Parshat Pekudei marks the completion of building the mishkan, a project which is described in detail in the second half of the book of Shemot. Why is so much space given to the order of the mishkan and what relevance can it have for our lives today? 

Many scholars have pointed out the literary and thematic similarities between the creation of the mishkan and the creation of the world. This includes repetition of words such as “seeing,” “completing,” “blessing,” and “sanctifying” the work (melakha) which was done by God in Bereshit and by people in the mishkan. In both accounts the work ceases for Shabbat. As Leon Kass writes, in creation, complete chaos (tohu va’vohu) is transformed by the spirit of God (ruah Elokim) hovering on the water. The next time this term appears in Tanach is when Betzalel, architect of the mishkan, is infused with ruah Elokim. Based on God’s command, he created the mishkan, a sanctuary for daily service of God, providing order for the Jewish people, and potential for re-creation/renewal. 

The midrash Pesiqta Rabbati deepens this parallel when it connects King Solomon’s completion of the Temple in this week’s haftorah reading to creation as well. When Bereshit says that God created the world “la’asot,” to do, it means it was created unfinished, in need of perfection. The completion of the mikdash is likened to the culmination of the creation process. 

Just as in creation, God brought order to the world, the mishkan/mikdash provides a holy space for us to reconnect with order over chaos, and with God and holiness over immorality and empty values. Today, as the world may seem to lack order, and good and evil are at times distorted, we need to find our place of “sanctuary,” where we can rediscover a sense of God’s order and renew ourselves. Shabbat Shalom -Karen Miller Jackson