This week we finished the 2nd book of the Torah which is called Shmot (Exodus).  The concluding parsha (weekly Torah portion) is called P’kudi.  The root of this word has many meanings including,:to order, to remember, and to count.  In context, p’kudi means, “The countings or the accounts,” as in, These are the accounts of the mishcan (tabernacle)…,” which is in fact how the parsha begins.

You see, the parsha begins with Moshe telling the tribe of Levi to take an accounting of the mishcan.  And following this order we find out how much gold and silver and copper was used in the making of the mishcan.

According to R. Aryeh Kaplan, the amount of gold was 4,386 1/2 pounds, silver 15,088 3/4 pounds, and copper 10,620 pounds.  Not bad, eh?

Moving on we learn how they made the gold into thread for the holy garments of the high priest, along with other details of his outfit.

When the work was all finished, the parts were brought to Moshe (Moses) and we learn that everything was done exactly as haShem (god) commanded.  Because of this, Moshe blesses the people.

We are then told that haShem commanded Moshe to set up the mishcan on the first day of the first month, and also in what order things are to be set up.  And then we read that on the first day of the first month of the second year, Moshe assembles the mishcan.

Just for you folks who like to keep score, this is less then a year from the time the people left Egypt, by two weeks.  We now read how Moshe set up the mishcan, including lighting the menorah, getting the incense going, doing sacrifices, and anointing everything.  And when he finished, the cloud of haShem covered the tent of the mishcan, and we end by being told that the people would not travel when the cloud was on the mishcan; they only traveled on the day the cloud lifted.

And with this, we finish the second book of the Torah.

So, what can we learn from all of this?  Many things I can assure you.

But two come to my mind this week.  The first one has to do with the question of why do we get all this repetition on how to build the mishcan, up to and including the actual assembly of the mishcan?  Why do we need all of this?  Why not just say that Moshe assembled it according to the instructions and god came down on it so we know he must have done it right?

To help answer this question, I need to share something a teacher shared with me a long time ago.  This teacher drew a circle and divided it into quadrants.  The first quadrant was the place where ideas come from.  The second quadrant was labeled intellect and had to do with verbalizing the idea (or drawing the design of the idea).  The third quadrant was called action, and the fourth was celebration.

Each quadrant is required in order to complete a task and feel good about it.

My teacher had me draw along 2/3 of the circle and then stop, and connect that point back to the top.  After I did, this teacher explained that this is what most people do, because it is at this point that something happens:  we get tired, or shamed, or something.

So, instead of completing the project and enjoying/celebrating what we have done, we immediately start thinking of some new project to do.  And as a result of this, our circle of success (which leads to self-esteem) deflates and we start feeling powerless and helpless.

What does this have to do with our Torah and all the repetition?  Well, if you look at the repetition, you will see that it follows along these four quadrants.  First haShem has the idea and gives it to Moshe who tells it to the people who build it.

Finally, and most importantly for it is the part that we do the least, Moshe builds and completes the project and we see the fruits of our labors:  God coming down and actually being amongst us!

Now it is time to celebrate!!!

And this is why we need to read the details of Moshe assembling the mishcan.  We need to remember to finish our projects as well.  This is one of the messages we learn this week.

A second message we get is one I shared in a previous year.  However, I think it is so important I am going to share it again, and elaborate a little more on it.

Many years ago, in a Torah discussion group, we pondered why, after spending all this time discussing the mishcan, and when the mishcan is finally complete, the Torah adds this extra little bit about when the cloud lifts, we travel, and when it is on the mishcan, we stay put.

What was the Torah trying to tell us?  It finally came to us (thank you Chico):  the Torah was telling us that when we are in a fog and can’t see what to do or where to go, don’t go anywhere or do anything.  Just sit and wait until the fog/cloud lifts and things become clear and then you will know which way to go.

The beauty of this is so sweet and so subtle.  For hidden within this truth is another truth.

This second truth is the proof that haShem is with us all the time.  You see, just like the children of Yisrael don’t travel until haShem makes the way clear, so to, we should not travel until god makes the way clear to us.

There is a teaching in our tradition that says that since we no longer have our temple, our bodies become our personal temple.  Hence, just like god would rest on the mishcan, which is the precursor to the temple, so to, when haShem does not want us to do anything, we feel like we are in a fog.  The truth is that god is merely right with us, providing us information and we need to sit and digest this information.

You see (pun intended), when haShem limits itself enough to provide us information, often times it is still so high that it is just a confusing jumble to us and we need to sit with it and digest it in order to make sense of it.  This is the fog/cloud on us and the mishcan.  Once we digest this data the way becomes clear and it is obvious what to do next.

How do we know when we have absorbed what haShem has shared?

When everything becomes crystal clear.  It is at that moment that the fog/cloud lifts and, because we are now ready to use what we have received, the time of sitting has become a time of action.

And since this process involves god directly in our lives, we have our proof that goddess exists and is still active in the worlds it created and with each and every one of us in the world.

May the closeness of haShem comfort you when you are confused and feel lost.  And may that knowledge help you to complete the tasks at hand and to celebrate the fruits of your labor.

If you want to read what I wrote about this parsha last year, click here.

About the Author

Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.