Vayakhel Essay
The parsha begins by discussing the different items in the Mishkan, however before that it is preceded by the commandment of Shabbos. The Shabbos itself is introduced by the gathering of the entire Bnei Yisrael; (Shemos 35:1-2)
וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֶֽת־כָּל־עֲדַ֛ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אֵ֚לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יְהוָ֖ה לַעֲשֹׂ֥ת אֹתָֽם׃
Moshe then gathered the whole Yisrael community and said to them: These are the things that HaShem has commanded you to do:
שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִים֮ תֵּעָשֶׂ֣ה מְלָאכָה֒ וּבַיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י יִהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֥ם קֹ֛דֶש
שַׁבַּ֥ת שַׁבָּת֖וֹן לַיהוָ֑ה כָּל־הָעֹשֶׂ֥ה ב֛וֹ מְלָאכָ֖ה יוּמָֽת׃
Six days work shall be done, and on the seventh day you shall have a sabbath of complete rest, holy to HaShem; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.
The sfas Emes explains that the Mitzvah of Shabbos is integral to understanding the Mitzvah of building the Mishkan. Both the Shabbos and Mishkan are two sides that make a whole. Bnei Yisrael had just suffered the terrible loss at the sin of the Golden Calf. This had brought them to a level of disunity. The Mitzvah of building the Mishkan was a method to bring back the unity to the Jewish Nation.
During the days of the week a person is constantly involved in all the different elements of the world. Ideally, when involved in mundane matters, by following the Torah’s guidelines, one uplifts all the mundane things of this world, and reveals the G-dliness that is within them. However this is not yet enough, we still require the day of Shabbos to reconnect everything to its source. It is the day of Shabbos that gives us the ability to find spirituality in the mundane.
Similarly the work of building the Mishkan, which incorporated all the 39 forbidden labors of Shabbos (which represents the source of all labor), also functioned to reveal the G-dliness in everything physical, and actually create a dwelling place for HaShem in this world. However just as the six days of the week can only achieve their purpose through the Shabbos, so too the Mishkan also needs the Shabbos. It is for this reason that the Mitzvah of the Mishkan is preceded by Shabbos, because it is by not building the Mishkan on Shabbos that actually completes the Mishkan. Furthermore we can now understand why it was necessary for Moshe to gather the entire Jewish nation. Moshe was teaching them that it was only through unity of bringing back all the individual parts into one whole that our true purpose can be achieved. This is the crucial message we were taught before building the Mishkan.
