Pikudei: Completion

Pikudei: Completion

No project is ever complete.  Every detail can be improved. But every project must end. Time and resources are finite. 

In Pekudei, this week's parsha, the structure of the mishkan is finalized.  The parts that have been described and produced, are finally assembled by Moshe.  The structure and implements, presented as visions to Moshe on Mount Sinai become a reality.  Everyone seems satisfied with the product. 

The mishkan, and its descendants , the Temples, are the symbols of redemption. The amidah,the silent,  three times daily, entreaty that is the core of prayer service, is a replacement for the temple service.The rebuilding of the  Temple is the climactic request,  and the coda, of the  amidah, . The hope for rebuilding the Temple  is the paradigm of learned yearning.  A part of that aspiration  is the completeness that the structure represents.  

Since the Babylonian exile, the meaning of (re)building the Temple has evolved from a construction problem ( which it represents in the parsha) to a political problem.  The longed for rebuild involves a major real estate problem.  The land is not for sale.  With the construction of the Temple of Solomon ( and Hiram), the sanctity of the grounds has become an integral part of the sanctity. Holiness is no longer portable. 

For all of the time that Judaism has evolved into the form we recognize now, the Temple has been a dream blocked by insurmountable obstacles. Perhaps it has served us well that way.

(Maybe  today's divar is short... but it is done.)