25 Mar PARASHAT PEKUDEH: IT ALL FITS LIKE A PUZZLE

Parashat Pekudeh
begins with a detailed
accounting of the
precious metals that
were donated for the
Mishkan, and how were they used. The
Torah tells us exactly how much gold,
silver and copper was donated, and how
much of it was used for which parts of
the Mishkan. It says, Aeleh Pekudeh
Hamishkan, Mishkan Haedut – “This
is the accounting of the Mishkan, the
Mishkan of testimony.”
Why is the Mishkan called Mishkan
Haedut – “the Mishkan of testimony”?
What does the Mishkan testify to?
And what does this have to do with the
accounting of the materials?
The Gemara teaches that Betzalel, the
head craftsman who was in charge of
this project, knew “how to combine
the letters with which heaven and earth
were created.” Meaning, his ability

to build the Mishkan was somewhat
similar to the ability to create the
world. In some way, the creation of the
Mishkan resembled the creation of the
universe. How?
I once had the opportunity to go on a
safari in South America, where I saw
a number of truly amazing things.
One thing I saw was a herd of buffalo
walking in the mud, and one buffalo
had a large, open bruise on its back. I
watched as a bird flew down from the
sky and planted itself on the buffalo’s
back. It then started pecking at the
bruise.
“Wow,” I said to my tour guide. “That’s
terrible! The poor buffalo!”
“No, you don’t understand,” the tour
guide said. “The bird feeds off the
blood coming out of the wound, and in
doing so, the bird cleans the wound so
it won’t get infected.”

Hashem runs the world in perfect
fashion. It might seem as though
everything is a mess, and there are open
“wounds” which are getting worse,
but in truth, everything is perfect.
Everything that happens is just part of
Hashem’s grand plan, and He puts it all
together like pieces of a puzzle.
Here in Parashat Pekudeh, the Torah is
telling us that everything donated for
the Mishkan was put together perfectly.
Every ounce of metal was EXACTLY
what was needed. Every bit of it was
used. It all fit together to perfection.
In this sense, the Mishkan is Mishkan
Haedut, a “testimony.” It testifies to
the way the world runs, that everything
– somehow, in some way, and at
some time – falls perfectly into place.
We might not see it right away, but
eventually, everything works out
exactly the way it’s supposed to.

When things don’t go the way we want,
we need to have patience, optimism,
and faith in Hashem, trusting that in the
end, everything will somehow work
out. Even if the puzzle pieces now seem
all jumbled, eventually, they will all fit
into place, because each and every one
is an integral part of Hashem’s master
plan for our lives, and for the world.