“וירא משה את כל המלאכה והנה עשו אותה כאשר ציווה ד’ כן עשו ויברך אותם משה” (שמות ל”ט מ”ג)
רש”י: “ויברך אותם משה – אמר להם יהי רצון שתשרה שכינה במעשה ידיכם, ויהי נועם ה’ אלקינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו וגו’…”
Rashi: And Moshe blessed them – He said to them, “May it be His will that the Shechinah should rest upon the work of your hands, ‘And the pleasantness of Hashem our God should be upon us and our handiwork should be established for us… (Tehillim 90′)‘“
After reviewing Klal Yisroel’s preparations for the Mishkan and finding them complete, Moshe Rabbeinu blesses Yisroel that the Shechinah should rest upon their handiwork. But Moshe does not daven simply for the Shechina. He refers to the resting of the Shechinah as “נועם ד’ אלקינו עלינו” – the pleasantness of Hashem our God upon us. Why?
The Shechinah may reveal itself anywhere, even in Egypt, as it says in the Haggadah: “And I will pass through Egypt on this night – I and not an angel – and I will smite every firstborn in Egypt – I and not a seraph – and with all the gods of Egypt I will perform judgements – I and not a messenger – I am Hashem – it is I and no other.” But it is not always “pleasant”; for Egypt, it brought destruction and death. Moshe’s beracha was that the Shechinah should rest upon Klal Yisroel in a way of נועם, pleasantness.
This pleasantness is not to be understood as the comfort felt when no demands are made of us and we can act as we like. Moshe Rabbeinu was praying for the “נועם ד” – the pleasantness of Hashem, meaning that we feel an affinity for that which is above us; in the words of the Ramchal, “להתענג על ד’”. Such a pleasantness will not come of its own; it is a pleasantness we strive for, a difficult, lifelong task, identified by the Ramchal as the “obligation of Man in his world.”[1]
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Our task is to create a compatibility with a higher realm; to mold our world and ourselves in order that ruchniyas should “fit us”. So we find, that the Torah in its description of the construction of the Mishkan, repeats over and over again that the work was done “as Hashem commanded Moshe”[2], culminating in the passuk above, “And Moshe saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as Hashem had commanded so had they done it…” By acting according to Hashem’s command, they established a congruence between their world and the higher realm, making it possible for the Shechina to rest בנעימות, with pleasantness.
This is a different way of relating to mitzvos than we are accustomed to. A mitzvah is not merely an action that, once performed, becomes a part of our history. Rather, we are molding our world and our lives so that the Shechina can rest within them בנעימות. The passuk in Tehillim which begins “ויהי נועם ד’ אלקינו עלינו” continues: “ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו”. The word “כוננה” always refers to a base, with the implication here being that a person’s actions create the base, or the setting, for bringing the Shechina into his world. Like Rashi says, “May it be His will that the Shechinah should rest upon the work of your hands…” – our actions are the basis for the presence of the Shechina. Take, for example, the many berachos we make throughout the day. How would our lives look if we made no berachos? They would be lacking in Emunah, and tefillah, gratitude, appreciation, thoughtfulness and sincerity. Saying berachos leaves a major impact on life. In truth, all mitzvos share this quality. Ruchniyas does not end with the performance of the mitzvah. To the contrary, our mitzvos are a springboard and a background for continued growth, as we prepare our lives and our world for the ‘נועם ד.
[1] Mesillas Yesharim ch. 1
[2] Shemos ch. 39 verses 1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31, 32. Ch. 40 verses 16, 19, 21