I remember a conversation that we had with our general contractor when we first hired him to build the new Torah Links Center in Cherry Hill a few years ago. After an exhaustive review of the site and building plans, I said to him, “We put a tremendous amount of thought into every detail of this project. Do not cut any corners! If there is a place where we can save money, our committee will make that decision.” Our contractor agreed, and was true to his word. He built that building right –  with innovation, thoughtfulness and great care! The attention to detail is noticeable to all who enter, and is why the beautiful new Max and Anna Krupnick Torah Links Center is such a great source of pride for our community. This partially explains what makes Craig Taylor such a great general contractor.  Aside from being an honest person, a visionary builder, and a great project manager, he also built the building to our precise specifications! He didn’t merely build A building; he built OUR building, for he built it exactly the way WE wanted it!

In this week’s Torah Portion, Vayakhel and Pekudai, we find the Jewish people involved in the construction of their magnificent Tabernacle. As one peruses the verses, the great attention to detail is readily apparent: the exact dimensions, the type of material, the richness of the colors, etc. Failure to follow the Heavenly directions in the slightest would invalidate the entire construction process. And a great job the Jewish people did. For after the completion of each item on the checklist, the Torah says, “And the Jewish people built exactly as Hashem had commanded Moses.” Again and again, the same accolade is repeated. The significance of this repeated stamp of approval is magnificent. The Jewish people did not merely build A building; they built HASHEM’s building, for they built it exactly the way HE wanted it!

Just as the members of our building committee collaborated to create a project with exacting specifications to make it warm, inviting and user friendly, so too, the Almighty created a set of plans with precision in order to create an environment and vessels that could contain His Divine Presence and be a source of inspiration to all of the Jewish people. The lessons to be learned are numerous. Let us focus on one.

Our great Sages teach, “The Almighty wanted to give the Jewish people merit, He therefore gave us lots of mitzvos.” Hashem did not want His relationship with us to be a shallow, platonic one, but rather, a deep, all-consuming, involved love affair. He therefore gave us opportunities to interact with Him throughout each and every day.  Every mitzvah has myriad details, and it is very easy to become overwhelmed and fall prey to the destructive thinking of, “Does Hashem really care about every detail of every mitzvah?”

The lesson we can learn from the intricate description of the construction of the Tabernacle is that indeed, the Almighty mandated each and every detail of every mitzvah, and hence every ounce of energy that we invest in the fulfillment of every mitzvah is dear and precious to Him. When we perform a mitzvah, we are not merely doing A good deed, we are building a relationship with HASHEM, because we’re fulfilling every detail exactly the way HE wants it!

May we all merit to fulfill every mitzvah exactly how the Almighty commanded it, and may we enjoy an eternal, intimate relationship with Him.