Parashas Vayakahel
Covenant [Brit] of [Shalom] Peace
Rabbi David Katz
The
Ger/Noahide Shabbat is a reality that will one day dominate the Seventh Day
Worldwide in the Days of the Messiah. Gerim all over the planet will be able to
rest, gain spiritual gifts throughout the week, and simultaneously keep the
World going better than ever. They are destined to take their gift from the
bitter waters of Marah, and turn it into the eternal delight of God's holiest
day. This is a big difference from the antiquated party line that echoes death
sentences and calls for the blood of the perpetrator of God's Covenant; this is
the Covenant of Peace, one that the Bahir sates as, "a great source of Joy
for the King." Shabbat is the fractal code that completes creation, and
very much a proper covenant; it also just happens to be the first and most
essential step in leaving behind what was, and entering the World [of the Ger]
that came out of Sinai. In that World, the knowledge of God fills the air, and
the World would be deemed as complete; Shabbat then is the motor that drives
this mission into fruition.
The
pre-present-post Sinai experience and revelation to some extent is an
historical banner of the Shabbat. From being commanded and given Shabbat at
Marah [pre-Sinai; bitter waters – over the Shabbat, and thus being proven to
"the People" how sweet it is, as Moses placed "it" there
for "him" as law. "Him" refers to every human there, and
the words "placed for him" conveniently spells "Shalom," as
the Shabbat is the main focus.], educated in Shabbat through the 10
Commandments, and the entire Mishkan [post golden calf] ensemble is one long
strand of the evolution of time into a Shabbat mentality and inclination. One
could say in a sense, this is where everyone involved realized and connected to
their own innate holiness, something that the Book of Genesis "already
knew" from Adam to Seth, Hanoch, Noah, Shem, Avot, and the Tribes. Greater
Israel is now ready to take its mantle as the World's flagship in promoting God
[Jews and Gerim] through the perpetual holy day in our lives that changes the
World – Shabbat.
Our
up to date status is our Parasha, for the aforementioned details have led us
directly into the Mishkan, which ultimately is the Talmudic [scholastic] definition
of Shabbat; a practical and technical approach to responsibly understand the
minute details of the Shabbat. The Mishkan was made from thirty-nine creative,
thought provoking labors or crafts. These crafts are the same practices by
which God created the World; ergo the Mishkan is a microcosm of the World. Now
that we are leaving the first half of the Torah in our wake, and soon to progress
to actually function in the Mishkan in the Book of Vayikra, now is the most
opportune time to explain the inner dimension of the Mishkan, the face of the mission
of Israel. The master bolt that holds everything together is the Shabbat, and
concordantly we are addressing it now in Vayakahel.
The
Parsha takes of these matters into account, without wasting any time, as we are
immediately initiated into the concepts of the labors and parameters of the
basic and essential Shabbat for the Jews and Gerim. On a profound note, the
Torah takes liberty in just three concise verses, to outline the extremely
complex issues of the "how to's" of Shabbat, through taking the discussion
to a place of sublime simplicity. The text reads as follows, "…these are
the things [39 labors] that Hashem commended to do them: 'On six days, you are
to do labor [39 –ish], and on the Seventh Day should be for ya'll Holy, a total
Shabbat for Hashem; all who engage in Labor [39-ish] shall surely be put to
death.' Do not kindle a flame in any of your locations on the Shabbat Day.'"
This text may seem straightforward at first glance – either speaking to Jews or
Gerim; yet what we find is a classic case of "From the Mouth of God – We heard
two/too." We are standing before a perfectly woven tapestry of a
simultaneous dialogue, such that we are receiving the tradition of Shabbat for
the Ger and Jew in one ear shot! Rightfully so, the Oral Law clarifies these
matters, and explains these three verses in laid out terms that anyone alive
can find their place in the Shabbat World, and yet remarkably, it all still is
sourced right here, in our Parasha's opening words.
The
Jew and the Ger, as many know, have two distinctively different streams of the Shabbat;
this stems from the Command vs. the Gift. As a Jewish Command, the Jewish
People are prohibited in the performance of thirty-nine labors on the Seventh
Day. From this level of observance, quite literally an entire culture has been spawned,
and accordingly has been the face of the Jewish People practically since the
inception of the Mishkan itself. Jewish Orthodoxy goes as far as to say any
religious person is defined through "Shomer Shabbos" – a keeper of
Shabbat, an objective display of one's place with God. For the Shomer Shabbos
Jew, our three verses seem pretty straight forward, and seem to serve as a nice
rudimentary introduction or basis of all Shabbat ritualistic behavior. Although
this has served many through the perpetuation of time, Israel has a Brother,
who also is rooted here – The Ger [Noahide]. As we will see, the other side of
the coin equally contains his path, alongside The Jew, yet his is fantastically
unique to him and his soul as well.
