When Do We Get to the Interesting Parts?
Words of Wisdom with Rabbi Efrat Zarren-Zohar
This Dvar Torah was written by Rabbi Efrat Zarren-Zohar.
Photo by Content Pixie on Unsplash
I used to think that Parashat Vayakhel had “interesting material” and “boring material” in it.
The “interesting material” is Moshe / Moses bringing the Israelites together and telling them to make an offering to G!D based upon how their heart is moved to do so.
Following that, Moshe / Moses continues by asking those who are skilled to come and make all the objects that G!D has commanded regarding the Mishkan / Tabernacle, the place where the Divine Presence will dwell.
So the whole community of Israelites brings and makes objects for the Mishkan / Tabernacle — blue, purple and crimson yarns or tanned dolphin skins or gifts of copper or spun goat’s hair.
And by “whole community,” the Torah specifically says it was men and women, all whose hearts moved them to bring things as a freewill offering. Love these egalitarian parts!
In fact, this project was so successful, Moshe / Moses had to tell everyone to stop bringing stuff -- there was more than needed.
The “boring material” is what follows (don’t lose me here!):
36:8 And all the skilled among those engaged in the work made the tabernacle with ten strips of cloth, which they made of fine twined linen, blue, purple, and crimson yarns; into which they worked a design of cherubim.
9 The length of each cloth was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each cloth was four cubits; all the clothes had the same measurement.
10 They joined five clothes to one another; and the other five clothes to one another.
11 And they made loops of blue wool on the edge of the outermost cloth of one set and did the same on the edge of the outermost cloth of the second set…
And that’s only one paragraph!
There are a lot more mentions of cubits and loops and planks and sockets and bars and posts that are described page after page after page.
Notice I started by saying “I used to think…” What changed?
How did I come to change my perspective about dividing up the parashah into “interesting” and “boring” parts?
I started to meditate and practice mindfulness on a more regular basis.
You see (pun intended), when you start to look at the world without taking it for granted and really notice the details, you realize that even a pebble can be truly fascinating.
Do you remember when you were a child and you used to get excited about the tiniest of things?
Or if you don’t remember, perhaps you have children or grandchildren or have spent an afternoon in a park watching children? You’ll notice that they see grandeur in the smallest of objects.
What mindfulness does is help us regain the curiosity and wonder that made us so excited about absolutely everything when we were children.
And it’s that same mindfulness, that same sense that every… single… object… for the construction of the Mishkan / Tabernacle is worth dwelling on and describing in great detail that powers this Torah portion.
Think about it-- when you find something fascinating, you focus on it and really get into all the details (just ask a couple newly in love to tell you the story of how they met and sit back for the half hour blow-by-blow ;-)
So take a moment to sit comfortably wherever you are and find an object near you to focus on. Try to look at it as if you’ve never seen it before.
And try not to “judge” what you see; rather, just observe it, as it is, without the usual human need to “like it” or “dislike it.”
Notice colors. Notice shapes. Notice patterns.
What does it smell like?
What might it feel like?
Feel how your intense fascination with this object makes time slow down.
This object is now more “special” because you’ve come to observe it more intimately.
Now imagine that we could do this with everything in our lives.
Try to grasp the idea that the focus you gave the object you chose made it into a freewill offering — in other words, something ordinary became something extra-ordinary.
This mindfulness or noticing is an offering that we can give at any moment to help the Divine Presence dwell within us and among us.
In noticing the uniqueness of an object, we take something of G!Ds world that normally exists in “ordinary space/time” and elevate it to the magical, fascinating object it truly is.
By practicing mindfulness, our spirit is elevated so that one day we might find there is no such thing as “interesting” and “boring” – there is actually only “noticed” and “unnoticed.”
When that happens, the world will become so much more of a freewill offering from the Divine to you, just as your noticing will become a freewill offering with which you can express your gratitude to the Divine.
