(מג) וַיַּ֨רְא מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶת־כׇּל־הַמְּלָאכָ֗ה וְהִנֵּה֙ עָשׂ֣וּ אֹתָ֔הּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה כֵּ֣ן עָשׂ֑וּ וַיְבָ֥רֶךְ אֹתָ֖ם מֹשֶֽׁה׃ {פ}
(43) And when Moses saw that they had performed all the tasks—as יהוה had commanded, so they had done—Moses blessed them.
(א) וַיְכֻלּ֛וּ הַשָּׁמַ֥יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ וְכׇל־צְבָאָֽם׃ (ב) וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹהִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃ (ג) וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ {פ}
(1) The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. (2) On the seventh day God finished the work that had been undertaken: [God] ceased on the seventh day from doing any of the work. (3) And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy—having ceased on it from all the work of creation that God had done.
Inspired by Arthur Waskow, Freedom Journeys.
Once upon a time we built a mishkan in this country. We came together from all parts of the country to make the AIDS quilt. The HIV/AIDS epidemic was terrifying, and we had come through a very narrow place (Mitzrayim/Egypt means narrow) with many souls lost. We who were alive then all knew someone who had died. From these memories, each family brought a square with the name of their lost loved one, filling the Washington mall. Then the squares were connected very much like the panels on the Mishkan, looping through the grommets. When it was completed, it was an enormous, portable, communal work of art. It travelled around the country, and folks added names to it. Last week in Vayakhel, I showed how the mishkan could be the measurement of a human soul. These excerpts show some of the parallels of the creation of the mishkan to the creation of the universe - they are intertwined. In today's fractured world, where fighting seems to be the default way of dealing with one another, what if we were to build another communal work of art? If the mishkan represents creation, perhaps we can fashion squares with the images of creatures and features of this beautiful planet, alternating with the beautiful and diverse images of babies born who will inherit the land. This could be our travelling sanctuary to bring healing to our planetary one.
וירא משה את כל המלאכה. זו מלאכת המשכן ופי' וירא בהר כענין שכתוב (שמות כ״ה:ט׳) ככל אשר אני מראה אותך וכתיב (שם) אשר אתה מראה בהר, והנה עשו אותה, במדבר. ובמדרש וירא משה את כל המלאכה זו מלאכת בראשית, את כל מלאכת המשכן לא נאמר אלא להודיעך ששקולה מלאכת המשכן כנגד מעשה בראשית, מיד ויברך אותם משה, מה ברכה ברכן אמר יהי רצון שתשרה שכינה במעשה ידיכם מיד אמר (תהילים צ׳:י״ז) ויהי נועם יהוה אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו מפני שתחלתו (שם) תפלה למשה איש האלהים. וטעם מעשה ידינו נשיאות כפים שעשה אהרן ביום ההקמה שזה לשון עלינו, ומעשה ידינו כוננהו על ההצלחה במעשה ידיהם ולא כדעת רבי דוד קמחי ז"ל שפי' שהוא לשון כפול.
וירא משה את כל המלאכה, “when Moses saw that all the works had been done, etc.,” the word מלאכה refers to the work of building and weaving, etc. for the Tabernacle. The word וירא refers to the vision of the completed Tabernacle G’d had shown Moses while he was on Mount Sinai. This vision has already been mentioned in Exodus 25,40. The words והנה עשו אותה means that now the people had made this vision come true in the desert. A Midrashic approach (Tanchuma Pekudey 11): The words “Moses saw all the work,” refers to the מעשה בראשית, the creation of the universe; the Torah deliberately omitted adding the words מלאכת המשכן, “the work of the Tabernacle,” in order to teach us that this construction of the Tabernacle was equivalent in a sense to the construction of the universe itself. Immediately after Moses observed this he blessed the people saying: “may the Presence of the Lord, the Shechinah, come to rest on the work of your hands.” He continued immediately with the words of Psalm 90,17: “may the favor of the Lord, our G’d, be upon us; let the work of your hands prosper, O prosper the work of our hands.” The reason these words were appropriate is that the Psalm commences with the words “a prayer of Moses, the man of G’d.” The meaning of the words: “the work of our hands” is a reference to the priestly blessing bestowed upon the people by Aaron on the day the Tabernacle was put up. This is why the word עלינו “upon us,” Moses including himself, was appropriate. Finally, the last words in this blessing, the words ומעשה ידינו כוננהו, refer to the enduring success of the work the people had accomplished. This does not agree with the opinion of R' David Kimchi (רד"ק) who views these words as a repetition of what Moses had said before in order to reinforce his wish.