Focus
A Message for Parashot Vayakhel-Pekudei 2018
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And Moshe assembled all the
community of Yisrael and said to them, “These are the things that God has
charged to do: Six days shall tasks be done and on the seventh day there shall
be holiness for you, an absolute Shabbat for God… (Shemot
35:1-2)
The story of het ha-egel is sandwiched
between two commands related to Shabbat. God first spoke to Moshe about Shabbat
during their forty-day rendezvous atop Har Sinai (31:12-17), and Moshe then
relayed the message to the nation in the aftermath of their sin, directly prior
to building the Mishkan (35:1-3). What was the significance of Shabbat
to this period in Am Yisrael’s history?
Let us first consider the philosophical
implications of the Mishkan. God described its function in His initial
command: “And they shall make Me a mikdash, that I may abide in their midst”
(25:8). The Mishkan was the physical structure that allowed for Am
Yisrael’s most intimate connection to Him. Although a relationship with God
can be established in any place at any time, the ideal bond was only formed
upon entrance through the doors of the Mishkan. Seen from this angle,
the concept of the Mishkan appears somewhat restrictive, as it
forced the optimal connection into a particular place and designated times.
What was God’s reason for “limiting” Am Yisrael’s connection to Him at
that time, through the construction of the Mishkan?
In his thought-provoking book The End of
Absence, Michael Harris analyzed several losses that our contemporary
society has suffered in “a world of constant connection.” He reminisced about
the cathartic moments of solitude that he cherished as a child, and described
his fears for a world that can no longer uninterruptedly daydream. Harris wrote
that the loss of “absence” in our lives often leads to our struggles with
concentration and meaningful thought. He explained that the moments of insight
born out of silent contemplation have nearly vanished in our world of “constant
connection.”[1]
Harris furthermore suggested that our
contemporary state of constant connection has negatively affected several
facets of our interpersonal relationships, as well. Indeed, researchers have
found that long-distance relationships are often more romantic and satisfying
than those that are geographically close. They explained that the effect of
limited face-to-face interactions compels the long-distance couples to engage
in more meaningful communication and discussions. Anticipating the rare moments
shared together causes the couples to better focus their thoughts and emotions
upon one another.[2]
Following Am Yisrael’s awesome
encounter of the Almighty at Ma’amad Har Sinai, God reinforced the
importance of Shabbat to Moshe. He sought to strengthen His relationship with
the nation by designating a weekly “time of absence.” Indeed, as God spoke to
Moshe at that time, the people’s concurrent actions at het ha-egel proved
the prudence of His gesture. The people’s concept of relationship at that time
was underdeveloped, and the temporary loss of connection had caused them to
panic and franticly construct a meaningless conduit to God by means of an idol.
Moshe’s subsequent command of Shabbat,
coupled with building the Mishkan, then, taught Am Yisrael about
the importance of a set-aside time and space for connection. It informed them
about the shallow nature of “constant contact” relationships. The instructions
of Shabbat and the Mishkan taught the enduring lesson of the relational
depth that is attained by focusing our thoughts and emotions.
Shabbat shalom!
Rabbi Avi Harari
[1] Michael Harris, The End of Absence: Reclaiming What We’ve Lost in a World of Constant Connection
(New York, NY, 2015).
[2] Jiang, L. C. &
Hancock, J. T. (2013). “Absence makes the communication grow fonder: Geographic separation, interpersonal media, and intimacy in dating relationships,” Journal
of Communication, 63, pg. 556–577.