Vayakhel - Pekudei
Gifts
Adapted from Rabbi Kerry Olitzky
Vayakhel-Pekudei
opens as Moshe invites all the Israelites to an open assembly to hear
the words of God. The message is not hidden - it is open to all who want to
listen.
The message begins with a teaching about
Shabbat, and continues with instructions for building the mishkan at the centre of the camp. In spiritual terms the message means:
on Shabbat, economic activities that create distance between people cease, and
all can come together as one in the presence of God. Shabbat is a taste of what
is possible. When we place God at the centre of our lives, we come to recognize
that God's unifying presence is always close at hand.
After hearing this message of unity, gifts flow
from the people. All want to contribute to establishing a place of
transformation. When the gifts are assembled into the mishkan, the place literally made possible by the hearts and hands of the
Israelites, God's presence rests at the centre of the camp, in a tangible form
that every Israelite can sense.
May this Shabbat be a time and place of unity and
transformation, where the beautiful gifts of God's creation become tangible to
us.
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