Parshas Pekudei (5785) - "Ka'asher Tziva Hashem Es Moshe" - let it be as the Rebbe wants

00:00 I heard from a great chossid, Rabbi Avraham Shemtov, the Rebbe’s shliach in Philadelphia and at the White House, a story that happened with his father years ago. This was in 5713. He had a brother who was becoming bar mitzvah at the time. His father, Reb Bentzion Shemtov, who was among the most devoted chassidim and lived in England, invited Jews, friends and rabbis from the city to the bar mitzvah. In the invitation, he used the wording chassidim customarily use: he wished the bar mitzvah boy would grow up to be a chossid, a G-d-fearing Jew and a scholar, as the Rebbe wants—His Holiness the Rebbe, shlita. That was how chassidim used to write. He sent out the invitations, and one of the rabbis who received one was the well-known Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, who today is among the senior and leading rabbis, the rabbi of the Eidah HaChareidis—may he be healthy and strong. At the time, he was a young rabbi in England. He received the invitation, and the wording did not sit so well with him. He did not like the expressions written in it: that the boy should grow up to be a chossid, a G-d-fearing Jew and a scholar, as the Rebbe wants. One should write: that he should grow up to be a chossid, a G-d-fearing Jew and a scholar, as the Rebbe shlita wants—as he desires. At that time he wrote a letter to the Rebbe. Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch shlita,

01:38 wrote a letter to the Rebbe then, expressing his criticism and comments about using such wording in an invitation. If I understand the story and remember correctly, he raised the matter with Reb Bentzion Shemtov. Reb Bentzion told him that this was how chassidim customarily wrote, and that if he wished, he could ask the Rebbe himself what the words meant. In any case, Rabbi Sternbuch wrote to the Rebbe and subsequently received a reply. It was a wonderful letter, a reply in which the Rebbe explained the wording. In any case, the essential point of the letter—it contains a number of profound matters, and I say this on the basis of halachah—is the Rebbe’s explanation of the wording chassidim use when offering a blessing: When a father wants to give his child the very best blessings—a bar mitzvah is approaching, it is a joyous occasion, and the father wants to bless his child with the finest blessings, materially and spiritually. But human nature is such that a person is partial to himself. A person is limited, and he has his own interpretation of every thing, every concept and every blessing, limited by his understanding and grasp. So when I come to a bar mitzvah boy and want to wish him

03:07 to be a chossid, I mean what I understand a chossid to be; G-d-fearing, according to what I understand a G-d-fearing person to be; a scholar, according to what I understand a scholar to be. Clearly, because each person is partial to himself, he has his own interpretation, his own limitations and his own understanding of what he would want the boy to become. That does not necessarily correspond to the truth, aim at it or reflect the true perfection of the matter—the true meaning of each thing and concept. So when a Jew wants to bless his child, he asks: Who is the Jew I know is not biased at all? Someone I know has no self-love or personal bias, so that when he blesses someone, his blessing is perfect, in the best and fullest way. Someone I can rely on to understand, perceive and interpret these words truthfully, fully and in the finest, loftiest way, without any bias born of self-love. And so, when a chossid knows that his Rebbe is such a person, someone he can trust completely—a person wholly devoted to the Divine will—then what the Rebbe seeks for another person is what is truly right, in its fullest sense, without any trace of self-love or any limitations or shortcomings. So what he seeks—yes, that is how it is.

04:31 When he says “to be a chossid,” he means what a chossid truly is, [unclear] in its fullest perfection, to the point he knows [unclear] a person can reach. The same applies to being G-d-fearing and to being a scholar. This is the meaning of the blessing people write and say: that a child should grow up to be a chossid, G-d-fearing and a scholar, as His Holiness [unclear] wishes—as the Rebbe wants. That is, according to the Rebbe’s understanding and knowledge of what [unclear] of a chossid is, [unclear] of a G-d-fearing person, [unclear] of a scholar. That is what we ask for: that it should indeed come to pass, and that this should indeed be the [unclear] in which the child grows up. In the weekly parsha, we find the subject of building the Mishkan. There is something interesting here: Parshas Pekudei is the final parsha, and it tells how the Mishkan was actually built. Throughout almost the entire parsha, from beginning to end, the Torah repeatedly emphasizes that the whole construction of the Mishkan, down to every detail, was according to Moshe. It says right at the beginning of the parsha: “These are the accounts of the Mishkan, which were recorded at Moshe’s direction.” Yes, already at the beginning of the parsha, which lists the accounts of the Mishkan—the totals and counts, everything that was there and how it was carried out—

