Artwork by Sefira Lightstone.
A WEEKLY TORAH THOUGHT FROM RABBI MORDY
This week’s Parsha (Vayakhel) tells of the artisans, the expert craftsmen who produced the Mishkan, the Tabernacle where the Jewish people served G-d in the desert. What is most interesting to note is how little this differs from the previous portions where G-d commands it to Moses and Moses conveys to the Jewish people. In short, we’re starting to get repetitive and redundant. What is the deal? The Torah doesn’t waste words (ever!) so why the need to repeat the same sequence again? Couldn’t it just have said that the artisans carried it out as instructed and save the ink?
The answer serves as a valuable lesson: It’s all about the process. We cannot fixate on the assumption that how it’s going is the same as how it started. There is so much to be gleaned from moments along the way; we may hope for a certain outcome when embarking on a project, but we should still celebrate the outcome, even if it is different than what we hoped for or expected. There is beauty in every result, and art in the process of the change that transpires but most likely— in fact almost never— does the outcome reflect the exact plan. So there is a miracle in the fact the Jewish people carried out the plan exactly as G-d specified it, and got the exact results. The lesson for us is to be present for everything: the directions, the process and the outcome. Realize it won’t end up the way we expected when we first started (be it at home, at work, or anywhere in between) and if it does it is nothing short of miraculous. But however it turns out is always according to G-d’s Master plan; may we be blessed to see its goodly and G-dly impact on the world! Good Shabbos!