This pasuk seems enigmatic. Bnei Yisrael had already performed everything that was demanded of them. What else were they expected to do? Chazal comment that Moshe said to Bnei Yisrael, “Remove the yetzer hora from your hearts so that you will be imbued with one common awe with which to serve Hashem. As He is one, so, too, should your service to Him be one.” This Midrash begs clarification.
The Netziv z.l. offers a classical explanation which carries with it a timeless message. He explains that during Moshe’s tenure as leader, some individuals already charted their own path for experiencing religious ecstasy and Divine inspiration. This approach to serving Hashem, not based upon the Torah, emanated from an impure origin, the yetzer hora. Moshe enjoined the people to distance themselves from this yetzer hora. To entertain approaches to serving Hashem which are not Torah directed is not holiness, but blasphemy.
Inherent in Hashem’s oneness is the demand that everyone worship the prescribed manner which is clearly defined by the Torah. When one relies upon his emotions alone to determine the correct mode of worship, he will forge new paths for serving Hashem. These diverse paths are antithetical to Hashem’s unity. One may infuse his service with personal emotions and sensitivities, as long as the service remains within the framework of Torah dictate. A service which originates in personal motives, instinctive knowledge, or any non Torah directed interjacence is nothing more than a shadow of the Golden Calf.
The erection of the Mishkan, in which every aspect reflected the completion of Hashem’s mandate to the most minute detail, served as an atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf. Every aspect of the building of the Mishkan was ‘s vum ratf, “as Hashem commanded.” Indeed, this is the secret of Torah Judaism. From the most sublime to the mundane, every activity is executed under the guidance of Torah law. The individual at no time has the discretion to introduce his own subjective mode of religious ceremony which deviates from authentic Torah observance. To the uninitiated this may seem arcane. To the Torah observant, however, this is Judaism!