06:03 all the things that the Rebbe [unclear]. Regarding the bringing of contributions for the Mishkan and the making of its vessels, the Torah emphasizes that this was “recorded at Moshe’s direction.” What does “recorded” mean? The commentators offer two explanations: either it refers to the number, count and weight of everything they counted and measured then; or it refers to appointments—the people appointed to carry the Mishkan, direct its service, erect it and build all its parts. These were members of the tribe of Levi, as the parsha relates. The Torah emphasizes that this was “recorded at Moshe’s direction.” Later, when discussing everything they brought, the Torah emphasizes that the Mishkan they built—“they brought the Mishkan to Moshe.” Then, as the Torah details everything they set up in the Mishkan, it emphasizes again: “as Hashem commanded Moshe.” It repeats this again and again, to the point that, as cited in the name of the Jerusalem Talmud, “as Hashem commanded Moshe” appears here eighteen times—concerning each vessel it says, “as Hashem commanded Moshe.” It is said that this is connected to the Shemoneh Esrei prayer: the eighteen blessings are derived from these instances of “as Hashem commanded Moshe.” We find this wording several times in the parsha. What is [unclear]? As is known, something along these lines is cited

07:30 in the name of the holy Baal Shem Tov. He says that the Torah’s telling us this in today’s parsha is a lesson and an instruction: A Jew must always know that when he comes to fulfill a mitzvah, when he undertakes a great task, a mitzvah, an act of kindness or a good deed—in everything he does, he should always intend, in speech or in thought, that it be “as Hashem commanded Moshe.” Through this, he connects with the entire Jewish people, and particularly with Moshe Rabbeinu. [unclear] Moshe Rabbeinu, the matters become entirely [unclear], because Moshe Rabbeinu, of course, saw in every action and every detail the [unclear] of the heavenly mitzvos, “as he was shown on the mountain.” This leads to a loftier point [unclear] that the Rebbe says about Moshe Rabbeinu: “As he was shown on the mountain”—every detail of making the Mishkan, every vessel, every measurement and every number, was not just a number or measurement. In every physical act, Moshe Rabbeinu saw how it reflected what “he was shown on the mountain.” Within that action is the true Mishkan, the heavenly Mishkan, the Mishkan above. And the Mishkan below corresponds to the Mishkan above. So in essence, every act contains [unclear].

09:04 At the time of fulfilling a mitzvah—for the sake of the union of Hakadosh Boruch Hu and His Shechinah. In every mitzvah, every action, every [unclear] in it, every deed, word and thought, there is this element of union. In this way, one recalls these matters as they are above. And this is what the holy [unclear] brings in the parsha. That is the meaning of “which were recorded at Moshe’s direction.” And the Kohen cites—that is the idea of... There is a well-known teaching of the Baal Shem Tov, and the holy [unclear] cites it several times, along with his interpretation of “Hashem is your shadow.” The Rebbe says that “Hashem is your shadow” means that every detail a person does—likewise, every detail of a person’s deeds—is reflected in the shadow above. And that is why it says, “And Betzalel son of Uri,” and so on. This teaches us about Betzalel; after all, his name contains the word “shadow,” and that is the point. “Which were recorded at Moshe’s direction”: At the time of acting, at the time of fulfilling the mitzvah, one must know that it is “recorded at Moshe’s direction,” that it connects with Moshe Rabbeinu. “Recorded” is an expression of union. The Gemara says, the Midrash says, [unclear]. It is an expression of union, of joining together—the union of Hakadosh Boruch Hu and His Shechinah. “Which were recorded at Moshe’s direction”: This connects with Moshe Rabbeinu, and through his action, even a simple action, a person becomes united with Moshe Rabbeinu. And through this it becomes “Betzalel son of Uri”—that is, a shadow is formed. What he does becomes...