The
Talmud Krisos 9a gives the Torah's most accurate outline of a proper Ger
[Toshav] Shabbat. The nature of the Ger Shabbat is one that traverses many
planes, namely his turn away from idolatry from adhering to Ger ideals in the
Torah and from the Divine Inscription within the Ten Commandments to name a
few. In the Talmud it is listed there three categorical decrees of observance
[from that of a holiday, intermediary days, and a mundane day – although aware
of the Seventh Day], and the Ten Commandments consistently shows the bestowal
of the Shabbat gift to the Ger [Toshav, Tzedek – both non-Jews with subtle
distinctive differences], an expression of his relationship with the Commanded
Jew. Granted there is a level of relative simplicity in the Talmud, however the
Ten Commandments offers an endless array of scenarios and logistics, that with
creative thought [such as to our "Melacha" of the Parsha – craft/work
from creative thought] one can see the true Divine nature of the Shabbat of the
Ger.
The
Ger Shabbat as brought down astutely in the Parasha has one massive sign post
that this is definitely a discussion for the Gerim – the transfer/kindling of
fire. The Jewish holidays [not Shabbat] offer a leniency that allows for
cooking under the pretext of "soul food" – "allowing the body to
benefit," even through normally prohibited measures, such as cooking. In
fact, the entire nature of these three verses openly compares and contrasts the
Shabbat in face of the holidays, yet the discussion is without question a
Shabbat discourse; ergo this is to highlight the participation of the Gerim in
Shabbat as brought down in the Talmud.
Throughout the rest of the Parasha the inclusion of the Ger [and on a
very serious spiritual inclination] is utterly profound, and there are
impressions [such that are appropriately in reference materials] of the
magnitude of the Ger in Vayakahel.
Some
of the more penetrating ideas and concepts are as follows: the ability to study the Melachot [creative
labors] in order to know how to keep Shabbat [with Jews or as a convert or to
develop one's knowledge within the realm of Ger Tzedek], ability to identify
the material in both the Oral and Written Torah with Divine predictability, the
prominence of the "Ger Code" – concerning the Mishkan/Mikdash
dimensions, the concept of Soul Mazal of one's name – such that on Shabbat our
Soul/Mazal is more pronounced [the Prophet Is. Ch. 40 details mazal and names,
and lists Abraham as the prime example], the concept of perceiving the
Shechinah on Shabbat [as the Prophet Is. States 58:13-14], the Kabbalah of the
spiritual Worlds in association of the Mishkan and Shabbat, Derech Eretz and
hard [allowed] labor on Shabbat [along with Creative thought], and the ability
to defeat the evil inclination – while taking one's position in the highest
spiritual realm as a rectified being. The vernacular of the Ger and
"code" if you will, are the lent vessels in transmitting these
precious secrets; perforce the Ger has inherited them.
We
have just gone through many Parshiot that all look the same, when in fact they
are all very different. In order, they are as follows: 1) Trumah – post Sinai
and commanded in the Mishkan and concept 2) Tetzaveh – the priests who operate
such an apparatus 3) Ki Sisa – the episode that called for the Mishkan 4)
Vayakahel – the construction itself 5) Pekudei – the receipt. This is the
perfect example of cause effect, prophecy and wisdom, and brokering/executing
spirituality from a place of power to implementation. Combine this with the
Messianic secrets within, such that define Moshiach and the Third Temple, and
this is yet another unique hotspot [of Mochin/Intellect] in the Torah.
The
Torah has many flavors, whether it is in halacha, midrash, scripture,
redemption, characters, plotlines, etc. In Kabbalah the intellect shines
through the tools of Pardes [the mystical orchard], and shows exactly what is
underneath the Torah on a Divine Level.
However that is all on the sublime microcosmic revelation. If we step back
for a change, we can see a vast macro image, and this collage is none other
than the Shabbat. To summarize the Parasha, and for that matter life, it all
boils down to one thing: repair our souls and have a relationship with God, The
Creator. How nice, and even glorious it will be, when Jews and Gerim will sit
together, and take in one Universal Shabbat, in a Covenant of Peace….I'll even bring THE gefilte fish
if you bring the chrain….הנה מה טוב ומה נעים שבת אחים גם יחד - "Behold, how
good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"
Audio/Visual In-Depth Lesson From Article Wednesday 11 P.M. Tzfat Time!
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