There are times in life when we can get caught up doing very important things. Perhaps something that is so important that you start working on that project every day and every night. You may fall into a trance and become unaware of your surroundings, because that is how critical the work that you are doing has become. You cannot even tend to the things that you do on a regular basis, and although they are very significant, those tasks start to fall to the wayside. The question becomes, how do you prioritize? Or better yet, how do you figure out what is really the more meaningful priority? In this week’s Torah portion of Vayak’hel, Moses was about to tell the Jewish people all the details of how to build the holy Mishkan—the Tabernacle—for the very first time! You can just imagine the excitement and enthusiasm in the air. The Jews were ready to jump on the opportunity to start working on this special project 24/7. Remember, the Mishkan was granted to them as a way to redeem themselves—collectively—from the sin of the Golden Calf. Nothing was going to dampen their spirits. However, Moses had some words of warning first: “Remember,” he told the Jewish people, “that G-d gave you the Ten Commandments, which contain the order to observe Shabbat. Nothing should come between you and the observance of this day. Even your commitment to build the House of G-d, as admirable as that is. Keeping this day holy, as simple as it sounds, is more valuable than the House of G-d. After all, what is the house worth, if you can’t invite G-d inside to live there?” This is a lesson for all of us: You want to find G-d? He is found in the ordinary day-to-day acts that we do when we simply do what is asked of us. We don’t have to build large edifices, beautiful buildings, or major spiritual skyscrapers, or get involved in a spiritual project that will overwhelm us. All that is asked of us is to be consistent in our commitment to G-d.
ב"ה