Thursday, March 15, 2007

blessing of accomplishment

Parshat P'kudei

In 39:43 after Moshe sees that the jews had done as Hashem had commanded, the passuk says, "And Moshe blessed them".

Rashi tells us what the blessing was. He says that Moshe blessed them that the shechina should dwell in their handiwork.

Why is that such a great bracha that it gets mention? I would think they would want a blessing like Hashem should make you successful or grabnt you long life, or good health or wealth or many other things. Here they created a house for Hashem and the blessing to them is that Hashem should live in it. Isn't that just a result of their work?

I think it is because seeing the shechina rest in their handiwork means they were successful. The mishkan was not just a building and if they built it according to specs it would be fine. The mishkan needed to be built according to specs but also with the right intentions and motivations. The fact that Hashem would rest his shechina in the mishkan means they had done everything properly, not just the physical construction. It is defining a sense of accomplishment which can then be built on for the future.

Blessing them in this fashion was a great blessing. If the blessing would come true, it would give them the greatest sense of accomplishment possible.

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