Parshas Vayakhel - Pekudei
Dire Precautions
Volume 2 Issue 22
by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky
Most building dedications are joyous events filled with upbeat speeches and predictions of growth and
unyielding expansion. This week, Moshe recaps and reckons all the labor and material that went into the
building of the Mishkan. He proudly announces that the contributions of gold, silver, copper and other
materials, brought by the children of Israel exceeded the demands. Yet there is one aspect of his inaugural
address that is strikingly somber. Instead of declaring that the Mishkan is here to stay and will be the
forerunner of the Temple, he begins with a foreboding sense of doom.
The portion of Pekudei (Reckoning) begins in Exodus 38:21 "These are the reckoning of the Mishkan --
the Mishkan of testimony. " The Medrash is bothered by Moshe's repetitive expression. Why does he
repeat the words Mishkan -- Mishkan? He should have said, "These are the reckoning of the Mishkan of
testimony."? The Medrash answers, homiletically, that the word Mishkan has a close relative in the word
Mashkon -- collateral. Moshe was alluding, "to the two Temples that were taken back by G-d as collateral
for the sins of Israel."
Why on opening day, does Moshe allude to impending doom? Wouldn't such talk be totally demoralizing?
What lesson is there for the Jewish People?
In Poland there was a group of smugglers that employed many devious schemes to get goods
across the Russian border without paying taxes. Yet, they were not successful until they realized that the
border guards never bothered funeral processions.
The smugglers decided to load their wares into coffins, and with all the grief and anguish that accompanies
a funeral they carried the contraband across the border. As this ritual became the norm, the fabricated
anguish of a funeral procession was abandoned.
One dark night, the group, laughing and kibitzing, came to the border. The guards, noticing an unusually
buoyant atmosphere, demanded to open the casket. Upon seeing the illegal goods, the guards immediately
arrested the group and brought them to police headquarters for interrogation.
The leader of the smugglers stood before the commanding officer and broke down in tears. "Have mercy
upon us. We all have families!" he wailed.
With rage in his eyes the officer responded. "You fool! You are crying now! Had you cried as you reached
the border, you surely would be laughing now. It is because you laughed then that you are crying
now!"
Moshe injected a sense of seriousness into the joy of dedication. He warns the Jewish people at this
celebration that even the greatest gifts are not permanent. Even the Mishkan will not last forever. We must
have that sense of seriousness and appreciation relating to everything we cherish. The prophet (Yoel 2:13)
tells us, "rend your heart and not your clothing." The sages explain those words as saying "if you rend
your hearts, you will not have to rend your clothing." Moshe, in a very subtle way, sends the same
message. Even at a wedding, as the groom smashes the glass under the canopy, he reminds himself, his
bride, and all those gathered of Moshe's inaugural message. Cherish what you have and guard it dearly.
Because nothing left unguarded lasts forever.
Text Copyright © 1996 by Rabbi M. Kamenetzky and
Project Genesis, Inc.
The author is the Associate Dean of the
Yeshiva of South Shore.
Drasha is the e-mail edition of FaxHomily, a weekly torah facsimile on the weekly portion.
FaxHomily is a project of the Henry and Myrtle Hirsch Foundation
