“Just as Hashem had commanded Moses, so the Israelites had done all the work. And when Moses saw that they had performed all the tasks—as Hashem had commanded, so they had done—Moses blessed them.” (Shemos 39:42-43)

When we speak in Loshen Hakodesh about accomplishing things, there are two words which seem to be interchangeable: Melacha and Avoda. We intuitively understand that each one means something different and there is a reason when one word is used as opposed to the other. A simple example of this is the thirty-nine melachos of Shabbos. There it is understood that they are acts of creation that are purposeful, and there is actually a checklist that must be examined to see if the melacha was a biblical prohibition or perhaps it is just a rabbinical prohibition. Here we understand that the word Melacha is the correct word. When we are speaking about avoda, we are usually speaking about service, where the overall theme of the act is important, rather than the exact details. An example of this is “prayer”, which is also called an “avoda”.

The Chasam Sofer (Moses Schreiber 1762–1839) explains Moshe Rabbeinu’s comment in this week’s parsha, when he saw that both the melacha and the avoda were completed, Moshe gave Klal Yisrael a brocha. He explains that the word melacha refers to the actions of the craftsmen, and the word avoda refers to the generosity of heart of those who donated all the raw materials involved. Moshe saw that both of them were done with equal devotion. This concept is mirrored by other commentators as well. For example, the Vilna Gaon says that the phrase “kaasher tziva Hashem es Moshe” is repeated 7 times in these parshios, and they correspond to the 7 spheres of holiness which go from the holy throne to this world.  This means that there was no deviation from the way the “tzivuim” (commands) were given in the highest of the worlds until they finally were carried out here in the lowest of the worlds – our world. This is because the building was 100% pure.

Many times a general may give a command that a certain exercise should be executed, and as the command goes down the ranks, each person changes it just a drop according to the way that he thinks would be the most beneficial.  Because of this, the way that it is played out is actually very different than the original intention. This is not what happened in the building of the Tabernacle. On the contrary, there was 100% faithfulness to the original command from the beginning to the end.

As we prepare to make our own home into a proper Mikdash me’at for Pesasch and Seder Night, there are preparations that must be done physically, mentally and emotionally. May we merit to fulfill them as Hashem wants us to, so that our homes should become a haven for His Divine Presence.