Parshas Trumah
“And you shall make a menorah of pure
gold, hammered out shall the menorah be made. Its base, its
shaft, it cups, its knobs, and its blossoms shall be
(hammered) from it.” — Shemos 25:21
Moshe Rabbeinu was charged with the
construction of the Mishkan, the dwelling place of
HASHEM in this world. While the components of the structure
are physically complex, the kavannas — the specific
intentions required during the process of building it — are
even more intricate.
The most complicated
of all of the vessels was the menorah. Its design was
so elaborate that even after HASHEM taught Moshe how it was
to be built, Moshe still didn’t understand its unique nature
and was unable to form it. Therefore, HASHEM showed Moshe an
image of a menorah made of fire so that Moshe could
actually see the finished form and imitate it.
Yet Rashi tells us that when it came time
for the construction of the menorah, Moshe still
could not fathom its structure and was unable to fabricate
it. HASHEM said, “Throw the clump of gold into the fire, and
it will form by itself.” This is how the menorah was
created — on its own.
This Rashi is perplexing. Since the
menorah was so intricate that Moshe could not understand
its inner nature and how to form it, then why did HASHEM
bother to show him the image of the menorah in fire?
HASHEM knew that Moshe wasn’t going to be able to create the
menorah himself. He knew that in the end it would
have to come about by Moshe’s throwing the clump of gold
into the fire. Why did HASHEM show Moshe the image of the
menorah so that he should understand how it was to be
formed? Clearly, creating the menorah was beyond
human capacity. Why did Moshe need to have a clear image of
what it was to look like?
Balance of bitachon and
hishtadlus
The answer to this question is predicated
on understanding the balance between HASHEM’s involvement in
the running of the world and man’s obligation to put in his
effort — the balance between bitachon and
hishtadlus.
One of the basic facts of life is that
HASHEM runs this world. While it may appear that man is in
charge, HASHEM orchestrates every activity on the planet.
The question is: what is man’s part? If HASHEM determines
all outcomes, how is man supposed to act? What is his role?
How much effort should I
put in?
The Chovos Ha’Levovos teaches us
that we are obligated to act b’derech hatevah – in
the ways of the world. In other words, we are
obligated to go through the motions as if the results are
dependent upon us, knowing all the while that the outcome
is completely out of our hands.
We work for a living, knowing that the
amount of money we are to make has been set on Rosh
Hashanah. We go to doctors when we are sick, even though we
know that our health is determined solely by HASHEM. We put
in our effort, knowing all the while that it
is HASHEM’s world and that He alone determines the
outcome.
Amazingly, whenever we accomplish
something in this world, the results are credited to us even
though we are fully aware that HASHEM was One Who did it
all. We merely went through the motions. When we use that
system, it is considered as if we did the action.
Answer: Why Moshe needed
to see the image of the menorah
This seems to be the answer to the
question on Rashi. HASHEM wanted the Mishkan and its
vessels to be constructed by man. However, it was impossible
for man to make them. Even the greatest of men couldn’t
comprehend how to make a menorah. So his effort
was to do all that he could and then rely on HASHEM for the
rest. Moshe would put the gold into the fire, and the
menorah would form on its own. Moshe used the system
that HASHEM created to bring forth the menorah.
However, for the creation of the
menorah to be credited to man, Moshe had to at least
have a vision of what it was that he was creating. Once he
had that concept in mind, throwing the clump of gold into
the fire was considered as if he made the menorah
himself. It was then considered as if he used HASHEM’s
system to bring about this result. If Moshe didn’t have a
clear vision of what it was that he was creating, then in no
sense could it be considered something he made — it would
have been the fire that made it. Once he knew what it was
that he was setting out to make, he then harnessed a
force that HASHEM created to bring about that result. In
this case, the force was the fire bringing about the
menorah.
Bitachon in our lives
This concept has great relevance to us as
there are many situations in which we reach a point where
there is no clear path to follow. Whether it be deciding
from two almost identical career choices, determining which
medical “expert” to listen to, or deciding which school to
enroll our children in, we are obligated to be responsible,
use our best judgment, and determine according to the ways
of the world what is the best approach. Once we have reached
that point, we “throw our clump of gold into
the fire.” We rely on HASHEM to bring about the
results that He has predetermined to be the best for us.
Sent by: Joy Haber
joy.pricinggunsworld@gmail.com
on Jan 3, 2012
