Today we are learning Parshas Pekudei, but first I want to spend a few minutes speaking about today itself. Does anyone know today’s Hebrew date? Today is the twenty-fifth of Adar. The twenty-fifth of Adar has two special meanings: one for all Jews, and one especially connected with Chabad.
In the Talmud there is a disagreement about when the world was created. We know that Rosh Hashanah marks the creation of man, because Adam was created on the sixth day of creation. That means, according to the view that creation took place in Tishrei, the world itself began on the twenty-fifth of Elul, and six days later, on Rosh Hashanah, Adam was created.
But there is another opinion that the world was created in Nisan. According to that view, Adam was created on the first of Nisan, and therefore the beginning of creation would have been on the twenty-fifth of Adar. So according to that opinion, today is the day on which the world was created.
How do we reconcile these two views? Chassidus explains that first Hashem had the desire and intention to create the world, and afterward the world was actually created. According to this explanation, on the twenty-fifth of Adar Hashem had the thought and desire to create the world, while in Tishrei the world was actually brought into existence. So Rosh Hashanah marks the actual creation of man and of the world as we know it, but the twenty-fifth of Adar marks the point when the desire to create the world arose.
So what did Hashem want in creating the world? Chassidus explains that Hashem wanted a dwelling place in the lowest world. This world is called the lowest because spirituality is not obvious here. If you look around the world, you do not necessarily see Hashem. It is almost like a game of hide-and-seek. Hashem hides Himself in this world and wants us to find Him.
Why create such a world? Because there is a special satisfaction when the lowest place becomes a dwelling place for Hashem. It is similar to teaching a difficult student. If a student is naturally gifted, that is one kind of success. But if a student struggles and still grows, that gives a much deeper satisfaction to the teacher. So too, when we take a world in which Hashem is concealed and reveal Him within it, we fulfill the very purpose of creation.
How do we bring Hashem into this world? Through Torah and mitzvos, through reflecting on Hashem’s creation, and through everything we do in holiness. On the twenty-fifth of Adar, it is good to remember this purpose. We are not here by accident. Hashem created us because He wants us to make room for Him in this world—in our homes, in our hearts, and in our communities.
The Alter Rebbe, in Tanya, emphasizes that the main thing is action. Thought is elevated, but the greatest purpose is to bring holiness down into actual speech and deed, into the physical body and the material world. When a person does mitzvos in practice, he brings Hashem into the lowest places.
The other significance of the twenty-fifth of Adar is more specifically a Chabad one. Today is the birthday of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka. Her birthday falls only a short time before the Rebbe’s birthday on Yud-Alef Nisan. In fact, they were born in the same year, and the Rebbetzin was a few days older than the Rebbe.
When we speak about the Rebbetzin, we remember not only that she was the Rebbe’s wife, but also her own unique greatness. Over the years, more and more has become known about her greatness, but in truth, her greatness was hidden. That itself was part of her greatness. A truly great person does not need publicity. Real greatness is quiet. A person who is full does not need to make noise. The Rebbetzin embodied true modesty and self-effacement, and she gave the Rebbe all the time and support he needed for his work.
One of the most famous examples of her insight came during the court case over the sefarim, when she said that her father and the books belonged to the Chassidim. It was not that the books were separate from the Rebbe Rayatz; rather, he and all that he represented belonged to the Chassidim. In the same way, she too lived completely as part of the Rebbe’s mission.
Now let us turn to the parsha. Parshas Pekudei begins with the words, “Eileh pekudei haMishkan, Mishkan ha’eidus asher pukad al pi Moshe.” Usually this is understood to mean that Moshe Rabbeinu gave an accounting of the contributions brought for the Mishkan. The Torah tells us how much gold, silver, and copper was brought.
Yet if this is an accounting, it seems incomplete. The Torah gives details about how some of the silver and copper were used, but it does not explain in detail how all the gold was used. It also does not provide full accounting for all the other materials, like the wool and the fabrics. If Moshe was giving a complete financial accounting, why is it incomplete?
Some commentaries say that Moshe himself forgot part of the accounting, and then a heavenly voice testified on his behalf and clarified what was done with the remaining silver. But the Rebbe does not accept that as the full explanation. If Hashem wanted simply to testify that Moshe was honest, that could have been done from the beginning.
The Rebbe explains that according to Rashi, “pekudei” here does not primarily mean an accounting in the modern sense. Rather, it means counting. Moshe was counting the materials, not merely to explain expenses, but to bring them back under the ownership of כלל ישראל.
The Jewish people had brought their donations to Moshe. Moshe, as the leader of all Israel, represented the ציבור as a whole. But then Moshe gave these materials to the craftsmen to work with. Once the craftsmen were working with them, there was a possibility that the materials might be viewed as belonging, in some sense, to individuals engaged in the construction. Therefore Moshe counted them again and restored them to the ציבור, so that the Mishkan would belong equally to all the Jewish people.
The point is that the Mishkan could not belong to one person or another. It had to belong equally to everyone. Every Jew had to know that this was his Mishkan, the sanctuary in which Hashem dwelt. Whether a person contributed much or little, the Mishkan was equally his.
This also becomes a lesson in our own personal avodah. Every Jew must contribute all the powers Hashem has given him in order to build his own Mishkan. Some have greater strengths, some lesser, but each must bring what he has. We all have the responsibility to make our home, our life, and our community into a dwelling place for Hashem.
The Mishkan also hints to the idea of “mashkon,” collateral. After the destructions, the Mishkan and Beis HaMikdash were taken away as a collateral, but they still belong to us and will be returned. So when we study about the Mishkan now, especially in the season between Purim and Pesach, a time of redemption, it is a fitting time to anticipate the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash.
The Rebbe explains that when we say, “L’shanah haba’ah בירושלים,” it does not mean that we must wait an entire year. Rather, it means that the redemption should come now, so that when the next appointed time arrives, we will already be there in Jerusalem. So too, may the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash take place immediately, so that we will celebrate in Jerusalem in the fullest and truest way.
Summary
The twenty-fifth of Adar marks Hashem’s desire to create the world, whose purpose is to become a dwelling place for Him. In Pekudei, the Rebbe explains that Moshe’s counting of the Mishkan materials showed that the sanctuary belonged equally to all Jews. Our task is to contribute all our powers to make our lives, homes, and communities into a Mishkan for Hashem, and to prepare for the rebuilding of the eternal Beis HaMikdash.