In the beginning,
B’reishis –
The creation of our world
Is complete.
Sh’mos ends with the creation
Of the Mishkan –
A place for Hashem’s Glory
To rest upon.
Three keywords:
“Work,” “complete,” and “blessed,”
Are prevalent
Within both texts;
In each accounting, paradigms
Of key words in each
Found seven times.
G-d’s creation of the world,
Builders of the sanctuary,
The alignment of the two
Extraordinary;
The partnership is clear,
The parallels traverse
Our Mishkan, a micro-cosmos
Of Hashem’s universe.
Both constructed with
Wisdom and precision,
Vehicles of HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s
Divine Vision
Before the golden calf;
When we fell in perfidy,
Hashem had prepared
The Mishkan, our remedy.
Copper mirrors, contributions
The women gave
From Egypt, from the days
When they were still slaves,
They kept faith in G-d’s promise,
Saved their husbands
From despair,
These builders, raised legions
For G-d’s army there,
Moshe’s hesitation
To accept them
Was not the right call,
For to Hashem, they were
The most precious gifts of all.
From the days of old
To the present tense,
We are cheilek Hashem –
G-d’s Inheritance.
The seven heavens, the galaxies,
With trillions of stars,
Many worlds, including
This amazing world of ours
Under His command,
Celestial beings of pure fire,
Yet, above all, Hashem says:
“It is My people that I desire.”
The Mishkan was never
Destroyed or captured,
Bore testimony
Of forgiveness conferred,
More precious
Than the universe
Of G-d’s sole creation,
Built in partnership
With His treasured nation.
We are still the builders
The sanctuary,
Our home,
Where we welcome
HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s
Blessing and shalom.
May we soon build the third
Beis HaMikdash, then
May Hashem dwell among us;
May we be His Crown again.
By Sharon Marcus
