The Verse:
When Moshe saw that they had performed all the tasks — as Hashem had commanded, so they had done — Moshe blessed them.
Rashi:
Moshe blessed them -- He said to them “May it be His will that the Divine Presence dwell upon the work of your hands; and let the graciousness of the L-rd our G-d rest upon us etc.” And this is one of the eleven psalms called “A prayer of Moshe.”
Questions:
We have to understand a number things about Rashi’s comment, among them:
Why does Rashi need to explain Moshe’s blessing? It is obvious that Moshe blessed them by saying “Yasher Koach,” offering thanks for their effort. (And why does Rashi say that the blessing was expressed in the words of a prayer: “May it be His will that the Divine Presence...”? )
What is the point of adding, “This is one of 11 psalms called “A prayer of Moshe?”
In the Torah Portion of Shemini, Rashi repeats this explanation, yet reverses the order, bringing “Let the graciousness...” first, and afterwards adding, “May the Divine Presence dwell.”
Explanation :
The prior verses describe how the “wise-hearted men” prepared the materials for the Mishkan. This appears to indicate that the blessing (“And he (Moshe) blessed them”) refers to the “wise-hearted men.” However, this is difficult to accept. Shouldn’t Moshe have blessed the Jewish people as well, for bringing their free-will offerings to the Mishkan. We therefore must explain that it is self-understood that Moshe would have given them a blessing of Yasher Koach (“More power to you!”) or some similar expression. In this instance, Moshe’s blessing was given “measure for measure” to Jews who put their effort and essence into “the work of your hands.” Therefore Rashi explains the blessing was that the Divine presence should rest in the work of their hands. Since we know that Moshe erected the Mishkan, the blessing must include Moshe as well. Rashi therefore explains that the blessing was, “Let the graciousness... upon us” to indicate that Moshe included himself. In the Torah Portion of Shemini, the subject is the service of Moshe and Aharon. Moshe therefore began with “Let the graciousness... upon us” to include himself, and after, “May the Divine Presence dwell upon the work of our hands.” To clarify that the end of this psalm (“work of our hands”) was said by Moshe, and not by the Jewish people (although the verse states “the days of our life is seventy years, or, given the strength, eighty years”, and Moshe was older than eighty at the time), Rashi states that this is one of the eleven psalms of Moshe. Therefore, it is understood that the entire psalm was said by Moshe, and no one else.
The lesson:
The lesson from Rashi’s explanation is it is impossible for a man to raise the Mishkan by himself. Rather, he must bring it to the Nasi HaDor (the leader of the generation). In simple terms, every person has to connect to the Nasi HaDor as the verse states, “I stand between you and Hashem.” This is hinted in the revealed part of Torah. “Someone who has an ill person in his house should go to a sage and seek mercy on the ill person’s behalf”. The sage “sees that which will be born,” i.e., he sees (not the physicality, rather) the Divine creative energy within the creation. Therefore: (1) He can see the “illness” as it is in its true form. (2) By “exchanging spiritual letters,” he can arouse mercy in Heaven and cure the ill person. Note that the sage has to be “in the city.” In other words, he must not shut himself off. Instead, he must be dedicated to the people of the city. Notice, too, that before they came Moshe, the Jews did all that was in their ability to fulfill everything Hashem commanded; only then was Moshe able to help each individual.
