A student of mine told me that when she first learned that her bat mitzvah parashah would be P’kudei, her Hebrew tutor rolled her eyes and groaned. “Of all the Torah portions, this is probably the most boring one of all,” the tutor sighed. Needless to say, this was not what the soon-to-be bat mitzvah wanted to hear, and she quickly went searching for a second opinion! But truth be told, much of Parashat P’kudei seems rather mundane. It reads a bit like an instruction manual, offering an accounting of all of the materials used to build the Tabernacle and continuing with instructions for assembly. After all of the excitement of Exodus-slavery, the parting of the Sea of Reeds, redemption, Sinai — this is how the book ends?

But P’kudei offers us a fabulous climax, closing with one of the most alluring and mystical encounters with God in the entire Torah. It is only after the materials and building activities have been recorded, after the work of building the Tabernacle has been completed, that the God-cloud covers the Tent of Meeting. God’s presence fills the Tabernacle, conferring a sense of holiness to the structure and all who have helped build it. Without all of the difficult labor of the Israelites, God’s presence might not have so readily dwelled among the people. And, the final line of the Book of Exodus tells us, because of all of their hard work, God was with the entire house of Israel in all of their journeys.

Just like our ancestors, many of us get caught up in the grunt work of daily Jewish life. We schlep the kids to Hebrew School, run last-minute errands to prepare for Shabbat, make sure everyone is dressed appropriately for synagogue, prepare elaborate festival meals.

It can be exhausting and even tedious to cover all of the details, and at times, it seems like it would be easier to avoid all of the work and just relax. But we know that once the work is out of the way, in the end, we too will be rewarded with the sense that God is with us in our journeys just as God was there for our ancestors long ago. May we each, in every aspect of our lives, find that our work is fulfilling and meaningful, and may we feel God’s presence every step of the way.

Rabbi Amy Feder of Temple Israel is a member of the St. Louis Rabbinical Association.