ACCOUNTING AND ACCOUNTABLE: PARSHAT PEKUDEI

Shira Smiles Shiur – 2016/5776

Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein

            Every business takes inventory on a regular basis. By counting their merchandise, they not only know how much they’ve sold and how much they have on hand, but they also get a sense of their success or failure. This seems reasonable for most enterprises, but is it reasonable to take a precise inventory of the materials and monies used in building the Mishkan? Nevertheless, the entire Parshat Pekudei is devoted to just such a recording of exact expenditures for each aspect and vessel of the Mishkan. This is even more puzzling if one notes, as the Apter Rebbe does in Ohev Yisroel, that blessing does not attach itself to things that are measured, counted or weighed. Yet, obviously, the Mishkan, as the “resting place” of Hashem’s presence, was the source of great blessing for Bnei Yisroel.

            All blessings come from Hakodosh Boruch Hu, as does everything. Therefore, let us begin our discussion by exploring Rav Dessler’s essay Nature as Concealment, part of his Strive for Truth. Rav Dessler tells us that if we realize that everything comes from Hashem, there is no difference between the natural and the miraculous other than that the natural is what we are familiar with while we are unfamiliar with the miraculous. Hashem invested nature with its “powers” so that man would have free choice in attributing whatever happened to the Creator or maintaining that it was just natural law and had nothing to do with the Ribbono shel olam. In cases where events are hidden from us, where we cannot attribute results easily to cause and effect, there is no test of our free will, as we easily recognize the hand of God. Therefore, Rashi says “The blessing of the grain [which is blessed in and of itself] occurs not in that which is weighed, measured or counted …but only in that which is hidden from the eye.”

            In fact, continues Rav Dessler, when we make plans, there is so much that is not in our control in spite of our best efforts. When our plans are successful, we tend to take credit for our planning rather than attributing our success to Hashem, whether in something as small as planning a lunch visit with a friend or as big as a business venture. The most important aspect of any plan, then, is to pray to Hashem for success. Hashem always runs the show, but He wants us to come to that realization even when things seem to e flowing naturally. To prove the point, Hashem has us put in our own effort even in miraculous occurrences, writes Rabbi Wolbe in Aleh Shor. For example, even though Hashem sent a fire down to consume the offerings on the altar, He still commanded that we too bring our own fire. Further, was it the great wind that split the Red Sea, or was it God Himself? We choose what we want to see and whether or not we connect it to Hashem.

            This same inner, concealed voice should be our guide with our mitzvah performance as well, continues Rabbi Wolbe. When we light Shabbat candles, it should not be a rote, personal, physical act, but rather a spiritual act that seeks to bring the Hashem’s holy light of Shabbat and peace into our homes. While we do our simple tasks, only with His help can we truly accomplish anything.

            The story is told of a little boy whose parents took him to a concert of the famous maestro Paderewski. Before the curtain went up, the child wandered off and, much to his parents’ chagrin, was found sitting at the piano as the curtain went up, playing either “Twinkle, twinkle little star,” or, “Chopsticks.” (You pick the version of the story you like.) Paderewski came on stage, sat down next to the child, encouraged him to keep on playing while he himself played harmonies and counterpoints to the simple melody, creating a masterpiece of music. Similarly, we are playing a simple line of music as we go through life and Hashem is providing the all important backdrop. Are we to think that we created the beautiful music, or do we realize that we were privileged to be part of Hashem’s masterpiece?

            Rabbi Wolbe continues. It is the inner, concealed world that brings blessings. Once I start counting, I’ve distanced myself from the inner spirituality, the spark of the Divine, for at that moment, I claim possession of the harvest (or the successful business deal, etc.) and mentally disconnect it from God’s control. When I take the credit, I lose that connection to Hashem.

            Mrs. Smiles notes parenthetically that women have an innate ability to connect to that spiritual quality. The womb that nurtures physical life also carries within it the new Godly soul. That’s why women do not require external reminders in the form of tzitzit or tefillin to keep them attuned to their spirituality and to God’s presence.

            So then, how could there be such a public, open accounting of everything connected to the Mishkan? Rabbi Weinberg has a simple explanation is Shemen Hatov. This was not an ordinary man who was doing the counting, but Moshe Rabbenu who had constant, direct interaction with Hakodosh Boruch Hu. He would never fall under the illusion that these accomplishments were his doing rather than Hashem’s. Therefore, all this would remain a blessing. Contrast this with the Prophet Bilam, he of the evil eye, writes the Apter Rebbe. He desired every physical object he saw, disregarding any spiritual quality and actively distancing himself from Hashem. Therefore everything he said and did turned into curses. When we count our possessions, we are similarly taking ownership for ourselves, writes Rabbi Appel in Mesameach Zion and disconnecting it from Hashem. In our possession, it is limited to what it is; in Hashem’s uncounted, hidden realm, it remains limitless. Moshe would never fall into that trap.

