Making sense of the sedra: Vayakhel
Embrace the chance to do a mitzvah
In this week’s parsah, Vayakhel, we read that the work required to facilitate the construction of the Mishkan necessitated an enormous communal effort, with a fundraising campaign in which everyone participated.
“Moses commanded, and a proclamation was made throughout the camp saying, ‘Let no man or woman make further effort toward gifts for the sanctuary!’ The people stopped bringing. Their efforts had been more than enough for all the tasks to be done” (Shemot 36:6-7).
The Mishkan was dedicated on the 1st of Nissan, and just over four months after its dedication, on the 9th of Av, Am Yisrael sinned with the spies and were consequently punished with another 39 years of wandering through the wilderness. Ultimately it would take another 440 years before King Solomon would build the Beit HaMikdash.
However, when Am Yisrael contributed towards the building of the Mishkan they didn’t know that it would be in use for so long. From their perspective, it would only be functional for a matter of months before entering Israel and building the Beit HaMikdash. Moses solicited the services of multitudes of volunteers for many months of continuous labour, for an edifice with a useful life of mere months. How could such a mammoth expenditure of time and resources be utilised for such an apparent short-term benefit?
Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky explains that Am Yisrael were simply fulfilling the mitzvah of “they shall make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them” (Shemot 25:8). Although the anticipated shelf-life of the Mishkan was temporary, its impact – just like every mitzvah – would be eternal and outlast the physical edifice.
Whenever we are provided with the opportunity to fulfil a mitzvah, instead of approaching it through a cost-benefit analysis, we need to give it our all with the knowledge that we have the ability to bring Hashem’s presence into the world.
Rabbi Brendan Stern is at Hendon United Synagogue
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
