Individual Efforts Lead to Collective Fulfillment

This week's parshah starts off with each and every Jew being afforded the opportunity to give of the goodness of his heart for the collective good. You wanna give, give, you don't, that's also fine. No strings attached. And indeed, each person gave of the goodness of his and her heart. 

The ironic, subtly satisfying part is that the Jewish people as a whole, despite the pro bono nature of the mishkan's construction, are commanded, "Make me for a sanctuary, and I will rest among you," which in essence means that even were certain parties to be miserly and refrain from giving, they too would be in fulfillment of God's commandment. This, thus, teaches us a fascinating dialectic, something that pertains to vital decisions we must make with halachic implications as well. 

There are those deeds and actions which are obligatory. On the other hand, there are those which are referred to as lifnei m'shurat ha'din, or over and beyond the letter of the law. Halachically, we are never obligated to do anything that's lifnei m'shurat ha'din. If you don't have time, the will, the drive, bow out. Is it good to always do that? No, but all too often it would seem that people feel beleaguered by initiatives that are not really obligatory. People feel stretched too thin, that others have imposed upon them too much, and the salient message here, I personally think, is that nobody should feel indispensable to the point that he or she needs to compromise the peace of mind, or equanimity needed to function as a person. If something seems like too much, take a step aside, and the community will find another solution, will get by, and at the end of the day, if you, as a person whose aid was sought genuinely cannot help, regardless, when the community does succeed in carrying out what was needed, you too played a vital part. 

Shavua tov,

Yoav 

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