First “Doubleheader”

The first two Torah portions reflect the two pronged thrust of Torah. We must see the community through the prism of the individual and the individual through the prism of the community. PIKUDEI PIKUDEI

The paradox

Spring training cannot be too far away when we read the Torah’s first “doubleheader”, this week’s combined Torah portion: “Vayakheil- Pikudei!”

In a more serious vein, this double parsha is the first of seven combined Torah readings.

Each Torah portion has its own unique lesson that it conveys. A combined reading contains not two independent messages, but a message in which each of the two separate themes complement one another.

The Message of Cmmunity

Vayakheil – which means `And he gathered’—refers to Moses’ return from Mount Sinai upon receiving the second set of PIKUDEI tablets. On the very next day, Moses gathered all of the Jewish people to give them G-d’s instructions concerning the building of the Mishkan-Sanctuary in the desert. This structure was to be G-d’s way of expressing His desire to have a relationship with the Jewish people, not just with some elite individuals.

The message of Vayakheil is thus the message of community. Vayakheil underscores the importance of Jewish unity to facilitate G-d’s dwelling in our midst.

Detailed Accounting

Pikudei, on the other hand, refers to the detailed accounting Moses made of all the components of the Sanctuary. This reflects Judaism’s emphasis on the need for every detail to be properly preserved. Every ounce of gold, silver and copper was to be accounted for.

These two themes appear mutually exclusive. How can we simultaneously put aside our individuality to form a collective identity, a PIKUDEI holy nation, while being obsessed with detail and nuance? Are these two ideals not impossible to combine?

To be sure, it is not inconceivable for a person to alternate between dedication to a community and focus on the individual. But to combine both characteristics—as the double nature of the Torah reading suggests—seems to be a rather elusive goal.

See the Nation through the Eyes of the Individual and the Individual through the Eyes of the Nation A journalist and communal activist wrote of his experience with the Lubavitcher Rebbe. When he had a private audience with the Rebbe, the Rebbe after responding to his private needs, would use the opportunity to channel the discussion into a communal area. And, conversely, when he attended a public gathering, where the Rebbe addressed thousands about communal, national and international concerns, he was struck by the way in which the Rebbe, during a brief break PIKUDEI between six hours of discourse, expressed interest and concern for some personal matter that affected this journalist.

The journalist was impressed with the Rebbe’s ability to see the nation through the eyes of the individual and to see the individual through the eyes of the nation— Vayakheil and Pikudei.

Focusing on both messages to bring Moshiach

As we approach the month of Nissan, the month of Redemption, when the Jewish people emerged from Egypt as a nation, we have to focus on both messages: the message of community and the message of individuality. For, it is the combination of these two features that forged our nation.

And as we stand now on the threshold of the final Redemption, and our nation’s identity will be completed, we must take the paradoxical message of community within individuality and individuality within community, even more seriously. This year— PIKUDEI with the combined sections of Vayakhel and Pikudei—the message of combining the two themes of community and individuality is all the more poignant.

Spring Training

Translated into practical terms, the following suggestion can be made. When we get together for a community function, we should not allow individual concerns to be swept under the carpet. Likewise, when we focus our attention on an individual we have to find ways for this private matter to serve and help the entire community.

This is our version of “spring training,” the way we prepare for the Spring Festival of Passover—as well as the imminent future Redemption of the Jewish people.

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From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Vayakhel-Pikudei by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.