Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt”l asks an astounding question on this Parsha. Why is the detailed description of the Mishkan in Sefer Shemot, when it really belongs in Sefer Vayikra? Vayikra is all about the laws of the Kohanim and the service of Hashem in His Sanctuary - so surely the construction of the Mishkan belongs there? Sefer Shemot is all about the birth of the Nation of Israel - as we traverse through slavery, emerge from Mitzrayim and receive the Torah at Har Sinai. This technical Parsha is surely out of place?!
His answer is even more powerful than his question. Rabbi Sacks answers that, while the ultimate purpose of the Mishkan is to ‘make a home for Hashem’ - it appears in Shemot for a crucial reason. Nothing builds a people like people building together. Rabbi Sacks posits that it is the making of Hashem’s home that helps build us during this critical birth phase. In addressing the need to nurture and unite this battered and diverse nation, the Mishkan gives us a shared vision and purpose.
When we have a clear goal ahead of us, we can then look to the left and the right and appreciate every person for the unique talents and strengths that they bring to enable the realization of the vision. We build the Mishkan to build the Nation. Rabbi Sacks explains that when people try to unite through simply ‘respecting’ one another’s differences - all they see are their differences and they move further apart - or at best - remain neutral to one another.
As a nation in modern times, do we still have a clear shared vision and goal - one which we can point towards and inspire us to appreciate those like us and those different to us - so that we know how important we all are - and unite in our diversity through our common purpose? Next time you see someone you perceive as different - perhaps seek to understand what they may bring to the realization of our Nation’s purpose that you may not be able to - and visa versa? We unite best when looking ahead!
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