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BEGIN WITH A GRIN

A poor child who had nothing to eat wrote a letter to G-d, asking that He send him a hundred dollars. On the envelope he wrote, “For G-d,” and he put the letter in the mailbox.

The postal workers didn’t know what to do with the envelope and they sent it to the White House. The president received the letter and felt bad for the child. He thought a hundred dollars was too much and he told his aide to put ten dollars in an envelope along with wishes that the child have success in life. The letter was signed “President of the United States.”

The child received the envelope and saw the ten dollars. He looked upward and said, “G-d, thank you, but next time don’t send it to by way of Washington. The politicians take 90% for themselves.”

WHAT’S A DOLLAR WORTH?

The beginning of parshas Vayakhel raises many questions. Many commentators have a hard time explaining the simple meaning of the verses. Each commentator has his approach. This week, we will focus on the Rebbe’s marvelous explanation and the lessons learned from it about the coming of the Geula.

The parsha begins with, “And Moshe assembled the whole community of the children of Israel, and he said to them: “These are the things that G-d commanded to make. Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have sanctity, a day of complete rest to G-d…” The Rebbe asks four questions, compiled from the commentators:

1-Why does it say “Moshe assembled?” The usual wording is, “And Moshe spoke” or “Moshe said.”

2-What “things” are being referred to here? Most of the commentators explain this to refer to the donations for the Mishkan, but this is difficult since before the Torah begins the subject of the donations for the Mishkan, it says again, “And Moshe said.” Others explain that it refers to the mitzva of Shabbos mentioned immediately afterward, but this is also hard to accept since the Jewish people were already commanded the mitzva of Shabbos at Marah, many parshiyos ago.

3-Why is Shabbos referred to as “Shabbos Shabbason?”

4-Why is this happening now, the day after Yom Kippur?

Chassidus explains this in a most amazing way. This all took place the day after Yom Kippur when Hashem declared, “I have forgiven as you said.” Forgiveness, atonement for the Sin of the Eigel, that terrible sin that re-instilled the filth of the snake within the souls of Israel. That sin which joined the sin of the Eitz HaDaas, as a pair of malignant sins for which this lengthy, horrible exile was decreed. After that atonement, Moshe decided to teach the Jewish people a lesson. He assembled them in order to eradicate, once and for all, the sin of idol worship from the world.

Moshe understood that the Jewish people in their current state were not (very) likely to literally worship idols. Bowing and worshiping idols didn’t fit with the “wise and discerning nation” like the Jewish people. Considering what happened to them and the punishments decreed upon them as a result of the Sin of the Eigel, Moshe was confident that a long time would go by before the Jewish people would sin with idol worship again.

Moshe was afraid of another form of idol worship, much more subtle, much more logical, and much easier. Chassidus explains that the root and source of the sin of idol worship is attributing any substance or value to any external force aside from the Creator, as a separate entity. Thinking that the forces of nature like the stars and constellations or even other natural events, are separate forces with an independent will, disconnected from the Creator, is the foundation of heresy.

According to this, explains the Rebbe, even the excessive devotion to business or devising strategies to earn money, is a subtle form of idol worship. To be immersed in business is like bowing to idols. The person does believe in G-d, he believes that only “the blessing of G-d is what gives wealth,” but he still thinks of involvement in business as a supreme value which is why he fully immerses himself in it. By immersing his head in business, it’s like he inclines his head, bowing to it. He worships the euro and serves the dollar. Moshe knew whom he was dealing with; he knew that Jews are very busy making money. He was afraid that this would enter their hearts, make its way to the neshama and ultimately lead to the destruction of the mind and intellect and the Jewish outlook on the true meaning of life.

DOLLARS AND SENSE

Therefore, right after the atonement for the sin of idol worship, Moshe assembled the Jewish people to warn them and to guide them in the proper way of attending to business. “Six days work may be done,” as opposed to “do work.” “May be done” implies passive involvement, while “do” implies active involvement. The business needs to be run (as though) by itself. The Jew need not stick his head in it; he needs to recognize that business is merely an ax in the hand of the wood-chopper, and only then can he be sure he won’t fall.

When during the six days of the week the work is done as though of itself, without any excessive effort on man’s part, then “on the seventh day” it can be sanctified as Shabbos Shabbason. Then, on Shabbos, a person can be freed of mundane things and thoughts of a livelihood. But if all week long his head is in the business, then when Shabbos comes it’s impossible to be free of it. He tries to raise himself up above mundane things but thoughts plague him nonstop since he “opened the door to them” and they charge in full force without letup…

Based on this, we can answer the second question. The ‘things’ that Moshe speaks about in these verses are indeed referring to the mitzva of Shabbos which the Jewish people had already accepted. But here, Moshe teaches us something new which we did not know. He teaches us how to get ready for Shabbos during the week, how to live properly during the week in order to feel the sanctity of Shabbos.

