By Rabbi Joshua Dorsch
SAN DIEGO –This Shabbat, we read Parashat Pekudei. It is the last Torah portion, in what has been quite a few in a row, that deals primarily with the construction of the the Mishkan. We are given a very detailed review of how the Mishkan was built, and the allocations of all of the gold, silver and various materials. At the end of each step, we are told the same thing: that each step was done in accordance with how God had commanded Moses to do it. “Kaasher Tzivah Adonai Et Mosheh”
The phrase actually appears eighteen times – which could seem to be somewhat redundant, but the Rabbis suggest that this was most definitely intentional. By repeating the phrase that everything was done in accordance to God’s will, the Torah is teaching us that by building the Mishkan, Moses and the Israelites were implementing the will of God. They were doing holy work.
I don’t think it is a coincidence that the number 18, the amount of times that the phrase appears in our Torah portion, is also a lucky number in Judaism. It is the numerical value of the Hebrew word “Chai” which means life. I think the phrase “Kaasher Tzivah Adonai Et Mosheh” serves as an important reminder that through our actions, we have the power to do God’s work, which is holy work. Doing that work can not only sustain us and invigorate us, it can infuse us as individuals and as a community with a renewed sense of life.
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Rabbi Dorsch is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego. He may be contacted via joshua.dorsch@sdjewishworld.com