Dear Friends,
We are used to giving people credit when they do the work. And, that is only fair. But, even when we do the work, doesn’t God get any credit for inspiring us? For giving us strength? Wisdom? Understanding?
Too often, we forget that God plays a part in our successes. We turn to God when the going gets rough. But, when we succeed….we take the credit for ourselves!
In our weekly Torah portion, we read of the actual construction of the sanctuary in the desert. The instructions had been imparted to the people in advance of the building. Detail after detail, our people were told how to construct the sanctuary. Then, the Torah tells us in great detail how our people carried out the instructions exactly as commanded by God.
Yet, at the very moment when all the pieces came together, the Torah tells us that it “was completed (Exodus 39:32).” Our Sages teach us that rather than saying that our people did it all on their own, the Torah’s language hints at the fact that by virtue of God’s miraculous intervention – everything came together exactly as it was intended. Yet, God gives our people full credit for the entire project, even though it did require the help of God’s miracle to bring it all together.
If God (and the Torah) give our people all the credit when completing the job required God’s helping hand, then we should give God at least some of the credit when we complete a project in which God aided us all along by giving us inspiration, strength, wisdom and understanding.
Who gets the credit for our successes? We do! But, so does God!
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Gilah Dror
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