Vayakhei: The symbol

This week's parsha, וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל, Vayakhel, deals with the construction of the mishkan, the portable temple.  The opening word, וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל, vayakhel, implies a consensus.  The first use of the root of this word in the Torah, in Genesis 28;3 -

  וְהָיִ֖יתָ לִקְהַ֥ל עַמִּֽים, 

 so that you become an assembly of peoples,  

is the essence of Isaac's charge to Jacob.  Isaac tells Jacob ( and Gd later repeat): go to into exile, to the house of  Lavan and marry his daughter(s). The children that emerge will all be different from one another, but there will be a unifying bond.  The kahal is a unification of diverse people and groups. 

 The modern translation of kahal, congregation, is very apt.  It combines the idea of unification, consolidation with the diversity of the component parts that aggregate to form it. 

The temples- the mishkan, and the Temples in Jerusalem - housed, and were constructed from, diverse pieces. The totality of the system was unified by its blueprint, the Divine instructions. 

Last week I stood in front of the kotel, the (wailing) wall; the last remnant of the structural system  built by Herod.  A retaining wall that was the border of the Temple campus.  It is a tall, ancient edifice, originally sones and mortar, now invaded by plants and birds and notes requesting Divine help. Access was easy because there were no crowds -covid, February.  There was a paucity of beggars. 

That wall has been a symbol for the Jewish collection of peoples for  two thousand years. To each, the symbolism is unique, it mirrors some of the meanings  that come together  as an identification with Judaism. The wall is the last remnant of pre-modern political power for the Jews. That power was subservient to the Roman hegemony as the current state of Israel  exists at the pleasure  of dominant regimes. 

It was constructed by workers who were probably underpaid; convinced that their labor was Holy and thus, should have a voluntary component

The wall is an approach to the place that Gd's presence reside(d). It is close to another dimension of being. Just beyond the wall is a place that no person can go ( and live)

It is place where a person can confront one's own idea of the nature of Gd - and thus the nature of self. 

The wall is a tourist attraction it supports the local economy on many levels

The wall is magical.  It performs the hope function of magic. It demonstrates the emptiness of magic. 

The wall is stones and mortar. It is slowly decaying

The aggregation of ideas around a central, incompletely understood point  supports the unification of the diverse viewpoints.  There is a place, the core of sanctuary, where no person can go. The holiest object, the tablets, can never be viewed. They are entombed in the ark, covered by the cherubic kaporeth, behind the curtain, in the inner sanctum - that was visited annually by the highest priest. The  mystery, the forbidden approach is important.  The only access to the innermost sanctum is imagination There is nothing moreindividual than imagination.  The individuals of the community  are collected by focusing on the same thing. They are a congregation. 

The last use of vayakhel prior to today's parsha was last week: 

 וַיִּקָּהֵ֨ל הָעָ֜ם עַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ ק֣וּם ׀ עֲשֵׂה־לָ֣נוּ

the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who shall go before us,

This ability to congregate is not necessarily good or bad, but it can be extreme.  The particular usage, וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל, vayakhel appears three times in the torah.  The people are assembled to demand the golden calf.  They are called together by Moses for instructions in making the sanctuary.  Korach gathers the community in rebellion against Moses and Aaron. 

The Darwinian model attributes the survival of a species to the diversity that enables adaption to ever changing circumstances. The heterogeneity increases the chance that some element of the population will survive adversities that overwhelm others. When the deviation in fundamental characteristics becomes great, a new species ( a competitor) emerges. 

In our cultural evolution as Jews, that diversity of understanding has been severely needed and amply supplied.  The problems have always been unity and direction.