Pekudei: The Strength to Change the World
Liluei Nishmas Ita bas Chanoch Aharon Bistritzky
This Shabbos, we read Parshas Pekudei, which describes the final completion and erection of the Mishkan. Remarkably, we read this on the very day before Rosh Chodesh Nisan, the date when Moshe actually erected the Mishkan in the desert. This timing is significant, as it brings together a powerful theme: the ability of the Jewish people to transform the physical world into a dwelling place for Hashem.
This idea is also central to Parshas HaChodesh, the special Torah reading that we read this Shabbos. Parshas HaChodesh introduces the first mitzvah given to the Jewish people as a nation—the sanctification of the new month. Hashem declares, “HaChodesh hazeh lachem rosh chadashim”—this month shall be for you the beginning of months. The wording is precise: lachem, “for you.” Hashem entrusts the power of sanctifying time into the hands of the Jewish people. The Beis Din determines when Rosh Chodesh occurs, and by extension, when the Yomim Tovim fall. The heavenly court follows the ruling of the earthly Beis Din, showing that Hashem has given us the ability to shape not only the spiritual world but even the very fabric of time itself.
This concept—that we, as humans, have the power to bring divine holiness into the physical world—is one of the fundamental ideas of Torah. Rashi, quoting Rabbi Yitzchak, asks at the very beginning of Bereishis: Why does the Torah begin with the story of creation instead of the first mitzvah, the sanctification of Rosh Chodesh? The answer is that Hashem is teaching us that the entire world belongs to Him. Every nation may claim ownership over lands and resources, but ultimately, Hashem, as the Creator, determines their rightful place. Yet beyond its historical and legal implications, this explanation carries a deeper message: the world is not an independent, meaningless existence—it was created by Hashem with purpose. And He gives us the power to elevate and refine it through Torah and mitzvos.
This lesson is vividly expressed in Parshas Pekudei, where the Mishkan is finally completed and erected. The Mishkan was a physical structure, made of wood, gold, silver, and other materials, yet it became a resting place for the Shechinah. Through human effort, through the work of Bnei Yisrael, a physical space was transformed into a holy dwelling for Hashem. This is the essence of our mission—to take the physical world and make it a home for Hashem, not just in a Mishkan or Beis HaMikdash, but in our everyday lives. Every mitzvah we do infuses holiness into the physical, revealing Hashem’s presence in the world.
This brings us to the unique power of Chodesh Nisan, the month of redemption. Just as the Mishkan was erected on Rosh Chodesh Nisan, marking the completion of our first great transformation of the physical world, so too, Nisan is the month when we experienced redemption from Mitzrayim. But that was only the beginning. The final and ultimate redemption—the coming of Moshiach—will be the fulfillment of this process. The third Beis HaMikdash will not be built from wood and stone like the first two, but rather, as the Midrash teaches, it will be eternal, constructed from the accumulated spiritual efforts of all the mitzvos performed throughout history. Every act of goodness, every mitzvah we do now, in these last moments of exile, is literally building the Beis HaMikdash that will stand forever.
And so, as we conclude Sefer Shemos, we declare Chazak, Chazak, V’Nischazek! This phrase is more than a customary saying; it represents a chazakah, a halachic establishment of strength and permanence. The repetition of Chazak three times reinforces that the strength we gain from Torah is not fleeting—it becomes part of us, enabling us to carry our mission forward. As we enter Chodesh Nisan, may we take this strength with us, recognizing the power we have to change the world, to bring Hashem’s presence into every aspect of our lives, and to usher in the final redemption speedily in our days.
Adapted from “Life Talks on the Parsha”