In a humorous vein we can say (and answer the third question) that if all week (weekdays), a person behaves like on Shabbos, “work may be done,” and he is not aggressively involved in the work of earning a livelihood, then when Shabbos comes, he is elevated to the “complete rest” of “Shabbos Shabbason,” a double Shabbos, inherent rest and tranquility, because already on the weekdays he experienced the first, simpler level of Shabbos.

We have the first question left to answer; why did Moshe assemble them. We can do so based on what we’ve said, that Moshe’s assembling them was a direct continuation of rectifying the Sin of the Eigel, a sin of idol worship. The rectification of everything is found in its opposite, and the absolute opposite of idol worship is the mitzva of G-d’s unity, to show and unify and unite every single thing with G-d.

Moshe was given the power to “assemble,” to unify. Our world is full of division; our nation suffers from divisiveness, and our neshama lives in a divided and fragmented world. The ability to assemble all matters of the world into true unity is through the power of Moshe, a person who lives one, unified existence, the existence of the Creator. Only someone who lives unity can unite others, and this person is Moshe. With the words, “And Moshe assembled,” we discover the symbol of Moshe’s true calling – instilling G-d’s unity within the soul, the nation and the entire world.

As for us, by internalizing these principles into our daily lives, we will achieve the purpose of creation and thereby rectify the world and the sins (Eitz HaDaas and Eigel) which led to the exile we are in. Just as in parshas Vayakhel, right after the mitzva of Shabbos, the Torah goes on to the command of building the Mishkan, the same is with us. If we behave during weekdays as on Shabbos, then our Shabbos can be “Shabbos Shabbason,” and if we understand and internalize that G-d is one and not legal tender… then we will merit “the work of the Mishkan” – the building of the third Beis HaMikdash speedily in our days!

TO CONCLUDE WITH A STORY

We will end with a story about a child in Soviet Russia keeping Shabbos. Rabbi Mordechai Kanelsky, shliach of the Rebbe in New Jersey, grew up in the Soviet Union where school was obligatory from the age of seven. For a Jewish child, school was a big problem not only because of the atheistic education, not only because of the gentile classmates, but also because attendance on Shabbos was mandatory and a student had to write and erase as the teacher instructed. For one year, his father, R’ Nosson, managed to bribe a woman doctor to certify that he was a sick, weak child and couldn’t go to school, but after that year, she refused to renew the diagnosis.

His father discussed the problem with him and said they had two options, to go to school during the week and be creative and find an excuse every Shabbos as to why he was absent, or he could stay at home and hide in the cellar and not see the light of day until he was past school age or they left Russia. The eight-year-old chose to stay at home and he could not go out during the daytime lest the neighbors see him and rat to the authorities.

One morning, there was knocking at the door and government officials said they wanted to search the house. The eight and a half-year-old boy hid in the cellar. It was a terrifying experience and his father realized they had to leave Russia. Chassidim don’t do anything without first asking the Rebbe, but how could they?

R’ Nosson thought of an idea. He took a picture of the family and sent it to a cousin, R’ Naftali Hertz Minkowitz who lived in Crown Heights. He wrote on the picture, “Show the picture to Grandpa and tell him we really want to see him.”

Minkowitz received the picture during the Aseres Yimei Teshuva of 5729 and on erev Yom Kippur, as he passed by the Rebbe for a piece of lekach, he gave the picture to the Rebbe. The Rebbe put it in a drawer of his desk without saying anything. Three months passed and the Kanelsky family in Moscow received an answer from their cousin in New York, “We received the photo, it was given to Grandpa, and he didn’t say anything.”

This was a deep disappointment and if that wasn’t enough, his father went to the OVIR department to submit papers and the clerk ripped them up and cruelly said, “You’ll never leave Russia. You’ll die here!” He returned home brokenhearted.

A year and a quarter of sorrow and pain passed and in the middle of 5730, R’ Nosson decided to try again, and this time to bribe one of the clerks. He gave 5000 rubles, a huge amount, and in Adar they received visas. Five days later they were on the plane to Vienna and from there to Eretz Yisrael.

They traveled to New York for the first time in 5731 and stayed with the Minkowitzs. To their surprise, R’ Naftali Hertz opened the closet and took out the picture they had asked him to give to the Rebbe. Why did he have the picture when it had been put in the Rebbe’s drawer?

He told them something astonishing. For an entire year, throughout 5729, the picture had been in the Rebbe’s drawer. At the beginning of the previous year, erev Yom Kippur 5730, as he passed by the Rebbe for lekach, the Rebbe took out the picture and said, “I don’t need the picture anymore.”

During Aseres Yimei Teshuva, R’ Kanelsky and his son had  yechidus. For the first ten minutes, the Rebbe spoke with the father about the state of Jews in Moscow and toward the end, he asked how they got out of Russia. The father said he had given a 5000 ruble bribe to a clerk. The Rebbe smiled and asked, “Are you sure that this is what helped you?” The father said yes. The Rebbe asked, with a bigger smile, “Are you really sure this is what helped you?!”

Good Shabbos!

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Moshiach Beparsha is a weekly drasha connecting the Rebbe’s teachings on Moshiach with the weekly Parsha, presented in an engaging way with stories and practical life lessons.

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