Musar zu Schemot 36:40

Since there are so many difficulties in this whole legislation, there seems little point in listing another question. However, permission has been granted to try and understand to the extent that it is possible. Rabbi Moshe Hadarshan, whose words Rashi quotes, proves that Moses himself had said: "I wished to become wise, but it has remained far from me" i.e. והיא רחוקה ממני (Kohelet 7,23). It is interesting that he had not said: "I did not acquire wisdom, i.e. לא חכמתי." What is meant is that though study of that subject results in successively better appreciation of the many allusions contained in the text, the essential logic keeps eluding the scholar who delves into it. We read words similar to those quoted in the name of Rabbi Moshe HaDarshan by Rabbi Yitzchak in Bamidbar Rabbah 3, who concludes his commentary by saying that Solomon was satisfied that he had a thorough understanding of the entire Torah except for this portion. He quotes Solomon as saying that he had been studying and examining this portion without penetrating to its essence. This was in contrast to the rest of the Torah, which he felt he thoroughly understood. In view of what others have done, I too will make whatever little contribution I can to the better understanding of our פרשה.

Moses had not been careful in this respect, had said "please kill me." The previous occasion had not been so serious, since Moses asked to die if G–d would not forgive the Jewish people for their involvement in the golden calf. It was part of his prayer for someone else. This is why his punishment at that time consisted only of his name not being mentioned when the work of the Tabernacle was carried out. This time, however, there were no such extenuating circumstances. The reason that caused Joshua to report to Moses what Eldad and Meydad had said, was that they did so within the camp. He asked Moses to prevent them from prophesying. The word כלאם is the same as in Genesis 8,2, or in Exodus 36,6. In either case it means that something was prevented from happening. Moses did not want to prevent them from saying what was on their minds, and said to Joshua: "why are you jealous on my behalf?"

We have here an allusion to the fact that the cause is fond of the effect, i.e. the hidden longs for the revealed. Our sages (Pesachim 112a) articulated this thought when they said that more than the calf desires to suckle on the teats of its mother, the cow is anxious to nurse its calf. In פרשת ויקהל 36,1 the Torah writes: אשר נתן ה' חכמה ותבונה בהמה, "whom G–d had given wisdom and insight." Shemot Rabbah 48,3 states that the word beheimah in the above verse is to teach us that it was not only man whom G–d imbued with wisdom but also the animals. Betzalel was the only one who was privy to the wisdom possessed by the animals. Perhaps the Torah wants to hint at the proverb we quoted earlier that the mother cow is more anxious to nurse its calf than the calf is anxious to be nursed. It is all an allusion to the close connection between cause and effect. We are taught a lesson in reciprocal attachment and unity, i.e. that nothing exists outside of G–d Himself, that He is inextricably involved with all that He has created. It is this lesson the Rabbis wanted to teach us when they said that מקדש and משכן can be used interchangeably; the exterior, visible part, is called משכן, whereas the interior, invisible part, is called מקדש. We have a further clear allusion to this relationship between cause and effect, the visible and the invisible, when the Torah describes the way the קרשים, planks of the Tabernacle, were joined together. The Torah (Exodus 26,24) uses the term "תאמם, twins," when describing the manner in which these planks were joined to each other. When ??? they are described as תמים, perfect. We have here a description of the essence of the Tabernacle, i.e. that it was a microcosm.

When we discussed the special significance of the first eight portions of the Book of Exodus, שובבי"ם ת"ת, we already mentioned that in this portion we learn about how one's money can achieve perfection through a spirit of generosity. Once this has been accomplished, i.e. that man has achieved perfection on all three levels of his existence, the Tabernacle can be considered as having been completed, i.e. והיה המשכן אחד (26,6). The Tabernacle, too, symbolises the shape of man as we have mentioned earlier in the name of Rabbenu Bachyah. Man's heart, his innermost organ, is symbolised by the בריח התיכון, "the centre bolt" (Exodus 36,33), which ran the length of all the boards forming the walls of the Tabernacle, joining each to the other. This was a way of creating perfection. In order to achieve perfection of one's Torah learning, one needs an understanding and intelligent heart. In order to achieve the perfection of one's body to carry out the actions the body has been designed for, one needs courage like a lion. This is a function of the heart, as stated by the famous halachic authority, the טור. In order to elevate one's financial resources to a level of perfection, one must certainly possess a generous heart. Once all this has been accomplished man can be viewed as perfect on all three levels, i.e. שלם בגופו, שלם בממונו ושלם בתורתו. Concerning such perfection, David prayed when he said in Psalms 51,12: "Fashion a pure heart for me, O G–d; create in me a steadfast spirit." This condition will exist in the future when G–d will remove our hearts of stone and replace them with hearts made of flesh, as we know from Ezekiel 36,26: "I shall give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh, etc."