In the parsha, the Rebbe points out that after the entire Mishkan was completed, Moshe Rabbeinu blessed all the Jewish people. What was the blessing that he gave them? He said that it should be Hashem’s will that the Shechinah should rest in the Mishkan. In other words, the Jewish people had worked very hard. They contributed, they participated, craftsmen built, and everyone did what was needed. What was the goal of all their work? The goal was that Hashem’s presence should dwell among them. So when the work was completed, Moshe blessed them that this should indeed come about.
Right before this, the Torah relates that after they finished the structure of the Mishkan, nobody was able to lift it. It was too heavy. They had built it all, but they could not set it up. So they came to Moshe and asked what to do. There is room to look further into the meforshim about how this worked during their travels in the desert, because the Mishkan was taken apart and reassembled many times. But in any event, at this stage they were unable to raise it.
So they came to Moshe Rabbeinu. Moshe realized that although he had overseen the entire project, he himself had not done an actual part in the physical construction of the Mishkan. This became, in a sense, Moshe Rabbeinu’s opportunity to participate directly in the Mishkan. But when he looked at it, he saw that it was impossible for a human being to lift such a structure. Even Moshe Rabbeinu, who was exceptionally strong, could not lift it.
Hashem therefore told him, in effect, to act as though he were lifting it. Moshe was to make the motions, and Hashem would actually raise it. So in the end, Moshe Rabbeinu did participate in the Mishkan by helping set it up and putting it into place. First he blessed the Jewish people and said that Hashem’s presence should rest in the work of their hands, in all that they had completed. Then he included himself as well, that Hashem should rest in what they had done together. First he spoke of what the Jewish people had done, and then he included his own participation along with theirs.
From this the Rebbe learns a very important lesson. First of all, a person must know that no matter how talented he is, no matter what qualities he has, he still needs to come to Moshe Rabbeinu to receive the blessing and help needed to raise the Mishkan. A person cannot do it entirely on his own. In every generation there is an extension of Moshe Rabbeinu, as the Zohar says, and one needs to connect to Moshe Rabbeinu in order to complete the Mishkan.
Who is this Moshe Rabbeinu? The Rebbe explains that the Gemara says if someone has, Hashem forbid, a sick person in the home, he should go to a sage and ask the sage to pray for mercy on his behalf. Of course, before going to the sage, one must do everything required according to the natural order. One must go to the doctor, take care of health, and follow the proper medical path. The Torah itself says that a doctor has permission to heal. It is not against Hashem’s will to seek treatment. On the contrary, “rapo yerape” teaches that healing through a doctor is part of Torah.
But after a person has done all that is necessary in the natural order, he must also go to the chacham, to the Rebbe, to the Nasi, and ask for a bracha. This is exactly what happened with the Mishkan. The Jewish people did everything they could. They completed all the work. Only afterward did they come to Moshe Rabbeinu.
This idea applies not only to physical illness but also to spiritual and emotional struggles. A person can be unwell spiritually, emotionally, or religiously. In all such matters, one must first do whatever can be done through one’s own effort. Then one comes to the Rebbe.
The Gemara says that one should go to a “chacham shebe’iro,” a sage who is in the city. What does that mean? It means not only a wise person, but someone who is part of the community, part of the people. If a person is righteous but withdrawn and separate, living only for himself, that is not what is meant. One must go to a sage who is involved with the people, who lives with them and feels with them. This is what Moshe Rabbeinu represented. He did not give one blessing for himself and another for the people. He included himself with them. He was part and parcel of the community. That is the Rebbe, that is the Nasi, that is the one who helps and prays on behalf of the people.
So what emerges is that both according to Kabbalah and Chassidus, and also according to the revealed parts of Torah, we must connect ourselves to the tzaddik, to the leader. A person must first do all he can on his own. He must work hard, learn, daven, do mitzvos, and do teshuvah. A person cannot only turn to the Rebbe when there is a problem and otherwise make no effort. One must do one’s part.
But after all that effort, one still must realize that one needs the blessing of the tzaddik. Only through the blessing of the tzaddik does all of one’s work become a vessel for the Shechinah. The Jewish people did beautiful work in building the Mishkan, but what brought the Divine Presence into it was the prayer and blessing of Moshe Rabbeinu.
Today, although we may feel orphaned and do not have a visible tzaddik before our eyes in the same way, we still go to the Rebbe’s Ohel, to the Rebbe’s resting place. The Rebbe is what Chassidus calls a “memutza hamechaber,” a connecting intermediary. A “memutza hamafrik,” an intermediary that separates, is forbidden. But a “memutza hamechaber,” one who connects, is not an interruption at all. It is through such a connection that Moshe Rabbeinu prays for us and brings us closer to Hashem.
I recently saw a short clip from a fellow who said that he was not Chabad, but he had become older and still had not found his shidduch. He had tried many avenues and was having a hard time. Someone told him that since he had already tried everything else, he should go to the Rebbe’s tziyon and pour out his heart there.
He said that he went and cried out his heart before the Rebbe about his situation. This was, he said, nineteen years ago. He related that within two weeks, he met the woman who became his wife, and they have now been married for all these years.
Whatever the details, the point is clear. It is good to seek the Rebbe’s bracha, but a person must also make himself into a vessel for that blessing. A person cannot simply ask for a miracle without doing anything. One must make commitments, strengthen oneself, and do what is necessary to prepare for the blessing.
It is sometimes said that a Rebbe’s blessing is like rain. For rain to make things grow, the field must first be plowed. If the ground is not prepared, the rain will simply slide off and nothing will grow. Our own effort is the plowing. Then, when the Rebbe gives his bracha, the blessing has a place to take hold and accomplish something.
These are very powerful words in the sicha, and they are a practical instruction for all of us. We all need the Rebbe’s bracha, whether in spiritual matters, financial matters, physical health, or anything else. We must daven at the Rebbe’s tziyon. But we must also remember that in order to deserve and receive the Rebbe’s blessings, we ourselves must do our part. We must daven, learn, and do mitzvos properly. Then, with Hashem’s help, the Rebbe’s blessings will take hold and fulfill all that we need.
Summary
The Rebbe explains that after the Jewish people completed the Mishkan, Moshe Rabbeinu’s blessing was still needed for the Shechinah to rest upon their work. The lesson is that a person must do all he can through natural effort and avodah, and then seek the Rebbe’s bracha, which helps transform that effort into a true dwelling place for Hashem.