Mishkan and Microchips

Moshe assembled the entire congregation of the Children of Israel…” (Ex 38:1)

Moshe assembled the entire congregation of Israel to give the second set of tablets. He proceeded to recount in detail what G!d wanted of them which includes keeping the Sabbath holy and a detailed review of the construction of the Mishkan. Why does God spend so much time on the details of the Mishkan, and why does the Torah repeat them? And what does this have to do with bringing everyone together?

Our sages teach us that the intricacies of the Mishkan were such that without everything in place, it would not work. Think of the Mishkan like an advanced computer chip. If everything isn’t lined up and in place, the chip will not function. It can be 99.9 percent perfectly aligned – but if just a fraction of the chip isn’t properly fashioned, it doesn’t process anything. Without every details in place the Mishkan too would not function.

The Jewish people are like the Mishkan. Each person has a unique purpose and all of our efforts are required to fulfill the spiritual mission of the Jewish people. Everyone is integral part. We can’t assign the work to only the righteous, the rich or the rabbis, because each one of us in endowed with special talents and an intrinsic value that others do not have.

The Jewish people’s true light to the world cannot shine brightly without all of us.

Shabbat Shalom