The Reeking Suit

In 19th-century Eastern Europe, there lived a modest Jewish tailor who was highly skilled at his craft. With time, his expertise led him to serve the nobility and aristocracy of his day. As his success soared, his Jewish practice, sadly, suffered. He gradually drifted from his traditional upbringing, immersing himself entirely in secular society.

One day, a distinguished nobleman approached the tailor, seeking his assistance. “Listen, my friend,” began the nobleman. “I have just returned from Paris and I brought with me the most exceptional material. I want you to create a suit for me, one that I will wear only on the most special occasions. Here’s the material. You have impeccable taste. I trust you; I’m excited to see what you will come up with”

The tailor was overjoyed. Being commissioned by this particular nobleman to make this suit meant that he had made it to the top.

Getting right to work, he toiled day and night, sparing no effort. But when he presented the nobleman with his work of art, instead of heaping praise upon the tailor, the nobleman’s face contorted with displeasure. “You call this a suit?” he spat. “I’ve never seen anything so disgusting! Not only is it a pitiful excuse for a suit, it stinks!” Wrinkling his nose in disgust, the nobleman threw the tailor and the suit out of his home.

The tailor stood there in shock. Moments earlier he had felt on top of the world, and now everything had come crashing down. Not knowing what else to do or where to turn, he made his way to his Rebbe—Rabbi Yerachmiel, the son of the Yid Hakadosh and a great Chassidic master in his own right.

“Rebbe, please help me,” pleaded the dejected Jew. “I know I haven’t been the most devout Jew lately, but I need the Rebbe’s advice. I created what I believed was the suit of the century, yet I was thrown out on the street! I don’t know what to do.”

Rabbi Yerachmiel responded compassionately. “My dear friend, listen carefully to my instructions. Go home and take apart the suit. Unpick every stitch, then sew it back together anew. I give you my blessing that your efforts will be met with success. Present it to the nobleman, and he will appreciate it.”

Knowing that the nobleman had already expressed his disgust for this suit, the tailor was skeptical. Nevertheless, he dutifully followed the Rebbe’s directions. When he timidly presented the suit to the nobleman again, to his shock and delight, the nobleman was overjoyed! “This is the most beautiful suit in the world. I’ve never seen such a masterpiece! Bravo! Not only will I pay you what I promised, but I will pay you double.”

Baffled, the tailor returned to his Rebbe, seeking an explanation. “When you were initially hired by the nobleman and awarded this prestigious commission, it went straight to your head,” the Rebbe explained. “You became filled with arrogance. You forgot about G‑d. All you could see was yourself and your success. And your arrogance reeked. You reeked from it, and your work reeked from it. Even the nobleman smelled it. So he threw you out, together with the suit.

“But when you came to me, you were brokenhearted and humbled. And so, all you needed to do was remake the suit with your newfound sense of humility. Recognizing this, I blessed your efforts. And that is why the nobleman loved it.”

100 Blessings

One of the central themes of the Torah portion of Pekudei revolves around the critical importance of blessings in our lives.

The parshah begins with a detailed accounting of the exact quantities of gold, silver, and copper donated by the people for the construction of the Tabernacle. As part of this accounting, the verse states, “100 silver talents were used to cast the bases for the Sanctuary… a total of 100 bases made out of the 100 talents, one talent for each base.”1

Rabbi Jacob Ben Asher, the late 13th- and early 14th-century Biblical commentator known as the Ba’al Haturim, taught that the 100 bases in the foundation of the Tabernacle correspond to the 100 blessings that a Jew is mandated to say each day. Just as the bases formed the foundation of the Tabernacle, these blessings are foundational to our daily lives.2

Upon completing the construction of the Tabernacle, the verse notes, “Moses saw the entire work, and lo! they had done it; as the L‑rd had commanded, so had they done. So Moses blessed them.”3

More blessings.

In another teaching,4 the Ba’al Haturim highlights that the phrase “as G‑d commanded Moses” appears 18 times in this parshah. This led the Sages to institute the 18 blessings of the Amidah—the central prayer of the daily morning, afternoon, and evening services. The sages later expanded the Amidah prayer by adding a 19th blessing. The Ba’al Haturim notes that this final blessing corresponds to a similar phrase in our parshah: “as the L‑rd had commanded, so had they done.”5

The parallels continue as the Ba’al Haturim notes that by adding the number of Hebrew words each time the Torah repeats the above-mentioned phrases—“as G‑d commanded Moses” and “as everything G‑d commanded Moses, so had they done”—it totals 113 words. Similarly, adding the closing words of each of the blessings of the Amidah also totals 113. Remarkably, there are exactly 113 instances of the word lev, “heart,” in the Five Books of Moses, emphasizing the need for heartfelt concentration when reciting the blessings.6

More blessings.

