By Yosef Silverman

(Based on Rav Baruch Simon's drasha from this week)

We read this Shabbos about the Hakamas Hamishkan. Starting on the 23rd of Adar (this past Tuesday) the Yemei Hamiluim (7 days of inauguration) of the Mishkan commenced. During the Yemei Hamiluim, Moshe Rabbeinu served as the Kohen Gadol, offering inaugural sacrifices and performing the priestly duties. We are also told that on each of the seven days of the Milium, Moshe would put the Mishkan up and then take it down until it was put up permanently on Rosh Chodesh Nissan. Why did Moshe have to assemble and then disassemble the Mishkan for seven days? What is the significance of the putting up and taking down?

The Medresh Tanchuma on Parshas Pekudei points out the Mishkan was a microcosm of the world. The Menora represented the sun, and the kiyor (where the Kohanim would wash their hands and feet before performing the service) stood for the ocean. On this note the sefer Vayechi Yosef explains that we can compare the putting up and taking down of the Mishkan during these seven days to the creation of the world. The medresh in Breishis tells us that Hashem created worlds and destroyed them, until He created the world we have today and then left it. Hashem's creating and then destroying worlds is directly parallel to the assembling and dissembling of the Mishkan by Moshe Rabbeinu during the Yemei Hamiluim, in as much as the Mishkan itself was like a miniature world.

The Gemora in Pesochim informs us that a number of things were created before the world, and among them was Teshuva. The Noam Elimelech (whose yartzheit was this past week) is quoted as explaining that the aforementioned medresh that Hashem created and destroyed worlds, and this Gemora in Pesochim are really one in the same. He states that teshuvah is about doing something, then regretting it but then reworking things. When the medresh states that Hashem created and destroyed worlds it means that He was going through the motions of what Teshuva is. That's what the Gemora means when it says that Teshuva was created before the world. Hashem's went through these motions to show us first we build, then we make mistakes, but we always rebuild afterwards.

Returning to the Vayechi Yosef 's idea, we see that when creating a Mishkan, which is the ultimate place of Avodas Hashem, the idea of Teshuva still had to be present. Just like Hashem created and destroyed worlds to show us the motions of Teshuvah, so to Moshe put up and took down the Mishkan to show us that we make mistakes but we still rebuild. This idea explains the Gemora in Yoma which tells us that during the inauguration Moshe wore a white Chaluk, similar to today's kittel. The whole week of Miluim was a process of Teshuva. Moshe built, destroyed, and rebuilt.

This idea of these 7 days of Teshuva also fits well with the pasuk in Mishlei that states, "a tzadik will fall 7 times and then get up". The Pachad Yitzchok explains that when one falls he doesn’t get up because he is already a tzadik, rather that the process of falling and then getting up again and going forward and rethinking things is what makes him into a tzadik. Everyone has struggles and sometimes fails but recognizing those struggles and understanding them is what this week represents. Life is a process. Going through this process of building and destroying and rebuilding is what turns one into a tzadik.


The Haggadah tells us, "In every generation it is one's duty to regard himself as though he personally had gone out of Egypt". We are so removed from the servitude in Egypt and it is so hard for us to understand it, so in today's day and age how can we carry out the Haggadah's difficult instruction? We know that Pesach, while being a time for redemption on a national level, is also the time for redemption on a personal level. Each individual has their own galus and geula. We all struggle with different things and Pesach is the time for understanding what our own geula is. Although we are not slaves to Pharaoh but we still have other servitudes out there today which can make us avadim. Sometimes we become an eved to technology or any of the different types of avdus that are present in the worlds today. Pesach is about finding our individual geula, getting out of our own servitudes and Egypts.
We know that we refer to Matzah as Lechem Oni. However the Maharal (I think it's him but I have to check it out) describes how matzah is also lechem cheirus (Bread of Freedom) How can this be the case? If we look at matzah we see that it is made of only flour and water, without any additives. All other breads depend on external additives, while matzah depends on nothing. Drawing a parallel to us, many times we become dependent on external things for happiness and that’s the ultimate form of servitude. That’s precisely why matzah is lechem cheirus as it is not dependent on anything thus being the ultimate symbol of freedom.
The Arizal comments that the name Pesach comes from the words peh sach, the mouth speaks. We know that Pesach is focused on dibur and a time for questions and answers. These questions, answers, and discussions bring out a person to understand himself and who he is. The idea of hakaras atzmi, recognizing who one is and bringing out what's inside is a major aspect of a personal geula. Through the pe sach we can achieve this realization of who we are and thus realize our servitudes and free ourselves from what ever they may be.


Shabbat Shalom