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Vayakhel(Exodus 35:1-38:20)

Why Do It?

This week's Torah portion begins with a few verses about Shabbat, and then the entire remainder deals with the building of the Tabernacle. From this juxtaposition, the Sages derive that one cannot build the Tabernacle on Shabbat. One might think that since the Tabernacle is a means through which an individual attains a deeper relationship with God, the building of it overrides Shabbat. But this is not so. Why?

I think the reason is that "building" is ultimately a mundane act. And when we involve ourselves in the mundane - no matter for what meaningful purpose - we can too easily and quickly forget why we are doing it.

A nurse can take blood all day long and turn into a blood taker - not someone who is helping save human lives. A volunteer in the Third World, helping dig ditches for irrigation, can become a ditch digger, not a person contributing to the development of a nation. And someone building God's Sanctuary can come to look at himself as merely a builder.

Shabbat is the day to stop and remember. It is a day to stop doing what we are doing and remind ourselves why exactly we are doing it. If the answer is a good one, then Shabbat will help infuse meaning into the week. And if the answer is not a good one, then Shabbat will (hopefully) help steer our lives toward more meaningful accomplishment.

If we don't stop on Shabbat and refocus, then even the building of God's Tabernacle can lose its meaning to us. All the more so, the myriad other tasks we might find ourselves involved in. We vitally need that perceptive - every week, without exception.

Published: December 25, 2007

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About the Author

Rabbi Shaul Rosenblatt

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Shaul Rosenblatt grew up in Liverpool. He studied for his smicha at Aish Hatorah in Jerusalem where he met his first wife Elana a"h who passed away in 2001 after a long struggle with cancer. They had four children together and Shaul has a further four with his second wife Chana, who he married in 2003. Shaul is the author of Finding Light in the Darkness, published by Targum Press, about facing life challenges with strength and faith. Shaul founded Aish UK in 1993 and Tikun UK in 2006. Tikun is based in London and focuses on teaching personal wellbeing and meaningful Judaism. Tikun.co.uk. Shaul enjoys almost everything in life.

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May 25, 2013 / 16 Sivan 5773

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