Our Work, G‑d’s Blessings

Upon the completion of the Tabernacle’s construction, Moses blessed:

“May it be G‑d’s will that the Divine presence should dwell in the work of your hands. ‘And may the pleasantness of the L‑rd our G‑d be upon us, and the work of our hands establish for us, and the work of our hands establish it.’7 ”8

The Tabernacle’s purpose was for G‑d to dwell within it, and the blessings express the hope for this to be realized.

The words “And may the pleasantness of the L‑rd …” are from one of the psalms authored by Moses, and serve as the basis for the Havdalah prayer we recite each Saturday night. As we conclude Shabbat and commence our work week, we acknowledge that despite our efforts, our true success is dependent upon G‑d’s blessings. We can work day and night, we can exert tremendous effort, but if our work lacks G‑d’s blessing, we will not succeed.

And so, we pray, “G‑d, we’ve just left Shabbat. We’re ushering in a new week. Before we get to our first item of business, please, may the pleasantness and sweetness of Your blessings descend upon us. May the work of our hands be well established. We should succeed. It should click. We should be blessed.”

Blessings, blessings, blessings.

There are two components to a blessing, and more broadly, to life. The Torah says, “And the L‑rd, your G‑d, will bless you in all that you shall do.”9 What is the meaning of this verse? Is what you do the source of your living? Or is G‑d’s blessing the source of your living? If G‑d’s blessing is the source of your living, why do you need to go to work? If work is the source of your living, then why do you need G‑d’s blessing?

The answer lies in recognizing that we need both—blessings from G‑d channeled through the work we do.

Divine Dwelling, Manifested

When did Moses bestow this blessing upon the people? It was on the day the Tabernacle was first erected, as recorded in the Book of Leviticus.10

There were seven days of consecration—from the 23rd of Adar until the 1st of Nisan—during which Moses erected and dismantled the Tabernacle, and performed the service (i.e., brought all the offerings) each day.

On the eighth day, the people erected the Tabernacle, and Aaron, the High Priest, offered all of the sacrifices. After concluding the service, Aaron blessed the people with the famous Priestly Blessings. Later, Moses and Aaron jointly approached the people and blessed them, saying, “May it be G‑d’s will that the Shechinah (the Divine presence) rest in the work of your hands.”

Why did they choose this particular blessing?

Rashi explains: Throughout the days of consecration, when Moses erected the Tabernacle, performed the service in it, and then dismantled it daily, the Shechinah did not rest in it. The people felt humiliated and said to Moses, “All of our efforts were so that the Shechinah should dwell among us, so that we would know that we have been forgiven for the sin of the Golden Calf!” Therefore, Moses answered them, “…Do [what the L‑rd has commanded], and the glory of the L‑rd will appear to you… Through [Aaron’s] offerings and his service the Shechinah will dwell among you.”11

What was the litmus test for the Divine presence? If a G‑dly flame descended from heaven to consume the sacrifices. This did not happen during the first seven days, but on the eighth day, with the blessing of Moses and Aaron, it finally occurred. A flame descended onto the altar and consumed the offerings, and the people were elated! Mazal tov! They had achieved the very purpose of constructing the Tabernacle.

That is the power of blessings.

The Power to Bless

When Adam and Eve were created, G‑d blessed them, instructing them to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.”12 Following the Great Flood, G‑d bestowed a similar blessing upon Noah, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and develop the world.”13 And G‑d blessed Abraham, promising, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing.”14

According to our sages, with the words, “and you shall be a blessing,” G‑d gifted the power of blessing to Abraham. From that point on, every Abraham, every righteous person, has the power to give blessings.

In our generation, we witnessed the power of blessings with the Rebbe. The Rebbe would stand, for hours on end, distributing dollar bills for charity, blessing each recipient with the words “blessing and success.”

Blessings, blessings, blessings.

This is why, traditionally, people would go to a tzaddik for a blessing. Students would request a blessing from their teachers, community members from their rabbis, and chassidim from their rebbes.

And the blessings of a tzaddik are so powerful, they remain potent even after his passing.

Case in point: In the narrative of the Spies who were sent by Moses to check out what was to be the Land of Israel, we find that Caleb, one of only two spies who spoke positively about the Land, took a detour. Where did he go? He went to Hebron, to the cave of Machpelah, the burial place of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah. Caleb stopped there, fell to the ground, and beseeched: “G‑d, please save me from this terrible test of the Spies.”15

Praying at the Ohel, praying at the grave of a tzaddik, and asking for a blessing are central parts of Jewish life.

Blessings, blessings, blessings.

We all work hard. We innovate, we plan, we have great ideas. Yet, we must always maintain focus—we must always be cognizant that the blessings come from G‑d.

May each and every one of us see tremendous blessings in every arena of our lives.

May the pleasantness of G‑d be upon us, and may all our hard work be well established.

May the Divine presence dwell in the work of our hands.

May we merit to draw down the Divine presence, with the coming of our righteous Moshiach, speedily in our days.

Amen.