S.A.L.T. - Motzaei Shabbat

          In Parashat Pekudei, the Torah completes its account of the construction of the Mishkan and its furnishings. The Torah concludes this lengthy section by stating, “All the work on the Mishkan…was completed; the Israelites did in accordance with everything that the Lord commanded Moshe…” (39:32). The plain reading of this verse is that the Torah here emphasizes Benei Yisrael’s compliance with all the details of God’s commands regarding the construction of the Mishkan.

         Rav Yosef Patzanavsky, in Pardeis Yosef, offers a creative explanation of this verse. He notes that the Torah would not need now to emphasize Benei Yisrael’s compliance with God’s commands, as this point had already been made on several earlier occasions (see, for example, 38:22). Therefore, Rav Patzanavsky writes, this verse should be understood to mean that after the Mishkan was completed, those involved in the project of its construction resumed their observance of other mitzvot. The famous rule of “oseik be-mitzva patur min ha-mitzva” (Sukka 25a) exempts someone involved in a certain mitzva from other mitzvot. It thus stands to reason that during the period of the Mishkan’s construction, those who performed the work were absolved of other mitzva obligations. Thus, the Torah informs us that when the project was completed, those who had performed the work once again “did in accordance with everything that the Lord commanded Moshe” – meaning, they resumed their observance of the mitzvot from which they had been exempt while working to build the Mishkan.

         Although this reading seems difficult to accept, nevertheless, Rav Patzanavsky here offers a valuable insight regarding the challenge of resuming routine mitzva observance after a period of exemption. When extenuating circumstances require suspending certain religious obligations, it might be difficult to recommit oneself to those obligations once they again become practically relevant. Once we lose our routine, and the consistency is broken, resuming that routine can be a challenge. The depiction of the artisans resuming their standard mitzva performance upon completing the construction of the Mishkan should remind us that if we ever find ourselves temporarily exempt from certain mitzvot, we must not allow them to fall into permanent neglect. Once the opportunity presents itself to resume the performance of those mitzvot, we should eagerly do so, recognizing the precious value and each and every mitzva we are privileged to observe.

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