Blessing Through Faithful Counting

במדרש איש אמונות רב ברכות כו'.

In the Midrash: “A faithful man abounds in blessings,” and so on.

The Midrash applies this verse from Proverbs to Moses and the accounting of the Mishkan.

שעל ידי שהי' המנין על פי משה רע"ה הי' בו ברכה.

Because the counting was done by Moses our teacher, there was blessing in it.

Usually blessing rests only on what is not counted, but Moses’ counting carried blessing.

ובאמת זה היה כל תיקון המשכן.

In truth this was the whole repair brought about by the Mishkan.

The Mishkan’s purpose was exactly this.

וע"ז נאמר משכן העדות עדות הוא כו' שהמשיכו הברכה גם בדבר המנוי.

Of this it is said, “the Mishkan of the testimony,” it is a testimony, and so on: they drew blessing even into a counted thing.

The Mishkan showed that blessing can reach even the measured and limited world.

ולכן רמזו חז"ל אלה פקודי שנתקן חטא אלה של העגל.

Therefore our Sages hinted that “These (eleh) are the accounts” repaired the sin of “These (eleh) are your gods” at the calf.

The same word links the Mishkan to the golden calf it came to repair.

והענין הוא כי קודם החטא היה ניתקן כל העשי' ולא הי' נמצא הרע בעולם והיו בני ישראל דביקים בשורש האחדות.

The point is that before the sin, all of the world of action was repaired, there was no evil found in the world, and Israel clung to the root of oneness.

Before the calf, Israel lived in complete unity with God.

ואח"כ נפלו ממדריגתם. והוצרכו לתקן עולם הנפרד.

Afterwards they fell from their level and had to repair a world of separation.

After the sin they had to work within a divided world.

והוצרכו בירור ועדות שהגם שנפלו עודם מקושרים ומושרשים בשורש האחדות בהסתר.

They needed a clarification and a testimony that although they had fallen, they were still bound and rooted in the root of oneness, in a hidden way.

The fall did not cut the bond; it only hid it.

וזה נתברר ע"י מעשה המשכן שהי' בו כל פרטי מלאכות שנמצאים בעולם והמשיכו והשרישו כל העשי' בשורשה.

This was made clear through the work of the Mishkan, which included every kind of craft found in the world, and they drew and rooted all of the world of action into its root.

The thirty-nine kinds of labor used in the Mishkan tie all human work back to God.

וזהו פי' אמונה שע"י שממשיך הכל אל השורש האמיתי שורה בו ברכה אף שהוא למטה ממדרגת האמת [וזה ענין אמת ואמונה וקודם החטא הי' בחי' אמת ואח"כ נתקן ע"י אמונה כנ"ל].

This is the meaning of faith (emunah): by drawing everything to its true root, blessing rests on it even though it is below the level of truth. [This is the matter of truth and faith: before the sin it was the level of truth, and afterwards it was repaired through faith, as said above.]

“A faithful man” is one who connects the lower world to its root, letting blessing flow even where truth is not openly seen.

וכתב רש"י עדות הוא שויתר להם מעשה העגל.

Rashi writes: it is a testimony that He forgave them the deed of the calf.

The Mishkan itself proved that God had forgiven them.

ובאמת עיקר העדות הוא שבנ"י מעידין על הקב"ה כי הכל שלו.

In truth the main testimony is that Israel testifies about the Holy One that everything is His.

Israel bears witness that the whole world belongs to God.

וכפי מה שבנ"י מבררין זה העדות בעולם כן זה עצמו עדות על בנ"י שהמה דביקים בשורש העליון.

To the extent that Israel makes this testimony clear in the world, that itself is a testimony about Israel, that they cling to the root above.

By testifying for God, Israel shows its own deep connection.

כי א"י לברר זאת רק מי שהוא טהור ונאמן לכן נמסר עדות זאת לבנ"י דוקא ולכן הקדוש ב"ה מעיד על בנ"י ובנ"י מעידין על הקב"ה והכל ענין אחד.

