Save "Pekudei: Construction and Deconstruction"
Pekudei: Construction and Deconstruction

אָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּא בַּר יוֹסֵף, כָּל שִׁבְעַת יְמֵי הַמִּלּוּאִים הָיָה מֹשֶׁה מְפָרְקוֹ וּמַעֲמִידוֹ שְׁתֵּי פְעָמִים בְּכָל יוֹם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: תָּקִים, הוּקַם. רַבִּי חֲנִינָא אוֹמֵר, שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: תָּקִים, הוּקַם, וַיָּקֶם.

R. Hiyya the son of Joseph stated: Throughout the seven days of dedication, Moses took apart the Tabernacle and reassembled it twice each day, as is indicated in those verses by the words raised up and it was raised. R. Hanina held that he did so three times each day, since it is said: Raise up, thou shalt raise up, and it was raised.

"The reason that the Tabernacle had to be completely dismantled each time...was that their trek through the desert was intended to elevate the 'sparks' that had fallen off the Divine Presence, a task that would be accomplished in stages each time it was erected again. ...

When the Tabernacle was dismantled, the holy attributes of God might have the opportunity to be used negatively, e.g. for the attribute of love to be used for loving what is evil. So the Israelites in the desert...had become instrumental in contributing to the restoration of God's Presence to its full glory. ... As soon as the Jewish people became aware that they had become an instrument for restoring one of the 'sparks' of the Divine Presence, they would re-erect the Tabernacle and make a point of observing the commandments associated with that attribute meticulously. ...

So it was the act of dismantling the Tabernacle that had granted these 'sparks' the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves. ... Note that the 'sparks' themselves are not only to be viewed as parts of the Divine Presence that had somehow gone astray, but they symbolize parts of the human personality which were in need of rehabilitation."

The Kedushat Levi of Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev

"The mandatory multiple cycles of building and tearing down...powerfully hint at a crucial realization. Man will fail. He may fail many times. Each time he fails, without exception, he cannot lose faith or motivation. He must pick himself up and immediately try again. He may build his sanctuary, and then see it not only threatened or breached, but toppled completely. When that happens, he should not fall into depression or melancholy, but once again begin the process of building the next Tabernacle. Moses did this twice a day, morning and evening. ... The serial assemblings and dismantlings of the Tabernacle point as well to another important part of our spiritual work. We must be prepared to inspect the quality of what we have built, constantly reevaluating all details of its construction, looking for small flaws we may have been unaware of in the original construction. There is no end to the upgrading work we can do to make our personal Sanctuary even more effective."

From the Netivot Shalom of the Slonimer Rebbe (Rabbi Sholom Noach Berezovsky)

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