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Pekudey

Nothing about the architecture of the Mishkan is relevant with regard to the ways that we build today. In those ancient times of our forefathers, builders did not have the luxury of cement or of glass. They did not know of steel, and they had no concept of plastic. The tools that they had were plain and simple. Without electricity or other sources of power, the only muscle that they could corral was that of animals and of man.

They did not know about faucets to bring water into the sanctuary, and they had not discovered wells of gas to provide them with fuel for cooking. Food spoiled because they had no refrigeration. Save through the use of fire and from natural sunlight, they did not know how to bring light to the dark caverns of the magnificent buildings that they built. Even with regard to color, our forefathers did not have the technology to bring the panoply of color that we bring to the walls of our houses.

Yet every year we spend weeks just reading about their architecture. Every year we relearn the ways that they used to construct the Tabernacle. Not a point is missed. All is presented to us in detail, so complete that we see clearly how little our forefathers knew about building.

Why all the emphasis on detail that is so irrelevant to us today?

There are a number of reasons for us to learn and relearn the irrelevancies of architecture every year:
1. We need to emphasize that a spiritual center was important for our people. The only way that we have to relate that priority is through detail. The more detail they gave, the more important we understand the Tabernacle to be.
2. Only through detail does one understand that we too must build our temples to God with at least as much intent as had our forefathers. Just as they were not lax in their efforts, we cannot be lax.
3. Through detail the purpose of every corner of the building and item in the building is emphasized. We need to know that, no matter our sophistication, our intent can be no greater than their intent to build, and our efforts to build must parallel their efforts to build.
4. Finally, we need to know that worship is not the product of any one-generation. It must be repeated with intensity in every generation. As long as we know the basis of our tradition we can continue to build on it, but should we forget where we started, we will never understand to where we are headed.

The architecture that we read about may be irrelevant and out of date, but the purpose of the architecture is as important today as the first day that the Tabernacle was constructed.

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