rabbi Raymond
Beyda | Series: Table
Talk | Level: Beginner
The job of building the
tabernacle was not a simple contractor’s task. The holy kavanot -intentions-
that had to be infused into the structure and its utensils were not for a
simple Jew either. Moshe was correct in
assuming that he was probably the best suited for the task.
However, Hashem informed him that it was to be Besalel the
grandson of Hur who would merit the misvah. It was Hur’s brave defense of
Hashem’s honor in the face of a mob of idol worshippers that tipped the scale
in favor of his offspring. The Tabernacle was, after all, atonement for the sin
of the Golden Calf that Hur so strongly opposed at the cost of his life.
The question is raised,
however, “Wouldn’t Besalel’s personal animosity towards those who murdered his
grandfather invalidate him to serve as the one to represent all of the people
in this holy task?” This emotion should have interfered with his ability to act
on behalf of the entire congregation with the unity and purity of intent needed
to complete the job correctly.
The Midrash points
out that the Tabernacle was built with such a degree of purity that it was hidden
and never destroyed as were the two Temples that later served as the House of G-d. How did he attain this level and
block out the negatives feelings?
The Messilat Yesharim
describes vengeance as one of the most powerful human emotions – one that can block
common sense and clear thought in even the wisest of people. It is, he says, one of the hardest feelings to
control. Besalel gathered all of his tremendous energy to overcome this
force. He knew that if the Torah demands of a person then the command is
achievable. This power that he so definitely invoked earned him the honor of
building the Mishkan even more than Moshe. It was the
love of his brothers that prompted his grandfather to sacrifice his life and
this same feeling made Besalel most suited for the job.
We often feel that our
emotions are in charge of our behavior. “I couldn’t help myself” is a common
excuse. We should realize that we have powers far beyond what logic dictates to
conquer our emotions and to do what Hashem prefers. Understanding that this is true, increases our
responsibility to perform as the Torah dictates – even in the face of the
strongest waves of emotion. If more of used this energy to forgive rather
than avenge we could bring peace to our people and redemption speedily in our
days.
Shabbat Shalom
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