            This lesson is important for us when we are involved in mitzvoth as well as in the mundane, writes Rabbi Appel. Be concerned with the inner meaning and connection rather than with the external trappings. A bar mitzvah should have more mitzvah and less “bar”, and a wedding should revolve more around building a Jewish home and creating merit for the bride and groom than around the details of the flowers and the catering.

            People can create a similar disconnect with an ayin horo, literally an evil eye posits Rav Kalman Ber inMaaseh Rokem. How? When one is paid a compliment, one may take credit for the particular trait or work rather than acknowledging Hashem’s benevolence or help. One should look heavenward to counteract the “evil eye” that is limiting us by looking heavenward and forming a habit of thanking Hashem. This was the attribute that enabled Yosef to be so successful in Egypt. Whether in the home of Potiphar, in the dungeon with Pharaoh’s butler and baker, or in the presence of Pharaoh himself, Yosef always thanked Hashem and acknowledged His presence in his life.

            Nevertheless, why was it still necessary to count every item in the Mishkan? The Mishkan was a mashkon, collateral for the Beit Hamikdosh and therefore needed to be vulnerable explains Mizkeinim Esbonan citing the Sokochover Rebbe to explain. Rabbi Feuer further elucidates,  using Psalm 79. The Psalm begins with Mizmor leAsaf – A song to Asaf and describes the suffering of the people and the destruction of the Beit Hamikdosh. Asks the Rabbi Feuer,  quoting the Midrash, would it not have been more appropriate to preface this Psalm as a dirge instead of as a song, an ode? On the contrary, Hashem vented His anger at Bnei Yisroel on the structure of the Beit Hamikdosh. Had the Beit Hamikdosh remained totally pure, uncounted, it would have been impervious to destruction, and Hashem would have destroyed Bnei Yisroel instead. That distinction qualifies the tragedy as celebratory song.

            Rabbi Feinstein brings a different perspective to this discussion. Since our commentators say that the Tabernacle Hashem wants us to build for Him should be within ourselves, all this accounting of the vessels in the structure of the Mishkan is meant to prod us to do an accounting of ourselves. Do we use our parts and “vessels” appropriately in Hashem’s service? How do we use our limbs and our talents? These require our constant accountings and examination. Just as the Mishkan atoned for the sin of the golden calf, writes the Modzitzer Rebbe, so should we each night do an accounting of our actions of the day to atone for our misdeeds and sins. We are the Mishkan, continues Tiv Hatorah, Rabbi Gamliel Hacohen Rabinowitz. As the Mishkan was composed of many materials – gold, silver, copper – and everything was counted in precise detail, so too do we have to account for everything, to give our tithe of time and talent as well as of money.

            It is not just the physical entities that we need to count. Time itself is a major construct in our lives. A day is not just an empty twenty four hour period, writes Rabbi Wolfson. Each day we live, Hashem allegorically sends down a blank parchment upon which are recorded everything we did on that day. Before we go to sleep, we have the opportunity to review and edit that page of our lives, before that sheet goes up to the archives of heaven, for what we can do today cannot be accomplished tomorrow. Tomorrow will have a new set of imperatives that will be recorded on a new sheet of parchment. And so we can account for each day, then for each week and each month, and finally for each year at Rosh Hashanah. It is for this that the Zohar writes that when the Torah writes that Avraham was zakein bo bayamim – old with advanced years what the Torah is actually telling us is that Avraham came – bo - with all his days complete –  bayamim, his days were lived fully and in purity. As Rabbi Scheinerman says in Ohel Torah, each day has its own job, and they are not interchangeable. If we get into the habit of focusing on ourselves and taking an accounting of who we are, we can count on Hashem to help us grow and achieve our mission. As with the accounting in Parshat Pikudei, we must first take an inventory of the personal resources we have, writes the Lubavitcher Rebbe in In the Garden of the Torah, and then determine how best to use our abilities in Divine service.

            All this is done quietly, privately, in a hidden manner, for any public display can trigger an ayin ra, a “bad eye”. What leads a person to this negative trait, asks Rabbi Bernstein in Aggadah? When there is both good and bad in people, why would someone choose to see the bad, and how does the negative eye affect the person? Perhaps one chooses to view things negatively because he himself doesn’t want to improve. He can always use the excuse that everyone else is no better. On the other hand, this negativity can also impact the recipient if it influences him to think negatively about himself so that he becomes prone to failure.

            May we always be grateful for all that Hashem has given us, recognizing that that all is truly a gift from Hashem and ours to use in His service. As such, the gifts are as limitless as our desire to use them properly.