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This is not correct in my opinion, because according to the midrash of our Rabbis, the words akh and rak would limit the observance of the Sabbath [and not limit the work of the Tabernacle]. Because the limitations in every place limit the matter that is being commanded. [In this case the Sabbath is being commanded so it would be restricted.] Therefore if you apply the limitation in the matter of constructing the Tabernacle, it would be permissible to construct it on the Sabbath.
Ramban
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Thankfully (for me, at least), the four parashiyot of construction and architectural detail are interrupted this week with the narrative of the Golden Calf, and the breaking of the tablets. According to the Torah, this episode is the worst disaster for the Jewish people, and the rabbis in fact consider many other Jewish tragedies (that they determine fall on the anniversary of this event) to be consequences of this rupture of God's relationship with the Jewish people. But immediately before this event, while we are still discussing the details of the Mishkan, the ingredients of the incense and the appointment of Bezalel as the general contractor for the whole project, is a surprising notice. In the middle of everything, (and seemingly unrelated at first glance), God reminds Moses to speak to the Israelites about the observance of Shabbat. It is from this passage that the familiar "VeShamru", included in the Shabbat morning Amidah and sung to introduce the morning Kiddush, is taken.
Is this 'Shabbat' commercial an interruption, or is there a deeper connection between the Mishkan and Shabbat? First, the surprising verb 'la'asot et haShabbat - to make' the Sabbath parallels the 'making' of the Mishkan. The root of the verb 'la'asot' in its various forms appears 248 times in connection with building the Mishkan over these five parashiyot. Nowhere else in the Torah do we 'make' Shabbat. We already saw in the Ten Commandments that we 'keep' Shabbat, and 'remember' Shabbat, but only here, where we are 'making' the Tabernacle, does the Torah command that we 'make' Shabbat too. The text seems to be suggesting that the 'making' of Shabbat overrides the 'making' involved in the Tabernacle's construction. Another Shabbat-Mishkan connection is the word 'melachah' (translated as work). Melachah which appears as a technical term for the 'work' of the Tabernacle is precisely the 'work' that is forbidden on Shabbat. From this, the Rabbis learn that it was the labours of the Mishkan (weaving, hammering, etc.) that form the 39 categories of forbidden work on Shabbat.
There is a widely held opinion in rabbinic literature that all the mitzvot (commandments) have equal value. In other words, it is a mistake to think 'Do not murder' is more important than, say, 'wearing tzitzit' (ritual fringes). But if all commandments are equal, and two commandments conflict, how do we know which one takes precedence? The medieval commentator Abravanel articulates the issue:
Since the Tabernacle and its appurtenances whose making God had commanded symbolized communion with Him and the resting of His Presence on the nation, we might have thought that this activity outweighed in importance all the other biblical prescriptions, and most certainly the Sabbath rest. For perfection lies in action, and the performance is more perfect than non-performance and rest. This is especially true when such a sacred and sublime performance as that of building a Tabernacle is involved. On account of this the Israelites might have thought that the work of the Tabernacle overrode the Sabbath.
So we are left with the question: does the divine commandment to build the sanctuary override the commandment to rest on Shabbat? It's a valid question and Rashi supplies the universal understanding: No, Shabbat takes precedence. But the issue for the Rabbis revolves around the pesky 'akh' translated as 'but' or 'nevertheless.' This word usually comes to limit or qualify the verse. The Ramban argues that Rashi has misinterpreted the 'akh' limitation, since the word should limit Shabbat observance, not the Tabernacle's construction. Consequently, he agrees with Rabbi Akiva in the Talmud who understands that the 'akh' limits the applicability of Shabbat observance because, (and here is the but) in certain cases (such as saving a life, piku'ach nefesh, or circumcision), one may in fact violate the Sabbath. In other words, even though Shabbat is singled out for honourable mention in the decalogue (Ten Commandments), it is not absolute. There are other mitzvot that take precedence. According to the Ramban, the word 'akh' limits Shabbat observance, not the construction of the Sanctuary. The Ramban still does agree, however, that one must not violate the Sabbath to build the Mishkan, and as a prooftext brings the verse from Leviticus: You shall keep My Sabbaths and venerate my Sanctuary (19:30). But he bases this on the unusual placement of this Shabbat reminder, coming in the middle of the construction details, and not on the 'but' that Rashi uses.
But the argument between Rashi and Ramban over the meaning of the 'akh' and their agreement of Shabbat taking precedence over the building of the Mishkan still does not answer the question of, why, in fact, Shabbat should take precedence. For that answer, we turn to the late philosopher, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who writes that in Judaism, the holiness of time takes precedence over the holiness in space.
Judaism is a religion of time aiming at the sanctification of time. Unlike the space-minded man to whom time is unvaried, iterative, homogeneous, to whom all hours are alike, quality-less, empty shells, the Bible senses the diversified character of time. There are no two hours alike. Every hour is unique and the only one given at the moment, exclusive and endlessly precious...
There is good reason for why time is so special. Time came first. Time (specifically Shabbat) was the first thing God sanctified (Gen. 2). Time is accessible to all (unlike the Mishkan that was reserved for the Levites). And time is elusive: if you miss a moment, it is gone forever. One cannot defer time, nor return to it.
Today, the message that time is more valuable than things is more critical than ever. Shabbat comes to remind us to stop 'building' even if what we're building is 'holy' and worthwhile. Heschel writes, "The meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time."
Lessons for Today
We live in time. Our Torah text continues, "to observe Shabbat throughout the generations (Ex. 31:16). The Hebrew word 'ledoroteheim' (their generations) is written without a 'vuv' so it can also be read as 'lediroteheim' (their dwelling places). The midrash suggests that the Divine Presence enters the dwelling places of Jewish homes that have been made ready to receive Shabbat (Yalkut Reubeni). But I think there is one other way we can read the midrash: that Shabbat itself is the 'dwelling place'. Just as we construct houses and synagogues, we 'construct' Shabbat, and live in it. This is the message of our parashah. The Israelites constructed a portable physical sanctuary in space. But we now have the opportunity to construct a portable sanctuary in time. As Heschel writes in his book, The Sabbath:
Judaism teaches us to be attached to holiness in time, to be attached to sacred events, to learn how to consecrate sanctuaries that emerge from the magnificent stream of a year. The Sabbaths are our great cathedrals; and our Holy of Holies is a shrine that neither the Romans nor the Germans were able to burn; a shrine that even apostasy cannot easily obliterate...
It is a day on which we are called upon to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of creation to the mystery of creation, from the world of creation to the creation of the world.
Shabbat Shalom
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