The Lasting Imprint of Holiness: “Sufficient, and Extra”

1“The work was sufficient for all the work, to do it, and there was extra.”¹ Three of the holy sefarim, the Ohr HaChaim, the Kedushas Levi and the Ohev Yisrael, point out that the beginning of this verse seems to contradict its end.² The word “sufficient” means there was only as much as the work of the Mishkan needed. Yet the verse goes on to say “and there was extra,” which suggests there was more than was needed.

2The Midrash says: “When the Holy One, blessed be He, told Moshe to make the Mishkan, at once ‘every man brought.’ Within two mornings they had brought everything, and there was some left over, as it says, ‘The work was sufficient …’ Moshe went in to Betzalel and saw that some was left over from the Mishkan. He said before Hashem, ‘Master of the world, we have done the work of the Mishkan, and there is some left over. What shall we do with what remains?’ He said to him, ‘Go and make with it a Mishkan for testimony.’ Moshe went and made with it … This is the meaning of ‘These are the accountings of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the Testimony.’”³ Two of the holy sefarim, the Maor VaShemesh and the Yismach Yisrael, ask what this means. How could Hashem tell Moshe to make “a Mishkan for testimony” from what was left over? The Mishkan had already been set up, and we never find that a second Mishkan was made.

3aWe may explain this by first citing what my holy great-grandfather, zy"a, whose yahrzeit falls today, wrote in the holy sefer Yesharei Lev.⁴ He was explaining Chazal's saying “An additional soul is given to a person on the eve of Shabbos.” Rashi explains: “An additional soul, which broadens his heart for eating and drinking.”⁵ But does a person really need an additional soul just so that he will want to eat and drink? Those are the needs of the body, and Shabbos, after all, is the delight of the soul!

3bMy great-grandfather explained it this way. A person's perfection lies in this: everything he does for avodas Hashem, the service of Hashem, should leave behind a power and an imprint of holiness even after the mitzvah is done. That is the idea behind the korbanos, the offerings, of which Chazal said, “The Kohanim eat and the owners are atoned for.”⁶ By the power of the korban's holiness, an imprint of holiness remains on its meat. When the Kohanim ate that meat, the one who had brought it was stirred to return in teshuvah, and so he was granted atonement. The same is true of the foods of Shabbos. The holiness of Shabbos flows down onto them, so the foods themselves have the power to stir a person to teshuvah. That is the virtue of the additional soul: it broadens a person's heart to eat and drink on Shabbos.

4On this basis my great-grandfather explained the value of eating shirayim, the leftovers of a tzaddik's food, as is the custom among Chassidim. Tzaddikim serve Hashem through their eating and drinking, so a power remains in their food that can stir others, too, toward avodas Hashem and complete teshuvah. And not only food: a tzaddik's power and holiness remain even in the things he uses, so that another person can be stirred by them to teshuvah and light up his soul with the tzaddik's light. So we find in the Yerushalmi that someone was asked, “How do you know this?” He answered, “The staff of R' Meir was in my hand, and it teaches me knowledge.”⁷ We also find that the donkey of R' Pinchas ben Yair would eat only produce that had been tithed,⁸ because even in an animal the imprint of holiness from the tzaddik's service could be seen. With this my great-grandfather explained the verse “Hashem will give you extra for good, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your land.” The imprint of holiness will be left over and remain even “in the fruit of your livestock.”⁹ Those are his holy words.

5With this we can explain a passage in the early Midrash Tanna Devei Eliyahu: “As soon as Israel accepted the yoke of the kingship of Heaven with joy and said, ‘All that Hashem has spoken we will do and we will hear,’ the Holy One, blessed be He, at once told Moshe to tell Israel to make Him a Mishkan, as it says, ‘Speak to Bnei Yisrael … And they shall make Me a Mikdash, and I will dwell among them …’”¹⁰ Several of the holy sefarim ask what saying “we will do and we will hear” has to do with the Shechinah resting in the Mishkan.¹¹ What we have said can explain it. By saying “we will do,” Bnei Yisrael reached the level of being able to leave an imprint of holiness within themselves. So Hashem told them to make a great vessel for this imprint of holiness, the Mishkan: “And they shall make Me a Mikdash, and I will dwell among them,” within each and every one of them.

6In light of this we can explain the verse “The work was sufficient for all the work, to do it, and there was extra.” In the work of the Mishkan, great holiness was brought down through those who did the work. At their head was Betzalel, who had in mind the holy combinations of letters with which heaven and earth were created.¹² Someone on such a level can surely bring down holiness so great that its imprint remains forever. That is the meaning of “The work was sufficient … and there was extra.” It was “sufficient” for the work of the present, but for the future there was “extra,” because an imprint of holiness remained forever.

7We can now understand Hashem's answer to Moshe Rabbeinu's question, “What shall we do with what remains?” He said, “Go and make with it a Mishkan for testimony.” He meant that even when the Mishkan would no longer stand, an imprint of holiness from it would remain for all generations, an imprint that would never be erased.

8With this we can explain a saying of Chazal: “Whoever sets a fixed place for his prayer, the God of Avraham is his help.”¹³ Why “the God of Avraham” in particular? We find that the Beis HaMikdash was built where Avraham Avinu bound his son Yitzchak,¹⁴ and Chazal say of the site, “The first sanctification sanctified it for its time and sanctified it for the future.”¹⁵ It follows that Avraham Avinu's service left an imprint of holiness that remained for all generations. The same holds for one who sets a fixed place for his prayer. As he prays regularly in one place, time after time, more and more holiness is added to that place. After so many prayers there, a great imprint of holiness remains in it and helps his prayers to be accepted, just as Avraham Avinu left an imprint of holiness on Mount Moriah through his service. That is why Chazal said that it is “the God of Avraham” who is his help.

9But how can we truly reach this level, where an imprint of holiness remains for us from our service? It comes when each person, on his own level, does the mitzvah for the sake of Heaven, without ulterior motives or pride. Then an imprint of holiness will remain with him from it for other holy things, and in this way he will reach complete perfection. This is how the Divrei Binah explained the words “and after Your mitzvos may my soul pursue,” from the prayer at the end of the Amidah.¹⁶ Even after I have done a mitzvah, my soul should still pursue Your mitzvos, through the imprint of holiness left by the mitzvah done before. But this holds only for one who does the mitzvah properly, for the sake of Heaven. A person who does the mitzvah with ulterior motives cannot leave through it any imprint for afterward.¹⁷

10On the yahrzeit of my holy great-grandfather we ask, “When will our deeds reach the deeds of our fathers?”¹⁸ We pray that we and all who are joined to us may have a bond with the holiness of our fathers and a share in it.

11[Especially now,¹⁹ as the winter term of learning ends after the long effort of a whole term, we must use the time that is left to learn properly. Then an imprint of holiness will remain from it for the days of the break between terms as well, and the holiness will carry on after the term. In particular, we should learn more of the laws of Pesach, since learning them can save a person from any concern about chametz. As is related, the Chozeh of Lublin once told a certain Rav that if he learned the laws of Pesach properly, fewer questions about chametz would come before him. It is also known, in the name of the Arizal, that one who guards himself from even the smallest trace of chametz on Pesach is assured that he will not sin all year.²⁰ May Hashem help us to be kept from even the smallest trace of chametz on Pesach, and may we be privileged to see salvations and consolations with the coming of the righteous Redeemer, speedily in our days. Amen.]