Parshat Vayakhel: It's All Too Much

Parshat Vayakhel: It's All Too Much

Last summer, following the evacuation of the troops from Afghanistan, my shul in Bushey found itself being featured in both the local and national headlines.

At the height of the crisis, seventeen refugee families arrived in the area having boarded a flight from Kabul to escape the Taliban. Our local councillor contacted the Rabbi and told him that there was a desperate need for items such as warm clothing, toiletries, school supplies and toys. Our community banded together to provide these and within three hours, on Sunday, 22nd August, the shul car park was packed with dozens of black rubbish bags containing donations of said items. These were handed out to thirty grateful families living in local hostels. By Thursday night, the number of recipients had risen to seventy-two.

I remember the pride I felt watching the news snippet on the BBC. It was the ultimate Kiddush Hashem - sanctification of Gd's name and I am certain that a similar project would take place should the UK accept refugees from Ukraine.

Both the Rabbi and the Shul were honoured with a "Points of Light" Award from the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson which stated, "In recognition of your exceptional service supporting Afghan refugees, you are presented with the UK's 1745th ‘Points of Light’ award on the 24th September 2021."

Towards the end of that memorable week, I looked in awe at the collection and asked the Rabbi as to how they could possibly accept any more contributions. The car park was almost unrecognisable!

He responded with a smile saying that the demand to donate had been so high, he was having to politely refuse any more donations, which brings me to this week's Parsha.

At the start of Vayakhel, Moshe assembled the people (the word for a community 'Kehillah' is derived from the same root which is 'k-h-l') and asked them to bring 'an offering to the Lord' towards the construction of the Mishkan/Tabernacle and its contents.

He requested the following:

○ gold, silver, bronze, sky-blue purple and scarlet wool

○ linen and goats' hair

○ rams' hides dyed red and fine leather

○ acacia wood

○ oil of the lamp

○ spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense

○ and finally rock crystal together with other precious stones for the ephod (apron) and breast piece.

He then asked for skilled craftsmen and women to make the items that would comprise the entire project including the tents and coverings, poles, curtain, table of shewbread, incense altar and the Menorah.

The people left Moshe's presence and returned with everything he had requested, from gold brooches and earrings to wool spun by the women's own hands as well as the finest linen available. Moshe instructed Betzalel a chief artisan from the tribe of Yehudah along with Oholiav from the tribe of Dan and the skilled craftsmen within the nation, to construct all the holy items from the donated materials.

The immense project was undertaken and we are told that:

Exodus 36:3-7

From Moshe they received all the offerings that the Israelites had brought for the work of the Sanctuary. And the people kept bringing additional gifts every morning. So all the craftsmen engaged in the work of the Sanctuary left what they were doing and said to Moshe, “The people are bringing more than is necessary for the work that Gd has commanded us to do.” Moshe ordered an announcement to be made throughout the camp: “Let no man or woman make anything more as an offer for the Sanctuary!” So the people brought no more for what they had was more than enough for all the work that was to be done.

The Malbim (d.1879) adds an incisive comment on this. He says that this project was not like any other as it had been requested from the people by no less than Gd himself. He had asked for a finite amount of material that was to be used. No more, no less. One may have thought that if you added to the quantity specified, it would make the entire project even grander than it already was, which was not the point of the exercise. In fact, had more material been added, the Malbim explains that it would have rendered the entire Mishkan Pasul - invalid, which is the opposite of the word 'kosher' or 'fit for purpose.' He cites the example of the instruction to build the Menorah out of one single piece of gold and if two were used, the beautiful result would also have had such a status.

I believe that the Torah is teaching us a powerful lesson here. Sometimes, in our enthusiasm to show our dedication to a project, we can end up overdoing this.

As Oscar Wilde famously put it, "everything in moderation, including moderation."

In a few weeks’ time, we will be reading the Megillah whose descriptive language of the opulent palace in Shushan in the first chapter is not dissimilar to that used for the Mishkan:

Esther 1:6

There, swaths of fine fabric -of precious white cotton and sky-blue wool – were caught up with cords of the finest linen and purple and draped over silver bars and columns of marble; and couches of gold and silver were arranged on a terrace paved with alabaster and marble; with mother of pearl and black onyx.

The Megillah describes the feast that Achashverosh prepared for his guests:

Esther 1:3-5

in the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his ministers and courtiers—the elite of Persia and Media, the nobles and the governors of the provinces in his service. For no fewer than a hundred and eighty days he displayed the wealth of his kingdom and the dazzling glory of his greatness. At the end of this period, the king gave a banquet for seven days in the courtyard of the king’s palace garden for all the people who lived in the fortress Shushan, high and low alike.

Esther 1:7-8

Royal wine was served in abundance, as befits a king, in vessels of gold, vessels unlike any other. And the rule for the drinking was, “No restrictions!” For the king had given orders to every palace steward to comply with each man’s wishes.

The gluttony and debauchery that took place led to what could have resulted in the genocide of our people. Sometimes, too much really means too much.

Judaism recognises this and places limits on excess, hence the command by Moshe to cease from bringing gifts.

I also see another way to view the beauty of our religion's sensible approach as I will shortly be concluding my year of mourning. In Parshat Chaya Sarah, we are told that when our first Matriarch died, her husband Avraham mourned over her.

In the Torah it is written that:

Genesis 23:2

Sarah died in Kiryat Arba—that is Hebron—in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

בראשית כ״ג:ב׳

וַתָּ֣מׇת שָׂרָ֗ה בְּקִרְיַ֥ת אַרְבַּ֛ע הִ֥וא חֶבְר֖וֹן בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן וַיָּבֹא֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם לִסְפֹּ֥ד לְשָׂרָ֖ה וְלִבְכֹּתָֽהּ׃

Look carefully at the final word in the verse, Velivkota - and to weep for her and you will notice that in both the Torah and Chumash, the kaf is smaller than the other letters. Numerous commentators including the Rosh (d. 1327) explain that Avraham demonstrated his acceptance of her passing and whilst he no doubt mourned for her, he also limited the way in which he carried this out.

Judaism understands that just as there is a time to celebrate and a time to weep (as per the beautiful description in Kohelet - Ecclesiastes), everything must take place in a controlled and measured way. I could continue saying Kaddish for the entire year, but for a number of reasons, the process of mourning which began as soon as the Levaya ended must itself also finish in a set amount of time, which happens to be today.

In just over a month, on 25th Adar Sheni, my year of aveilut (mourning) will conclude and I will have the opportunity to remember my mother in a different, less public manner. This doesn't diminish her place in my heart and I am no less a son to her than I would be if I wore black for the rest of my life. Everything in moderation.

The Rabbi of Bushey Shul and similarly, the Jewish people's greatest leader understood that, in order to appreciate the gifts that people wanted to make, it was important for the overall project to curtail the contributions. This did not impact on the extraordinary achievement that took place in both the helping out of refugees and the building of the Mishkan. On the contrary, it provided a shining example of what our people can achieve when we unite as a community.

It shows that, if we can work together and put aside our differences, the Jewish people well and truly live up to Gd's requirements that we be to Him, 'mamlechet kohanim vegoy kadosh' - 'A kingdom of priests and a holy nation'. If we achieve this, we can demonstrate that we really are 'or lagoyim' - 'a light unto the nations' and one that completely deserved to be recognised as one of this countries' eminent 'Points of Light'.

Shavuah Tov.