Next week, we wrap up the book of Shmot (Exodus), but before we can do that, let us review what we read this week. The parsha (Torah portion) for this week is called Vayakhail which means, “And he assembled,” as in Moshe (Moses) assembled the whole community of the children of Yisrael.

If you recall from last week’s parsha, Moshe goes up the mountain for 40 days and nights, and we build a golden calf.  Moshe comes down and destroys the calf and then goes up the mountain to ask haShem (god) to forgive us.  He then comes down and his face is all aglow.

This week’s parsha then starts with Moshe gathering the entire congregation of people together to share with them the things that haShem commanded them to do.

Strangely, we start off by hearing about shabbat.  After shabbat, Moshe says that all those whose heart’s feel like volunteering can donate the materials needed for the mishcan (tabernacle).  Then everybody leaves, and those who felt like it, brought what they had.

Ok, let me clarify, it literally says “The men, on the women brought, all those with a volunteering heart brought…”

Then we hearing of the women with a talent for spinning are to spin yarn and goat’s hair.  Moshe then tells the people that Betzalel was chosen by god to be the master builder and that he and Ahaliav are both endowed with the ability to teach the others the necessary crafts.

Pretty soon it is pointed out to Moshe that there is more then enough materials, and so Moshe puts the word out that people should stop bringing things.  We then start to get all the details of the curtains and the tent and the beams and everything else that makes up the mishcan and the ark and the menorah, altars, etc. all the way to the details of the parts that make up the courtyard of the mishcan.

And that is where the parsha ends.  Short and sweet.

So what can we learn from all this seeming repetition?  One thing we can learn is how exacting we were in following god’s instructions.

“So what’s the big deal about that?” I hear you ask.

The short and quick answer is that it is a big deal.  Remember way back in the beginning when god told the earth how to make the trees and the earth didn’t follow god’s command exactly right?  There is another reason though.  It is a little deeper and takes a step back to appreciate.

Now, I know I am not perfect, and I suspect that none of you are either.  What this means is that we make slip-ups.  And our tradition has a saying that one slip-up leads to another slip-up.  What does this mean?

One thing it means is that when we do something really dumb, we feel real bad and get real depressed and we don’t feel that we can pick ourselves up and get back on track.  Instead we start to feel like we are lost and there is no point in even trying and so we might as well do more really dumb things.

Our tradition tries to answer that by telling us that a Tzadik (righteous person) is a person who falls and picks himself up seven times.

Hey, that’s great if you are a saint.  But most of us don’t think we are on that level, and so we don’t feel that this answer really applies to us.  What we need is an example of some common folk falling and getting up – something and someone we can really relate to.  Well guess what?   If we look the last two parshas we have read, we have exactly that!!!

Let’s see what I am talking about.  God says to everybody, not just to Moshe and the leaders, but to the lowest of the low:  I am the god that took you out of Egypt…don’t make graven images to worship and don’t worship them.

Then Moshe goes up the mountain, and what do we do?  We make a graven image and say that THIS is the gods that took us out of Egypt.

Man, talk about chutzpah!  A major slip-up if I ever saw one.  It is about the biggest OOPS a person could do.  Now Moshe comes down and is REALLY REALLY upset by all this and chastises everyone and then takes off again up the mountain, leaving these words echoing in everybody’s ears:  I am going to try to get god to forgive you.

Let me ask you, do you think anyone could feel worse than those people at that moment?  It would have been so easy for them to give up, right?

Wait it gets worse for them.

One Friday night, Rivka Lewis shared a wonderful torah she heard.  The Torah says that when Moshe came down the mountain his face glowed and the people were scared.  Why were the people scared?  It is a strange expression to use here.

The answer she gave goes like this:   When Moshe returns after 40 days and nights he was on such a high level that his soul was able to shine through the skin of his face.  When the people saw this, they also knew that Moshe was so high, they would not be able to hide from him – he could, and would see only their very soul.  This is what scared them, because they felt their soul was so ugly due to what they had done.  Wow.  What a beautiful torah.

Now, how does this add to our discussion before the digression?  Well, as we were saying, the people, people like you and me, had just done the dumbest thing a person could do, and are waiting for Moshe to return to see if he could somehow persuade god to forgive them.  Now here comes Moshe and the people see him glowing and start to think to themselves, “Oh no, not only am I the lowest of the low for what I did, but Moshe is going to see it so plainly, along with every other dumb think I have done in my life.  What’s the point?”  Then Moshe calls them together.  This has got to be worse than waiting in the principle’s office.

So, what happens?  Do the people slink off and give up?

No, they find the courage to come before Moshe and when Moshe asks, and note he doesn’t command, nor say that god commands, he asks those, and only those who feel in their heart to volunteer, is welcome to bring the materials to build the mishcan, and to start to build the pieces of the mishcan.

Now, what happens?  Do the people think they aren’t good enough to provide even goat hair for the house of god?  Maybe.  We don’t know.  All we know is that these, average, everyday folk like you and me, who screwed up bigger then we ever have, decided that instead of wallowing in their mistakes, they would pick themselves up and get back onto their path.  And they do so with such resolve that Moshe has to tell them, enough!

Not only that, but they take care to build exactly to god’s specifications, something that cannot be done by a person wallowing is self-pity, where you think, “What is the point,” and do a sloppy, inaccurate job.

Hence we know they lifted themselves out of feeling sorry for themselves so they could take enough pride and care to build exactly to spec.

What we have here, in the Torah, is a story of everyday people like you and me showing us that no matter how bad an OOPS we make, we can still get up, dust ourselves off, catch our breath, and get back to doing what we are supposed to be doing.

If they could do it, so can we.  We don’t even need to be a Tzadik; it is possible even for ordinary folk.

Thank you haShem for providing us an example, a model to follow for those times we slip-up.

As I end, I am reminded about how many people I have heard say (myself included) how hard the last few weeks have been.  I bless everybody that with the beginning of our creating a place for haShem to dwell within us, that things will start to look up for each and every one of us.  Blessed by.

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.