For only one who is pure and faithful can make this clear. So this testimony was entrusted to Israel alone, and therefore the Holy One testifies about Israel and Israel testifies about the Holy One, and it is all one matter.

The two testimonies are really one: God and Israel vouch for each other.

וזה העדות מבררין בכל יום על ידי המצות.

This testimony is made clear every day through the mitzvot.

Each commandment is another act of witness.

וג"ז נרמז בפקודי המשכן כמ"ש במ"א.

This too is hinted in the accounts of the Mishkan, as explained elsewhere.

The detailed accounting reflects the same idea.

ובענין מלאכת המשכן עצמו הי' זה העדות שהשרישו כל המלאכות בשורשה להודיע כי הכל מאתו ית'.

In the very work of the Mishkan there was this testimony: they rooted every craft in its root to make known that everything is from Him.

The building was itself a declaration.

וגם עתה בכל יום מבררין זאת על ידי התפלות כמ"ש במקום תמידין תיקנו שזה הי' ענין כל הקרבנות לקרב עי"ז כל הדברים בשורשם.

Now too, every day, we make this clear through prayers, as it says that they were instituted in place of the daily offerings. This was the purpose of all the offerings: to bring all things close to their root.

Prayer today does what the offerings did, drawing all things back to God.

ובזוה"ק מבאר כל התפלה בענין המשכן.

In the holy Zohar the whole prayer service is explained in terms of the Mishkan.

The Zohar maps the order of prayer onto the parts of the Mishkan.

ועל ידי הקמת המשכן הוקם כל הבריאה ונדבקה בשורשה.

Through the raising of the Mishkan, all of creation was raised and attached to its root.

Setting up the Mishkan set the world upright.

לכן לא היו יכולים להקימה רק ע"י משה רע"ה.

Therefore it could be raised only by Moses our teacher.

No one else could lift it.

כי יש ענינים בפרטות שעשו החכמים.

For there are matters in detail that the wise craftsmen made.

The individual parts were made by the artisans.

אבל הקמת המשכן הוא ענין עמידה תפלת שמונה עשרה כמ"ש חז"ל י"ח ציווים נגד ח"י חוליות ע"ש במד' ויקרא.

But raising the Mishkan is the matter of standing in the prayer of the Eighteen Blessings, as our Sages said: eighteen commands corresponding to the eighteen vertebrae. See there in the Midrash on Vayikra.

The Midrash counts eighteen mentions of “as God commanded Moses” in the Mishkan account, matching the eighteen blessings of the Amidah.

וע"י שהקמת המשכן הי' תיקון כל העשי'.

And since raising the Mishkan was the repair of all of the world of action,

Because so much depended on it,

לכן הסט"א מעכב שיש רשעים בעולם שאין מניחין לרומם אותם ולתקנם.

the other side holds it back, for there are wicked people in the world who do not allow themselves to be raised and repaired.

Forces of resistance tried to prevent it.

לכן הי' צריך כח גדול להקמת המשכן כדאיתא בזוה"ק ויתן בע"כ ע"ש.

Therefore great strength was needed to raise the Mishkan, as the holy Zohar says, “and he set” against its will. See there.

Moses had to overcome that resistance.

וכתיב ביום החודש הראשון כו' תקים כו'.

It is written, “On the day of the first month,” and so on, “you shall raise,” and so on.

The Mishkan was set up on the first of Nisan.

וזה הוא הבטחה לדורות בר"ח ניסן ר"ה למלכים למלכי ישראל.

This is a promise for all generations: Rosh Chodesh Nisan is the new year for kings, for the kings of Israel.

The date carries lasting power.

כדאיתא בגמ' מלכות שלמה כו'.

As the Talmud says of the reign of Solomon, and so on.

The Talmud counts the years of Israel’s kings from Nisan.

