Shabbat Pekudei - A message from Rabbi Yosef Zarnighian
Our Torah portion this week, Pekudei, concludes the book of Shemot (Exodus). It also continues the Torah’s description of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), its furnishings and the priestly garments, a project which was led by a man named Beṣalel. The Torah tells us that Beṣalel, grandson of Ḥur, a leader who was killed during the tragic sin of the golden calf episode, was chosen for the job of constructing the Mishkan, but why him? The answer, perhaps, is that Beṣalel’s illustrious background of firm faith and courage enhanced the sanctity of the Mishkan. Beṣalel came from the sacred line of Judah, and this background helped infuse the Mishkan – his handiwork – with a greater level of sanctity.
The Talmud (Ketubot 103b) tells that Rabbi Ḥiyya credited himself with ensuring that the teachings of our Torah would be passed down to the generation after him. He did this by planting some flaxseeds, which grew to make a trap for deer. He then trapped a deer, fed its meat to the poor, and used its hide as parchment on which to write the Torah. Then he studied with five young students with these books. When the leader of the Jewish community in his time, Rabbi Judah the Prince, heard about Rabbi Ḥiyya’s doings, he exclaimed: "How great are the actions of Ḥiyya!" Rabbi Ḥiyya understood that the earlier in the process one is able to inject it with sanctity –intention of action for the sake of performing the Torah's commandments– the greater an impact it will have. The inspiration given to these five children was drawn not merely from their experiences in school, but from the origins of this enterprise. Because every step leading to teaching his students was done with pure intent, this brought the level of Torah learning to a very high degree. Likewise, Beṣalel’s righteous grandfather enhanced the sanctity of the Mishkan by raising his family to act with sincere intent to fulfill the Torah's commandments, just as Rabbi Ḥiyya’s students raised the level of sanctity of their learning through the inspiration which they received.
In turn, we may all learn very valuable lessons from these stories: It is never too late to begin infusing our actions with the intention of making them miṣvot. This also holds true for the Torah education of children: It begins with our own spiritual growth and training. Building ourselves is a crucial component of our efforts to build our children. By enhancing one’s own level of sanctity, we become better equipped to enhance our childrens' levels of sanctity and help them reach great heights of spiritual achievement.
Shabbat Shalom!