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.
