Vayakhel Moshe Es Kol Adas Bnei Yisroel.... And Moshe gathered the entire Assembly of the Children of Israel...." (Shemos 35:1). Rashi responds to his (as always, silent) question - "When did this take place?" by indicating it was on the day after Yom Kippur, when Moshe had returned for the second time with the luchos. The Ramban focuses more on the portion of the phrase "Kol Adas Benei Yisroel" to point out that Moshe assembled the entire congregation (both men and women) because they were about to embark on a new portion of Jewish history reunited with HaShem much as a young couple embarks on its new married life in a state of emotional closeness.
The Kli Yakar offers a unique insight that might well be the combination of these two views. He points out that Rashi explains in Parshat Yisro that Moshe also sat as a judge of Bnei Yisroel on the day after Yom Kippur. The Kli Yakar suggests that Moshe had a new and special need (here in Parshat Vayakhel) to gather and speak to Bnei Yisroel - the building of the Mishkan. It appears the Kli Yakar holds this gathering of Bnei Yisroel took place immediately after Yom Kippur because Moshe needed to stress that the sanctity of the Mishkan could not be impaired by the use of stolen property, and the only way to make sure only proper materials were used, each person would need to ask themselves whether the property they intended to donate or use in the construction of the Mishkan was really theirs and not just in their possession but really the property of another person.
Just like Moshe sat in judgment of property claims following Yom Kippur (as related in Parshat Yisro) Moshe gathered Bnei Yisroel here after Yom Kippur to make sure no one would donate or use property that did not belong to them when the Mishkan was built. Pulling in the perspective of the Ramban, the Kli Yakar offers that the clarification of property rights could best be accomplished immediately after Yom Kippur when all the Jewish people had just come through the (joint) passage of teshuvah.
Vayakhel Moshe Es Kol Adas Bnei Yisroel. - Seven words (if you count the "Es") Six if you don't, and our Mephorshim offer multiple lessons through their explanation of the words of the Torah. From these few words, we learn the importance of close emotional bonds (with one another and with HaShem), the sanctity of the Mishkan and how important it is to respect the property rights of our fellow Jews, and perhaps the hardest lesson of all, that Moshe recognized we are ripe for learning and accepting these lessons perhaps only on the day after Yom Kippur, when we are in the mood to be careful with our fellow Jews. Room for improvement? You bet. Hopefully the lessons in these few words can bring us to the point where we can wake up every day with concern for the sanctity of our fellow Jews property and regard for one another with the care and affection of a newly married couple.
Guest posting by
David Katzenstein
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