30 February 28 • 2019
jn

Rabbi Shlomo 
Riskin

Relating 
To The 
Almighty

W

hy repeat all the details 
of the construction of the 
Mishkan here after we 
have already heard them when they 
were initially commanded? Would it 
not have been simpler to deal with 
the entire execution of exter-
nal building, furnishings and 
priestly garb with the single 
verse: “
And the People of 
Israel built the Mishkan exact-
ly as God commanded”?
In order to understand 
the significance of the rep-
etition, it is important to 
remember that the Almighty 
desires an intimate relation-
ship between Himself and 
the people of Israel. That is 
why they are commanded 
to build a Mishkan in the 
first place: “that I may dwell 
among them.”
However, worshiping the 
golden calf was a betrayal of 
the ideals given at Sinai. In effect, 
the Israelites committed adultery, 
scarring the love and intimacy God 
had just bestowed upon them. Since 
God is also a God of compassion, He 
forgives. However, can we legitimate-
ly expect forgiveness for as heinous a 
crime as idolatry? Will the Almighty 
take Israel back even after they have 
committed adultery?
Herein lies the true significance of 
the repetition of every painstaking 
instruction regarding the Mishkan. 
The repetition is a confirmation that 
the intimacy between God and Israel 
has been restored, that the relation-
ship between God and His bride, 

Israel, has returned to its original 
state of mutual commitment and 
faith. The repetition of the exact 
details is essentially God’
s gift of for-
giveness.
A special reading this week is 
Shekalim, which speaks of 
the obligation of every Jew 
to give a half-shekel to the 
Mishkan. This represents an 
act of commitment: a pledge 
of a 4,000-year-strong cove-
nantal relationship between 
God and Israel, demonstrat-
ed in our daily lives by the 
giving of our “half-shekels” 
to build our sanctuaries — 
yeshivas and synagogues, 
day schools and outreach 
centers — thus bringing God 
within our midst. Financial 
commitment is also the 
traditional halachic form of 
betrothal (symbolized in the 
wedding ring).
Israel, betrothed by the shekel to 
God, had succumbed to the temp-
tation of Amalek, substituting the 
temptations of gold and licentious-
ness for their God-groom.
The journey of the people Israel 
begins with commitment and love, 
stumbles through failure and sin, 
and concludes with the possibility of 
purification and renewal. These stag-
es mark the path of individual and 
national freedom, culminating in the 
festival of freedom, Passover. ■

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is chancellor of Ohr Torah 

Stone and chief rabbi of Efrat, Israel.

Parshat 

Vayakhel: 

Exodus 

35:1-38:20; 

II Kings 

12:1-17. 

(Shabbat 

Shekalim)

spirit

torah portion

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