The world? We call it "Adam Gadol" (a great person). People? That's an "Olam Katan" (a small world). Gavriel G. shared the Malbim on the parsha this week, reminding us that Man and Earth are indeed intimately connected. So connected, that when God was creating man, He said "Let US make man." Who was God talking to? To all of creation. Aspects of the entire creation were incorporated into humans. We are connected to the universe in such a way that when we act, we make ripples that affect all the worlds.
We are created as individuals, but we live a life connected to an entire living organism. So in a life where I'm trying so hard to discover and grow into myself, how do I still leave room to exist beyond myself? In the Gemara on Succot, there's a certain advisor to King Agripas that wants to take exception to Rebbe Eliezer's ruling about eating meals in the Succah (the holy shack we live in for a week in the fall). "I know you hold that everyone should have 2 meals in the succah each day (just as they do during the week), but me…I prefer to eat one liesurely meal a day. I'm an exception to the rule." "Oh really?" retorts Rebbe Eliezer, "Are you telling me that for all the dishes you prepare for yourself, you can't prepare one extra dish to have a meal to thank your creator?!" Rebbe Eliezer saw halacha as designed to pull us out of our own pattern. Sukkot is a holiday where we remember how dependent we were on God in the desert leaving Egypt. There's no way we could have done that alone. When we build that succah, we're building our Mishkan and inviting God into our life. Not just when it's convenient, but we live in the succah all week… I'm trying to open myself up to a new pattern.
Oddly enough, when we were commanded to build the Mishkan (Tabernacle) in the desert, it was on a voluntary basis. A donation was to be brought, "from every man whose heart motivates him… (Ex:25:2)" So much for getting out of my own pattern. If I feel like it, I'll get involved in bringing God into my life. But if I don't feel so inclined… This ability to really see ourselves as an "olam katan" is no small feat. In the Gemara Bava Batra, Rav Huna ben Rav Yeshoshua admits that if you're told something that's not related to you personally, even if it was told in confidence, it won't be kept a secret. It's painfully easy to slip into a mindset where taking care of #1 comes first. But if contributing to the Mishkan is a voluntary thing, what's the big deal if we opt out?
Bereshit. B' Reshit. Rashi comments that the world was created Bishvil (for) Reshit (the head). Who's the head? Israel and the Torah. Rav Daniel explained the Arizal (who also comments on this twofold reason for creating the world) as saying that God created the world to be good for us, and he also created the world in order for us to actualize the potential here. That's the same dynamic at work in the Rambam's description of the Mishkan. We are commanded, he says, to build a House for God. But that's not all. It must also be prepared to offer sacrifices. The doors of God's house are always open, and we will always find goodness there for us, but what do we DO once we're inside? We offer of ourselves. When we opt out of this, we opt out of creation. We "pass" on connecting to the purpose of life itself.
Esther didn't opt out. "How can I watch while my people suffer…while they're exterminated? (Esther:8:6)" Esther knew that Jews are all part of the same small world (anyone who's played Jewish geography can attest to that). Though she resided in a castle, she didn't LIVE there. Unlike Agripas's advisor, she didn't see herself as a "special case." Looking back on her sacrifice, we can see it as voluntary, but in her eyes it was her offering. An offering that no one else could give. So for her, there was nothing voluntary about it.
This Friday (today!) is Moshe Rabbenu's Birthday. It's also his Yartzheit. Said Gavriel, Moshe had an amazing ability to see what each person had to contribute. To see the relationship there begging to be brought to its potential. Sure, building the Mishkan was voluntary, as life is voluntary… until you have a job to do. We have a lot of building ahead of us. It's a hard job. We have to do it. But we don't have to do it alone.