When God told Moses to build the Tabernacle, God showed him the plan for the structure in the sky. God displayed the Tabernacle’s splendor in fire of all different colors – white, red, green and blue. Moses became despondent. “Where am I going to find white fire, red fire, green fire and blue fire?” he asked.
“You don’t need the fire,” God replied. “Just use what you have. The point is to follow the plan.”
As we read this week’s Torah portion, Pikudei, we can wonder about all the minute details we learn about the Tabernacle’s design. Each item and step has its own important meaning. And we can wonder how Moses, Bezazel, the craft workers and the Israelites could undertake this task. They must have been nervous. God was providing the plan in such detail. How could they hope to get it right? How could they possibly believe that they could match the design set forth in Heaven?
The Midrash above addresses this problem. God doesn’t ask us to create Heaven. God asks us to do as much as we can with the best we can provide, and create an earth that resembles Heaven.
The plan is set forth in the Torah, calling for us to create a world of justice and mercy, and compassion and peace. Let us endeavor to follow the plan God has given us, each as best we can, with the same vigor as the Israelites building the Tablernacle.
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