“This is the accounting of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle that bears witness, that was counted by order of Moses, the work of the Levites as supervised by Itamar the son of Aaron the priest.” (Shemos 38:21)
Moshe instructed the people to count. What was it they were supposed to count, and why?
Sometimes, we count in order to determine the total number of items in our possession, such as when we count out money in our pockets to see if we can purchase a certain item. Sometimes, we count that which is important to us, even if we already know how many there are supposed to be, such as trophies won. At other times, “counting” doesn’t refer to numbers, but worth, as in, “Does spelling count?” In the Torah portion this week, all of these facets of counting seem to be important in the Tabernacle.
As an expression of our national desire to serve G-d, the Tabernacle was the result of a building campaign that was incredibly wide in scope. The verses relate that anyone whose “… heart had been filled with a giving spirit” [Exodus 25:2 & 35:5] gave whatever they could. Those who did not donate items, donated services. There is even the suggestion that the talent for working the materials into the Tabernacle was not an inborn trait of those craftspeople who performed this task, but rather a G-d given ability that was bestowed upon those who were worthy of it, commensurate to their inner dedication [Exodus 36:25].
So when the Torah summarizes all this effort with the phrase, “These are the accountings of the Tabernacle …”, it is actually coming to regard all these definitions. The individual contributions to the Tabernacle are worth counting and that the effort itself was worthy of being counted.
In his commentary on the Torah, the Ohr HaChaim (Rabbi Chaim Ben Atar b.
Why, then, does the verse begin the description of the accounting without the connector? To emphasize the disconnection. Not only that the accounting is disconnected from the specific topic that immediately precedes it, but rather that it is disconnected from all previous topics.
The Ohr HaChaim’s observation leads us to the Torah’s valuable lesson – there are some things that are worth counting. And there are some that aren’t quite in the same category, hence the isolation of the verses of accounting. The "grade a" goods are not meant to associate with all other topics. You wouldn't count the amount of twenties in your wallet on the same tally as the number of plastic cups you have left in the drawer. To emphasize this lesson the Torah lists the accountings of the Tabernacle as a dedicated endeavor. A unified, nation-wide outpouring of concretized desire to serve the Creator, is something that is worth counting. It is something so worthy of being counted that it rates exclusive billing.
When we take mental stock of our days, when we budget out our resources, we are also performing an accounting. We list priorities and goals, and try to match them up with time and the ability to accomplish them. How much time do we spend on ourselves? How much do we spend on others? Are we making time for spiritual enrichment? Do we value and budget in our obligations to the Creator? To our fellow man?
In light of this lesson, we can ask ourselves, are we counting what counts?
What’s the count up to?
Hatzlacha !
1 comment:
Would that each Jew will heed the call of the Torah and take stock of his/her accomplishments relative to his/her goals. We owe this to our Creator as well as to ourselves and our families.
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