Pekudei: Rav Shimon Shkop: Generating Power

“These are the reckonings of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of Testimony.” Why does the Torah say, “The Mishkan, the Mishkan?” Rabbi Shmuel taught: The Holy One, Blessed is He, said, “The Mishkan (Temple) will twice be used as a pledge of security – a ‘Mashkon.’” (Midrash Tanchumah: Pekudei #5)

“The Beit Hamikdash was destroyed because they did not recite the Blessings over Torah study before learning.” What is the correlation between the sin and its consequences?

Rav Shimon Shkop compared this to how we use electricity. The more we use, the more is present in our home. When people studied Torah without an awareness of how Torah nurtures our relationship with God, they turned off all its power. They stopped generating energy, and the great transformer, the Beit Hamikdash, collapsed.

Rav Shkop reminds us that the desire for Attachment to God expressed through our Mitzvot and Torah study, generates Spiritual electricity that powers our spiritual lives, and leads to further growth.