Parshat Vayak'hel, (Exodus 35-30:36-7)-2/18/2014

Enough is enough. The people brought more than was needed. This was a great expression of their eagerness to please G_d. Or is “please” the word I should use? Would “connect to” be more accurate?

So they were sent back. The drawing is supposed to be about people coming and going. See the blind man? Somewhere else in the Hebrew Bible there is a story about people giving too much for their own detriment. You shouldn't hurt yourself by giving. But this is different. They were overwhelming the craftsmen who now had all the materials they needed. I guess it is just the grand expression of enthusiasm.

In the Zen world, we stop soji (temple cleaning) when the time is over. I interpret this parshah that because people were turned away, there was now100% buy-in.

Right after 911, so many people gave blood they dumped it down the sink. They didn't want to turn people away ... but then later, when they really needed blood, people didn't come back