The Mishkan-Déjà Vu

The construction of the Sanctuary is G-d’s way of expressing His love for us and that He wants to live with us. PIKUDEI PIKUDEI

Repetition, Repetition!

When we begin reading this week’s Torah portion, with its detailed description of the building of the Mishkan, we think that we are having the experience of déjà vu. Didn’t we read about the construction of the Mishkan just a few weeks ago in the Torah portion of Terumah?

Would this have been any other book, one could have excused the repetition of these details. But, the Torah, as a book of Divine instruction, does not contain any superfluous language. Even one apparently redundant word or letter is often scrutinized by the Talmud for its meaning.

How do we then explain the phenomenon of this week’s parsha Vayakhel that features the repetition of several dozen verses that PIKUDEI describe the minutest details concerning the construction of the Mishkan?

Another Example of Repetition

This is not the first time this anomaly occurs in the Torah. In at least one other place before, the Torah repeats an incident several times. By reflecting on the reason for the repetition there, we can shed light on the anomaly of this week’s narrative.

In the Book of Genesis, the Torah relates how Eliezer the servant of Abraham was sent to Abraham’s birthplace to find a wife for Isaac. The Torah recounts in detail how Eliezer met Rebecca and how he tested her. Subsequent to that the Torah recounts once more how Eliezer repeated the entire episode to Rebecca’s father and brother.

Here too, our Sages raise the obvious question, why would the Torah that is dedicated to teaching us how to properly live our lives spend so much time on this entire episode? Why is it so important for us to PIKUDEI know what Eliezer—the servant of Abraham—said and repeated?

Our Sages answer, “The talk of the servants of the Patriarchs is more precious than the [legal] teachings of the children.”

By repeating the narrative concerning Abraham’s servant the Torah underscores the high esteem and love that G-d has for the Patriarchs whose dedication to Him paved the way for the selection of the Jewish People.

Thus, our sages’ perspective is that repetition of a story concerning an individual or subject in the Torah is G-d’s way of highlighting the affection He has for that particular individual or subject.

Repetition: A sign of affection

What has been said about the Patriarchs can also been said about the Mishkan. G-d’s instruction to the Jewish People to build the Mishkan was His way of declaring to them “I PIKUDEI desire to dwell in your midst. And despite your involvement in the construction and worship of the Golden Calf, I have forgiven you and I cherish the opportunity to live with you.”

When the Torah recounts how the Jewish people were told of and fulfilled the Mitzvah to build the Mishkan, it was the Jewish People’s way of responding to G-d and declaring: “We cherish the opportunity to be able to create a structure that will bring Your presence into our lives.”

Both the instruction to build the Mishkan and the compliance of the Jewish People with this command were dramatic expressions of the reciprocal love and commitment between G-d and His people. In a loving relationship every word and every expression of that love is to be savored and repeated over and over.

Most recurrent theme in our prayers

If repetition is a sign of importance and beloved-ness, one need only survey our daily prayers to see which issue is the most central PIKUDEI and beloved in the eyes of our Sages (the Divinely inspired authors of our Siddur- Prayerbook).

The one theme that stands out as being the most pervasive, the most often repeated in the Siddur, is Moshiach and the future Redemption. It is such a recurring theme in all three daily prayers that, in the course of a single year, reference is made to it, and allied subjects such as the building of the Bais Hamikdash, Resurrection of the Dead, etc., over 20,000 times!

Moshiach’s coming will not only herald an age of peace and prosperity, it is the age when the “love affair” between G-d and the Jewish people, will be clearly manifested. It will be the time when G-d/the Jewish People will once more build a Sanctuary—but, this time, a permanent one—in Jerusalem, as His/our way of declaring our boundless love and commitment to each other.

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