It wasn’t Moshe’s action-
It was a Miracle
When all of the various parts of
the Mishkan had been fashioned, they were brought to Moshe, who actually
stood the walls up and erected the Mishkan. Rashi explains that because of
the massive weight of the materials, none of the people involved in forming
the Mishkan were able to erect it, so they brought the materials to Moshe.
Moshe was also unable to lift up the heavy walls, so HASHEM said to him, “Go
through the motions as if you are lifting them, and they will be lifted on
their own.”
The difficulty with this is that
the posuk later (40:18) says, “And Moshe erected the Mishkan.” Moshe is
credited with actually putting up the Mishkan. Yet the Medrash tells us that
not only didn’t he put it up, he wasn’t even physically capable of doing it.
In what sense can the Torah consider that Moshe raised the Mishkan when it
clearly wasn’t his action?
Creative in name, but not in
principle
The answer to this question can
be found by understanding any creative act of man.
When a couple makes the
conscious decision to have a baby, they use a system that HASHEM put into
place to bring forth a child. They don’t claim to be knowledgeable enough in
anatomy to synthesize the proteins needed for growth. They don’t allege to
have sufficient understanding in physiology to weave the neuron pathways in
the brain. And they certainly don’t contend that they are learned enough in
pathology to create the immune system that develops within their fetus.
When we say they made the
baby, we mean they used a pre-existing system that was set up with great
wisdom and forethought. They pushed the button, and the gears and flywheels
went into motion. Nine months later, out came a perfectly-formed, complex
marvel called the human. They had the baby, but they didn’t create the
baby.
This is true of any creative act
that a human engages in, whether it be a couple having a child, a farmer
growing corn, or an entrepreneur creating an industry. We take pre-existing
elements, use pre-formed systems, turn a switch, and take the credit for the
result. In our minds’ eye, it is our effort that brought forth the product,
but in reality we did little but use the machinery already in place.
An analogy to this would be:
Frank the cookie baker
Every day, when Frank leaves
work, he takes home two packages of freshly baked cookies for his kids. His
children love to brag about the delicious cookies their father makes.
Frank’s kids are the envy of the entire first grade. Naturally, when the
class is planning on having a bake sale, who do they ask for help with the
recipes? Frank!
Unfortunately, Frank doesn’t
know that much about baking cookies. You see, Frank works in a factory.
Every morning exactly at 4:20 AM, Frank pushes the switch that starts the
operation rolling, and exactly 35 minutes later, out comes the first batch
of Stella D’oro Chocolate Fudge cookies.
Frank didn’t create the process;
he doesn’t even know which ingredients go into the mixture. He wouldn’t be
able to tell you the different preservatives and flavoring that are used. He
wouldn’t be able to explain to you the difference between radiant and
convection heat and their effect on the crispness of the cookie. He
certainly isn’t capable of creating the intricate system of conveyer belts,
mixers, and feeder chain ovens needed to produce that cookie. His job is to
flip the switch. The machine does the rest.
Columbus discovered America – he
didn’t invent it
When man harnesses a force of
nature, we look at him with awe and reverence. What a brilliant thinker! He
invented something that wasn’t! Inadvertently, we attribute the wisdom of
the system to the one who harnessed it.
This is a fallacy. It’s much
like Columbus’ discovery of America – he didn’t create it. When man taps
into a powerful force in HASHEM’s world, he has created nothing. He has
uncovered some of the intricacies of the systems and machines that HASHEM
uses to run this world. Using systems, laws, principles, and entire
machines already in place, man comes along and changes a gear. The effect
may be significant, but he created nothing. He
discovered a bit of the elaborate machine that HASHEM brought forth in the
six days of Creation.
The difference between Moshe Rabbenu
and us
The answer to the question on
Rashi seems to be that to Moshe Rabbenu, any action that he engaged in was
but flipping the switch. It is HASHEM’s machine, and HASHEM’s rules run that
machine.
If HASHEM said that today, in
this situation, going through the motions is what will bring
about the results- then it is just a different way of flipping the switch.
When Moshe went through the motions of lifting the Mishkan, the action was
still attributable to him because in his mind, this was no different than a
farmer planting wheat or a couple having a child. It’s all miraculous, and
man’s role is always just going through the motions. As such, this was Moshe
erecting the Mishkan: using HASHEM’s machine to bring about the result.
This understanding is pivotal in
our understanding HASHEM’s involvement in nature and the running of this
world.
For more on this topic please listen to Shmuz
#51 - Bitachon and Hishtadlus – Finding the Balance
