Starts and Stops Make up a Trip

Vayakel- Pekude

Exodus 35:1 - 40:38

Précis: In Vayakel, Moses instructs the People again on the laws of Shabbat, and asks for a donation of gifts (both of material and service) for the construction of the Tabernacle. The appointment of the construction leaders is also included, and the construction begins. There are again specific descriptions of implements, articles, and of the Ark itself. The final parasha of the Book of Exodus, Pekude, begins with an inventory of the items used in the construction of the Tabernacle, as well as the vessels and clothing collected by Moses and Aaron.  When the accounts are squared, the completed structure is blessed. The Ark is placed within the Tabernacle, as are the various holy vessels, and a cloud of glory descends and covers the tent.

Exodus 40:38 “For over the Tabernacle a cloud of the Eternal rested by day, and fire would appear in it by night, in the view of all the house of Israel throughout their journeys”

The final Hebrew words of the Book of Exodus are “b’chol mas’ei’hem.” The text uses the plural for “journeys.” Since the 40 years of the wilderness following the Exodus took place in the wilderness, was this not a singular “journey?”

              

The great commentator Rashi asked the same question. He says, “The place where they camped was also known as a journey, a “masa.”  But this is not a simple answer, since it equates a stop along the way as a separate journey. When I drive to my vacation house and stop along the Jersey Turnpike to refuel, I don’t consider it two “journeys.” It turns out that Rashi is relying on a prior verse (40:36) that Israel "journeyed" when the cloud lifted and "journeyed" here, when the cloud of God’s glory remained in place. Both are distinct journeys. In other words, the text is telling us that a journey consists of going and coming, moving and resting. Where we pause is just as important as where we go.

              

The entire journey through the Wilderness is an obvious metaphor for a journey through life. It’s not a single, uninterrupted trip, but a series of starts and stops, of success and setback, challenge and defeat. We are charged with taking note of what transpires when we are in motion and when we are at rest. As Jewish professionals and as parents and spouse and children, there are times for action, and times to “let it be.”

              

There is a final deeply important matter about the use of the plural “journeys.” Used here, the word describes a trip more than 3,000 years ago through a wilderness by our ancient ancestors. We, too, are on a journey, connected to theirs, and we can have faith that the cloud of the Eternal is visible through our own part of the journey, if only we know where to look for it.