Antonio and Sons came highly recommended as the contractor of choice to build the home of your dreams. After several meetings with architects and designers, a blueprint is drawn up and a date is chosen to begin construction. On the morning of the big day, your doorbell rings. Standing at your threshold is Antonio himself! You look past him and cannot help but notice the street lined with numerous trucks containing various building materials. Reading your expression of bewilderment, Antonio turns to you and says, “Congratulations on your new home!” accompanied by a sweep of his hand in the direction of the trucks… whereupon your facial expression changes from one of bewilderment to one of deep concern.

Although the above scenario does seem a bit odd, this week’s Torah portions, Vayakhel and Pekudai, seem to play out in a similar way. The two portions record the construction of the great Tabernacle, the makeshift temple that accompanied the Jews in their desert travels. Finally, upon the conclusion of the construction of all the Tabernacle’s parts, the Torah states, “They brought the Tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all it’s vessels; its hooks, its beams, its bars…” (Exodus 39:33). The Midrash (Tanchuma 11) fills us in on more of the story line. What actually happened was that after the Jewish People finished building the parts of the Tabernacle and they were ready to construct it, they tried to assemble the beams that constituted its walls. However, they found, to their amazement, that the beams were too heavy to lift up and stand erect! They brought the beams to Moses and exclaimed, “We tried to erect the beams for the Tabernacle, but they were too heavy!” This is what the Torah is referring to with the phrase, “They brought the Tabernacle to Moses”. It seems to imply that they actually brought a completed Tabernacle to Moses. Maybe the Torah should have stated, “They brought the Tabernacle’s pieces to Moses”. Wouldn’t this choice of words have been a more accurate description of what they actually brought to Moses?

What the Torah is teaching us with these words is a very fundamental outlook that we should have with regard to our performance of the Torah’s commandments and what it takes to be a good Jew. We are no doubt a nation that believes in striving and taking action to reach great spiritual heights. At times, we may feel that we’ve simply tried our hardest, in whatever area of Judaism it may be, but may have failed to reach the goal due to circumstances beyond our control. But the way G-d views the situation is very different. What counts in the eyes of the people around us is the bottom line, not the effort we’ve put forth in trying to reach our goal. The amount of money earned at the end of the day seems to define the difference between success and failure. Someone who goes to school and studies hard but fails the exams is not considered a success, no matter how much effort he or she may have expended. In G-d’s eyes, however, this is not the case. Effort counts. What G-d wants from us is to try our hardest given the circumstances of our lives, for after all, He is the One who put us in those circumstances. He wants us to make a sincere effort to fulfill His will. Of course, we should always aspire to reach ambitious goals in spiritual growth. However, if despite our best efforts, certain factors in our lives prevent us from achieving our highest objectives, G-d still counts it as though we’ve actually achieved the desired result.

Even though the Jews did not accomplish their goal of building the Tabernacle, they certainly made a sincere effort, using whatever skills and materials they had available. G-d counted it as though they actually did build the Tabernacle. This is why the Torah states, “They brought the Tabernacle to Moses”. By doing the best they could under the unique circumstances in the desert, it was as though they had achieved the goal of constructing the Tabernacle in its entirety.