Vaiakhel 5776 - English

Rabbi Gustavo Kraselnik

Congregacion Kol Shearith Israel

“Vayakhel Moshe”, (Moses then convoked, Ex. 35:1).  With these words begins the Parashah, the next-to-last in the Book of Shmot. 

The first immediate question is who did he convoke.  And the Torah gives us the answer: “the whole Israelite community.”  And for what?  To tell them, “These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do.”  The text then details God’s orders: to observe Shabbat (verses 2-3) and the offerings in kind and labor for the Mishkan (verses 4-19).

If we look at the context of Moses’ announcement, we notice it is done after the new pact with God, after the incident of the Golden Calf and its consequences.  

In his wonderful commentary of the Humash, Rabbi Gunther Plaut (Germany 1912 – Canada 2012) joins the expression Vayakhel (convoke) at the beginning of our Parashah with the expression “Vaykahel Haam” that appears at the beginning of chapter 32, when the people congregated to ask Aaron –in the absence of Moses- to build them a god.  

Plaut continues his analysis by saying that with the first Vaykahel, the people congregate to rebel against God, thereby starting a cycle of apostasy.  In the second Vayakhel, the one in our Parashah, the people congregate to begin the construction of the Mishkan and to open a time of reconciliation with the Creator.  

Modestly, I would add that in both cases, the fact that the people congregated gives testimony of the importance the act of coming together had for the generation of the desert.  I think herein lies an important lesson.  

Both the Mishkan and the calf were made with the voluntary contributions of the people, proving that those who had left Egypt had a steady commitment expressed in money for the good (Mishkan) and for the bad (Calf).  This group teaches us the value of community, of being an active part of the collective, both for the good as well as the bad.  

Throughout the centuries, our tradition has demonstrated that the sense of community is a fundamental part of the Jewish experience.  The concept of Minyan (10 Jewish adults required as a minimum for certain rituals) shows how indispensable it is to live not only connected but in constant interaction with other Jews, hence the importance of congregating.  

I would like to add something else.  The Midrash (Tanhuma Ki Tissa 31) claims that Moses descended with the second tablets on Yom Kippur.  In his commentary to the initial verse of our Parashah, Rashi (France, XI Century) carries on from the Midrash and says Moses announcement happened the following day, meaning that the entire people came together to hear him on the day after Yom Kippur.  

As we know from our own experience, there is a lot of value in this action.  To fill the synagogue on Yom Kippur is still relatively simple.  The true challenge, and in this the generation of the desert had much to teach us, consists on being able to congregate the day after, understanding the transcendence of the sacred day, but also recognizing that the success of a community lies in its ability to congregate every day.  

Shabbat Shalom

Gustavo