10:38 A shadow, reflected in the shadow above. And this is what comes up in our parsha, Parshas Pekudei, in the matter of the shadow. After all, the shadow is already there: Parshas Terumah, with its instructions, then Ki Sisa and Vayakhel—we have already learned several parshas. After all the instructions and after the Mishkan has been built, Parshas Pekudei comes and tells us that when you build the Mishkan, you must know that it has to be “accounted for at Moshe’s instruction.” It has to be “as Hashem commanded Moshe.” When you build it with that intention, it must be “as Hashem commanded Moshe”; only then does it become a true Mishkan, and through that, the Shechinah dwells in it. We find another point in the parsha, in the earlier verses. The Torah tells us that when they had finished building the Mishkan and all its components, they brought the Mishkan to Moshe. The verse says, “And Moshe blessed them.” On “And Moshe blessed them,” Rashi says that Moshe Rabbeinu told them: “May it be Hashem’s will that the Shechinah rest upon the work of your hands. May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us; establish the work of our hands for us, and establish the work of our hands.” This is one of the eleven psalms said by Moshe Rabbeinu. That is what Rashi says in the parsha. In other words, here, when they brought the Mishkan to Moshe Rabbeinu and all the vessels were ready, Moshe also [unclear] them—Moshe Rabbeinu gave them his blessing. And the question arises: Rashi is not a midrash; Rashi explains the plain meaning of the verse. What is Rashi trying to tell us here? Why does Rashi bring this—Rashi says...

12:15 What was Moshe’s blessing? What were its words? And why, with all these details, does Rashi give the blessing “May it be Hashem’s will that the Shechinah rest upon the work of your hands,” then quote “May the pleasantness,” the wording of that verse, and note that it is from Moshe Rabbeinu’s psalms? What is the purpose of all this elaboration by Rashi? Here Rashi is explaining that the verse is not saying something simple. At first glance, we understand what the Torah means by “And Moshe blessed them”: it means that Moshe Rabbeinu also prayed for them. But why tell us that now, at the end of Parshas Pekudei? In Parshas Vayakhel, when they brought the donations and did the work, the Torah tells us that they brought all the donations—gold, silver, and copper. Why do we not find that Moshe Rabbeinu prayed for them then? On the face of it, what kind of question is that? The Torah does not have to tell us about every prayer. It is obvious that Moshe prayed for them; does the Torah need to tell us that? So what does this verse mean? That is where the special significance of “And Moshe blessed them” comes in: this was a particular blessing from Moshe Rabbeinu. What was that blessing? The Torah tells us: You built the Mishkan with the Ohel Moed. All the work of bringing donations for the Mishkan and building it was for the sake of the Ohel Moed. The purpose of the Ohel Moed was to bring the Shechinah back to you after it had departed in the wake of the great sin, the sin of the Golden Calf. You know that the terrible sin was the sin of the Golden Calf, because that sin caused the Shechinah, rachmana litzlan, to depart from the Jewish people. “For I will not go up in your midst,” says the verse; that was the departure of the Shechinah brought about by the sin that [unclear]. And the Gemara says that the sin of the Golden Calf brought all the defilement that was...

14:20 With all these matters. So, again, we understand: all the work and effort of building the Mishkan was so that Hakadosh Boruch Hu would dwell among them. Rashi says in Parshas Shemini that this was its purpose, and in several parshas we find that this was the forgiveness, the atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf. Everything you did—going and building the Mishkan—was to bring atonement for that sin. And indeed, this led them to bring the entire Mishkan to Moshe Rabbeinu, as it says, “accounted for at Moshe’s instruction,” and afterward, “And Moshe blessed them.” Why? Because Moshe Rabbeinu was the only one of all the Jewish people who had no connection whatsoever to the sin of the Golden Calf. He could therefore bring about atonement for it. After all, he had not been there at all; he was on the mountain. So Moshe Rabbeinu was the only one who could erect the Mishkan, bringing complete atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf. That is why the entire Mishkan had to be brought into Moshe Rabbeinu’s hands, and he was the one who could erect it. For, as Rashi explains plainly, when they saw that after all those days the Shechinah had still not come to rest there, they said: What is happening here? Moshe Rabbeinu said that he would erect the Mishkan, and then they would have atonement and the Shechinah would be revealed. That is why it says, “And Moshe blessed them.” After you have done everything that depends on you—the work must first come from your side, and then there can be atonement. You brought gold, silver, copper, and all the other things wholeheartedly. Then the wise-hearted took them and built the Mishkan in all its details, as Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted, “as Hashem commanded Moshe.” And then there could be

