Today we are learning Torah on 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 significances: one for all Jewish people, and one especially for 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. According to one opinion, the world 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, which means that the world itself began 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 opinions? It is explained in Chassidus and in other places that first Hashem had the thought and desire to create the world, and then the world was actually brought into existence. According to this explanation, on the twenty-fifth of Adar Hashem had the desire to create the world, while in Tishrei the world was actually created. We celebrate Rosh Hashanah based on the actual creation, but the will and desire for creation already existed on the twenty-fifth of Adar.
So what did Hashem want when He desired to create the world? Chassidic thought explains that Hashem wanted a dwelling place in this world. Every time we do a mitzvah and every time we learn Torah, we make this world into a place for Hashem.
This physical world is called the lowest of the worlds because spirituality is not openly visible here. If you simply look around, you do not necessarily see Hashem. It is almost like a game of hide-and-seek. Hashem hides Himself and wants us to find Him. Yet that is exactly why this world matters so much. Hashem wants us to take this lowest world and transform it into a dwelling place for Him.
Sometimes a teacher gets satisfaction from teaching a naturally gifted student. But even greater is when a teacher succeeds with a student who struggles, a student with difficulties or challenges. In the same way, when something comes easily, it is one kind of accomplishment. But when something is difficult and we still overcome it, that has deeper meaning. Hashem created a world in which He is not obvious, precisely so that we should work to reveal Him.
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. That is the purpose of creation.
So on the twenty-fifth of Adar it is good to remember why we are here. We are learning Torah now, and that fills our minds with holiness. Our minds are usually occupied with ordinary matters, but Torah brings Hashem into our thought. The Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya that the main thing is action. When we actually do a mitzvah, or even when we speak words of Torah or holiness, we bring Hashem into the physical world, into the body, into speech, and into the lowest realms. Thought is higher, but action brings holiness down into the most concrete and physical places.
Sometimes a baal teshuvah can bring Hashem down even into the very mud, because teshuvah lifts a person up from the lowest places and transforms them. So the twenty-fifth of Adar reminds us that Hashem desired to create this world, and that we must fulfill His purpose by making room for Him in everything we do.
There is also a second significance to the twenty-fifth of Adar, one especially connected with Chabad. Today is the birthday of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka. Her birthday is very close to 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 Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, we remember not only that she was the Rebbe’s wife, but also her own remarkable greatness. Over the years, more and more has been revealed about her greatness, but in truth one of the strongest expressions of her greatness was that so much of it remained hidden. Real greatness does not need publicity. A person who is truly full does not need to make noise. If a pushka has only a few coins and you shake it, it makes a lot of noise. But when it is full, it becomes quiet. So too, a person who is filled with greatness and holiness does not need to advertise it.
The Rebbetzin taught modesty and self-effacement in a profound way. She gave the Rebbe all the support and time he needed to carry out his work. One of her famous remarks came during the case involving the sefarim, when she said that her father together with the books belonged to the Chassidim. It was not a separate matter. She herself also lived that way, as someone fully bound with the Rebbe and his mission.
The Rebbe had no biological children, and the Rebbetzin once said that all Lubavitcher Chassidim were her children. In a very real sense, she was the Rebbe’s entire physical family life. That made their relationship especially close and deep. So her birthday is a very special day for us to remember and reflect upon her example.
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.
But if that is so, then the accounting seems incomplete. The Torah tells us how much gold came in, how much silver came in, and how much copper came in. Yet it does not fully explain how all the gold was used. It gives details about the use of some of the silver and the copper, but not a complete accounting of everything. There is also no full accounting for the wool and the other materials. If Moshe Rabbeinu was giving a detailed accounting, why are some parts missing?
Some of the commentators say that Moshe forgot part of the accounting, and that a heavenly voice testified on his behalf, explaining what the extra amount was used for. But the Rebbe is not satisfied with that explanation. If Hashem wanted simply to testify that Moshe was trustworthy, why do so only in the middle?
The Rebbe explains that according to Rashi, this was not primarily an accounting in the modern sense of explaining all expenses. Rather, “pekudei” means counting. There is a difference between counting and giving an accounting. An accounting means explaining how everything was spent. Counting means that Moshe Rabbeinu counted the materials.
Why did he count them? Because the whole purpose of building the Mishkan was that it should belong to all the Jewish people. The Mishkan served as testimony that Hashem had forgiven them for the sin of the Golden Calf. Previously, they had spent wealth on the Egel. Now they were giving that same wealth for Hashem. That showed a change, that they were no longer following the Golden Calf but were dedicating themselves to holiness.
Every Jew wanted to participate in the building of the Mishkan. They brought their gifts to Moshe Rabbeinu. Moshe, as the leader of all the Jewish people, represented the ציבור. So when they gave their materials to Moshe, it was like bringing everything to the central place of the entire people.
But then Moshe gave the materials to the craftsmen who would work with them. Once the craftsmen were handling the silver, gold, and copper, there was a sense in which the materials were no longer openly in the possession of the ציבור, but in the hands of individuals. Therefore Moshe counted them again and brought them back under the ownership of כלל ישראל. The point was not only to record amounts, but to ensure that the Mishkan remained the possession of all the Jewish people together.
That is why the Mishkan belonged equally to everyone. No one could say it was more his than another person’s. Whatever each person contributed, it became part of a sanctuary that belonged to all Jews equally.
This becomes a powerful lesson for each of us. We must want to be part of the community. Sometimes a person may give more and want his contribution to stand out. But with the Mishkan, everything blended together. The Mishkan was not the property of any one donor. It belonged to all the Jewish people.
The same is true on a personal level. Every person must contribute all the powers Hashem has given him to build his own Mishkan. Some people have more, some have less, but each one must give everything they have in order to make their home, their place, and their community into a dwelling place for Hashem.
Summary
On כ״ה אדר we remember Hashem’s desire to create the world and the birthday of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka. The Rebbe explains that the purpose of creation is to make this low world into a dwelling place for Hashem, and Pekudei teaches that the Mishkan belonged equally to all Jews. Each person must therefore contribute all their powers to build a sanctuary for Hashem in their own life, home, and community.