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By Rabbi Ariel Ovadia
Parashat VaYakhel opens with the reiteration of the Mitzva of Shabbat. Although the concept of Shabbat was just mentioned in the previous Parasha, there is a special significance to its mention in VaYakhel, following the sin of the golden calf. The Hid”a, in his work D’vash L’Fi[1], cites the Gemara in Shabbat[2] that states that one who observes the Shabbat is absolved of his transgressions – even if he had worshipped Avoda Zara like the generation of Enosh. What sort of Avoda Zara did the generation of Enosh worship? The Rambam in the beginning of Hilchot Avoda Zara writes, that although Enosh (the grandson of Adam) and his generation did not doubt Hashem was the Creator and Master of the universe, they mistakenly assumed that one cannot have a direct relationship with the Almighty, only with his emissaries.
The commentaries explain that a similar mistake led to the construction of the golden calf. The nation feared that with the loss of Moshe they will not be able to have a relationship with Hashem and so they devised an intermediary to whom they can relate. When one observes the Shabbat, one attests to the fact that the universe was created by Hashem alone, and that humans too, can emulate the Creator and have a direct relationship with Him, dispelling the mistaken notion of the generation of Enosh.
Hacham Yehuda Tzadka זצ”ל, the venerable Rosh Yeshiva of Porat Yosef, comments on the unique setting in which the Mitzva of Shabbat is reaffirmed in this Parasha: the assembly of the entire congregation of Am Yisrael. The Rosh HaYeshiva explains, that this is because the observance of Shabbat is only complete if it includes the participation of the entire nation[3]. One can add, that although much of Am Yisrael did not sin with the golden calf, nevertheless, the wholesomeness of the Torah acceptance at Har Sinai – which was the ultimate testament to Hashem on this Earth – was now broken. Only when the nation as a whole join to testify: כי ששת ימים עשה ה’ את השמים ואת הארץ – then, our rectification of what was lost at the sin of the golden calf, and the true testament to the Creator and our relationship with Him, is finally achieved.
[1] מערכת ש’ אות ד’
[2] קי”ח ע”ב
[3] קול יהודה פר’ ויקהל