Vayakhel-Pekudei 5775 - English

by Rabbi Guido Cohen

Asociación Israelita Montefiore - Bogotá, Colombia

After reading last week about the golden calf, this week in Parashot Vayahkel and Pekudei, we see the other side of the coin, the construction of the Mishkan.  It was sanctuary that, according to the sages, was meant to expiate for the transgression of the calf and was precisely the antithesis of that episode: the place where the monotheistic Jewish cult was expressed in the desert. 

However, what in particular was the difference between one construction and the other?  Was the calf not a ‘way’ to worship the One and Eternal God of Israel?  Did the Mishkan not have semi-animal figures too within its most sacred space?  

We can find many explanations to justify this difference.  Some exegetes point to who built the Mishkan, others to the origin of the funds, and still others to the cult that was performed there.  

I would like to offer one more interpretation.  The Torah uses only a few brief words to describe the golden calf, and from those words, it is easy for us to imagine its shape and appearance: a calf of solid gold, not wood painted gold, nor gold-plated stone.  Gold, 100% gold, and the simple and clear shape of a calf.

On the contrary, to describe the Mishkan, the Torah dedicates verse upon verse, alluding not only to the visual or architectural, but also to the aromas, the materials, the dresses its servants wore, etc.  Despite this, even by making an effort with our imagination, we cannot fully grasp how the Mishkan looked, smelled, or worked, the diversity of colors, textures, fabrics, furs, and materials.  The aromas of each spice used in its incense were diverse.  A paragraph we read traditionally in the Tefillah, called ‘Pitum HaKetoret’, which is composed of several Talmudic fragments, describes the quantity and type of each ingredient used for the incense.  It also teaches us that if only one of them was missing, the incense would be invalid, and whoever had made it would be punished.  This is one of many examples of the variety that was inherent to the Mishkan and to the activity that took place there.  

The same thing happened with the structure of the Mishkan.  Linen, leather, wool (blue, light blue, purple, and red), gold, silver, stones, and other materials were consecrated to the construction of this sanctuary, where we are told the divine presence resided during the journey through the desert.  

The Jewish sanctuary is diverse, multicolored, varied, and plural.  It is not all solid gold; it is not black and white; it is not monolithic or uniform.  That was the calf.  The homogeneous work made up of only one material is presented to us as a symbol of error, of sin, for which the children of Israel were punished.  On the contrary, the diversity of materials, colors, and textures is the model for the construction of the ideal community space, one that is worthy of the presence and residence of the divine.  

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Guido Cohen