Perashot Vayakhel-Pekudei 5778

Perashot Vayakhel-Pekudei 5778

In this week's perasha, the details of the construction of the Mishkan are finalized. Ramban, one of the classic commentators, asked what skills the Israelites had to complete this task? The building of the Mishkan required individuals who were great craftsmen and were capable of fashioning intricate designs into metalwork and woodwork with precision. Less than a year prior, these people were still slaves. How were such untrained laymen capable of constructing the wondrous Mishkan? What did they know of transforming silver, gold or precious stones into holy objects?

The answer lies in the following pasuk in the perasha: "Every man whose heart lifted him up came, and everyone whose spirit inspired him..." [35:21]. The Ramban explains that the Jews demonstrated boldness andga'avah, haughtiness, to be able to rise to the challenge and to say, 'we might not have the knowledge or the know how to work with gold or silver, but we are going to undertake it nevertheless'. They strove, and they succeeded.
The character trait of ga'avah in Judaism is generally seen as a negative one. Yet, there are circumstances in which it might be necessary to be called upon.

Most people have strengths that they are truly unaware they possess. Sometimes, we discover them when we are challenged to act with audaciousness that reaches deep into the resources of our soul. When we throw ourselves into something we can be amazed to see the results. The Midrash teaches us: En dabar ha`omed bifne harasson, nothing stands before the will of a person.

This applies to many areas of life, especially in keeping Bore Olam's commandments. Some people are intimidated by the Missvot. It takes knowledge and discipline to want to give the right amount of sedaka, to keep Shabbat fully and to be a compassionate person. But if we truly yearn to do the will of Hashem, He will assist us from above so that our awesome potential is unlocked. Sometimes it takes a little daring husspa to turn ability into action. That is when Hashem will do the rest.