5784/2024

This week's Parashah is Parashat Vayakhel and Shekalim. At the end of the first aliyah, the Pasuk states:

 וי֥צא֛ו כל ־עד֥ת בנֽי ־ישרא֖ל מלפנ֥י משֽה (Shemot 35:20). Why does the Pasuk say that they left from Moshe’s presence / מלפנ֥י משֽה? Isn’t it obvious that they were leaving from Moshe? 

The Darchei Mussar quotes the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh who says that this teaches us to walk backwards from holy places. He also answered that Bnei Yisrael were worried that Moshe, who was such a rich man, would quickly make all of the contributions for the Mishkan, so when they were leaving, they made sure to keep an eye on him so they could also contribute to the Mishkan. 

Rav Rosner quotes a third answer from the Alter of Kelm, who said that when Bnei Yisrael left Moshe, you could see on all their faces and their behavior that they were in front of Moshe’s presence. Rav Rosner adds from the Dubno Maggid on Parashat Masei, that the pesukim tell us that Moshe Rabbeinu recorded Bnei Yisrael’s travels. However, one pasuk says that Moshe wrote their origins to their destinations, but later the Torah says that he wrote from their destinations to their origins. Why switch the order? The Dubno Maggid answers that Moshe recognized the value of Israel, so his focus was on their destination. However, Bnei Israel weren’t on that level, so he later mentioned from their destination to their origins, so their focus was retrospective, on how far they had come from Egypt. 

Our Pasuk says מלפנ֥י משֽה to show that Klal Yisrael always took where they came from with them. They didn’t want to forget Moshe and their past and only looked towards where they were going. The goal in life is to take our wonderful experiences with us, internalize them, and not let them disappear before they have a chance to shape us into better Jews.