
"A Call to Action!”
“And you shall make a menorah of pure gold.
The menorah will be made of hammered work;
its base and its stem, its goblets, its knobs, and
its flowers shall [all] be [one piece] with it.”
The Midrash observes that at first
Moses was commanded “to make a menorah,”
but much as he tried, he was unable to produce it according to God’s specifications.
Finally, Hashem told him to throw the gold into the fire and
“The menorah will be made” by itself - miraculously.
Moses made his most valiant attempt possible
to fulfill the commandment of making a menorah.
He exerted himself to the full extent of his considerable talents and abilities.
Yet he was not able to succeed in the task.
He was not able to make the menorah by himself.
In this parsha God also commands that the Holy Ark
be carried by long wooden rods
inserted through golden rings in its sides, and
that these rods never be removed.
Our Sages tell us that the Holy Ark traveled under its own power and
actually, it carried itself and its bearers along with it.
The act of carrying was only an illusion.
The bearers of the Holy Ark contributed nothing to its transportation.
The bearers had to take some action yet in reality
the Ark carried not only itself but also them.
“You are not obligated to complete the task,
but neither are you free to desist from it” (Pirke Avot 2:21).
This is a call to action and a rejection of apathy,
even when the task at hand seems overwhelming.
We are all enjoined to put in our best efforts to anything we attempt,
regardless of whether our efforts will be crowned with success.
This is called hishtadlus.
We know God controls the world and everything that happens in it.
And yet we must exert ourselves to the full extent of our abilities,
as if it were all up to us.
Whether we are successful or not is not up to us.
Moses was rewarded for all his attempts to make the menorah,
even though, in the end, it took a miracle to produce it.
In our own lives, we are sometimes overwhelmed
by the daunting tasks that we face.
We cannot always see how we will ever achieve success, and
we may become discouraged and lose heart.
Let us reflect on the lessons of the golden menorah and the Holy Ark;
that we must exert ourselves and put our best effort in
knowing that success and failure are not up to us.
Let us pray that God 'looks’ favorably on our efforts
and blesses them with success.
Wishing you a wonderful Shabbos filled with miracles, joy and success.
Much love
Elissa
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