והוא התרוממות ראשן של ישראל ולכן יש מקודם נדיבות השקלים כמ"ש כי תשא כו' ראש בנ"י כו' ונתנו איש כופר כו'.

It is the raising up of the head of Israel. That is why the giving of the shekels comes first, as it is written, “When you lift up the head of the children of Israel... each shall give a ransom.”

The half shekel, collected in Adar, lifts Israel’s head before Nisan.

ובס' מורי זקני ז"ל נשיאות ראש הוא שבת ע"ש דברי פח"ח.

In the book of my teacher and grandfather of blessed memory: “the lifting of the head” is Shabbat. See there his precious words.

His grandfather linked the lifting of the head to Shabbat.

והוא עצמו ענין הקמת המשכן דכתיב החדש הזה לכם שבנ"י מבררין כי הכל לכבודו ברא.

This itself is the raising of the Mishkan, as it is written, “This month shall be for you”: Israel makes it clear that everything was created for His glory.

The new month and the Mishkan both proclaim that all exists for God.

וכפי מה שמבררין זאת.

And to the degree that they make this clear,

As Israel bears this witness,

כך נמשך התחדשות בעולם כדכתי' מחדש בטובו בכל יום מעשה בראשית.

so renewal is drawn into the world, as it is written, “In His goodness He renews each day the work of creation.”

the world is made new.

ויש מענין זה בכל יום לכן תמידין שבכל יום הי' מאותו נדבה ובניסן הי' בכלל והקדימו השקלים באדר.

There is something of this every day. That is why the daily offerings came from that same donation; in Nisan it was as a whole, and the shekels were given beforehand in Adar.

The daily offerings, bought with the shekels, renew the world day by day.

וגם עתה נמצא עדות זה בכל יום.

Even now this testimony is found every day.

The witness continues without a Temple.

וי"ל שעתה חשוב יותר לפניו ב"ה מה שבנ"י מעידין בכל יום עליו ית'.

One may say that now, what Israel testifies about Him each day is even more precious before Him.

Testimony from a place of distance may be dearer still.

כמו שמצינו שאחר החטא ע"י הבירור של המשכן הי' חביב לפניו ית' יותר.

Just as we find that after the sin, through the clarification of the Mishkan, it was more beloved before Him.

After the calf, the Mishkan made Israel even more cherished.

ומכש"כ עתה שאין לנו לא משכן ולא מקדש.

All the more so now, when we have neither Mishkan nor Temple.

Our situation now is deeper still.

אם נזכה בעז"ה לברר מלכותו ית' בעולם.

If we merit, with God’s help, to make His kingship clear in the world,

If we reveal His kingship now,

יהי' חביב לפניו ב"ה יותר ויותר.

it will be more and more beloved before Him.

it will be cherished even more.

וזה ענין פקודי המשכן משכן העדות שנתמשכן בעונותיהם כו'.

This is the matter of “the accounts of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the testimony,” which was taken as a pledge (mashkon) for their sins, and so on.

The Midrash plays on Mishkan and mashkon, a pledge held for Israel.

כלומר כפי מה שבנ"י מבררין זאת כך זוכין למשכן ולמקדש שיבנה במהרה בימינו אמן:

That is, to the degree that Israel makes this clear, so they merit the Mishkan and the Temple, may it be rebuilt speedily in our days, amen.

Our daily testimony is what will bring the Temple back.

Summary: Moses’ counting of the Mishkan carried blessing because the Mishkan repaired the sin of the calf. Before the sin Israel lived in open truth; afterwards they rebuilt the bond through faith, rooting every kind of work in God. The Mishkan was a mutual testimony: Israel testifies that everything is God’s, and God testifies to Israel’s bond with Him. Today prayer and mitzvot carry on that testimony, and the more Israel reveals God’s kingship without a Temple, the more beloved it is and the closer the Temple’s return.