16:17 “And Moshe blessed them.” Rashi says: Of course—what else could the blessing have been? Moshe’s blessing was surely about what the Jewish people were seeking. They wanted atonement. They wanted the Shechinah to return and dwell among them. And that is what Moshe Rabbeinu tells them: “May it be Hashem’s will that the Shechinah rest upon the work of your hands”—that the Shechinah rest upon all the work of your hands, through which the Mishkan was built. But here we see that Rashi does not stop with the words “that the Shechinah rest upon the work of your hands.” He also quotes the verse: “May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us; establish the work of our hands for us.” What is special about this verse? We see that Moshe Rabbeinu includes himself with the Jewish people in all of this. He does not say “your hands,” but “our hands”: “May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us; establish the work of our hands for us.” Moshe Rabbeinu includes himself with the Jewish people. The Jewish people did the work, brought all the donations, and built the Mishkan. Then they brought it to Moshe, who could erect it, and he made the request together with them. What Moshe Rabbeinu gives the Jewish people is an instruction and a lesson for all generations: When a Jew wants to make the world a dwelling place for Hashem, a Mishkan for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, on the one hand he must do everything that depends on him. He cannot rely on someone else and say, “Moshe Rabbeinu will do it, and I’ll go to sleep.” This expresses one of the foundations of Chabad Chassidus that the Rebbe

17:53 taught us: a person must work through his own efforts. He must do everything that depends on him, as far as his abilities reach. He must build his Mishkan, bring the silver, the gold, and the copper, put the wise-hearted to work on its construction, and do everything he can with his own strength. On the other hand, he must know that his own strength cannot bring the Shechinah to rest there. This is the meaning of “They brought the Mishkan to Moshe”: the entire Mishkan must be brought to Moshe Rabbeinu. What I do, what I am able to do—I must hand over all my work, with all my actions, to the leader of the generation, to Moshe Rabbeinu, the extension of Moshe in every generation. I hand over all my actions so that he, through his strength and influence, will bring the blessing. Through Moshe’s power, the Shechinah comes to rest. And Moshe Rabbeinu raises the Jewish people to a level they cannot reach through their own strength. But at the same time, this is not Moshe Rabbeinu’s work alone. As the Gemara says in Tractate Menachos, “Moshe, you have spoken well”—Moshe Rabbeinu includes himself with every Jew. The actions that each person takes, everything that depends on him in building the Mishkan, together with Moshe Rabbeinu erecting the Mishkan and blessing them—that is “establish the work of our hands for us,” so that the Shechinah will indeed rest there. This can be

19:23 the work of our hands, and make a Mishkan of it. From this we take a lesson for every time and place: “They shall make Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them”—it does not say “in it,” but within each and every person. Every Jew is a Mishkan for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Every Jew must make a Mishkan for Hakadosh Boruch Hu out of his body, his animal soul and the faculties of his soul, his home and family, his personal affairs, and everything he has. When he invests all these strengths in serving Hashem and makes everything a place for the Shechinah to rest, that is what each person does with himself. Afterward, there must be “They brought it to Moshe.” One must know that, alone, one cannot bring the Shechinah to rest. There must be “They believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant.” As the midrash says, only once there is “Moshe His servant” can there be “They believed in Hashem.” That is how one must hand over everything one does, so that it will be “as Hashem commanded Moshe.” Only then is “the Shechinah rest upon the work of your hands” fulfilled. Only then does one feel, “May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us; establish the work of our hands for us, and establish the work of our hands.” The Gemara says that because Moshe Rabbeinu was involved with the Mishkan, the works of Moshe’s hands are eternal, and enemies have no power over them. No enemy, no opponent, and no concealment can have power over the works of Moshe’s hands. Likewise, when we know that our actions must be connected to the leader of the generation,

20:51 The Moshe of the generation—while each person does everything in their power—will certainly bring about the fulfillment of “May the Shechinah rest upon the work of your hands.” May the work of our hands bring pleasure to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and may the Shechinah dwell among us; may we make the world a dwelling place and sanctuary for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and may we build the Third Beis Hamikdash very soon. And surely this will be in the month of Nissan, which we are about to enter—for in Parshas Pekudei, it was Rosh Chodesh Nissan. The Torah says that “on the first day of the first month,” the Shechinah dwelt in the Mishkan for the first time. So too, surely in our days we will merit to see the Shechinah dwell in the Third Beis Hamikdash. And in the month of Nissan, as the Gemara says, “In Nissan they were redeemed, and in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed”—may it happen this very month, the coming month: may we leap from the end of Adar into Nissan, the month of Geulah, with the greatest joy of the true and complete Geulah. May there be [unclear] for each person in material and spiritual matters, until we merit the complete Geulah in actuality through our righteous Moshiach.