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How to Bless a Building
Upon completion of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, Moshe inspects the sacred structure. The building is "fit for a God". Moshe, the Torah teaches, is pleased:
"And Moshe saw all the work, and behold they had done it just as God had commanded so had they done it and Moshe blessed them." (Exodus 39:43)
Your Torah Navigator
What was the content of Moshe's blessing?
Rashi Answers:
"He said to them, May it be God's will that the Shechina will dwell upon the work of your hands. 'May the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; let the work of our hands prepare us...'" (Psalms 90:17). This is one of the eleven Psalms that are considered to be a prayer of Moshe."
Your Rashi Navigator
If you look at Psalm 90 you will see that it begins with "A prayer of Moshe". It is a rabbinic tradition that Moshe was the author of Psalms 90 through 100, since his name is invoked at the beginning of Psalm 90. The Talmud in Baba Batra attributes authorship of some of the Psalms to Moshe, Rashi reiterates that these eleven Psalms are the ones that Moshe had written. Rashi quotes the last line of Psalm 90 as the blessing that was said once the Mishkan was completed.
Did his blessing look back on what had been achieved or look a head to what had yet to be accomplished?
A Word
Rashi understands that any building, even the Mishkan, is a means for a desired purpose. With all the hard work and with all the attention to meticulous detail, God must desire to dwell in the building. The building serves a higher purpose. The details -- exhausting and as excruciating as they are -- must serve a higher purpose. The building must truly represent a sacred people -- it can never replace that component. It contains a Divine presence and it contains our desire that all our deeds are devoted to serving that presence.
The last verse of Psalm 90 expresses our hope that the building's perfection reflects our purity of purpose. This should be the blessing we say for every program we present. We aspire to a sacred purpose that serves beyond the structure, beyond the demographics and beyond the incessant details. We ask that the Holy One recognize that we desire to sanctify our work for the greater good of Israel, and that we pray that the Shechina chooses to dwell among us, and bless each endeavor. Because, in our own way, we have tried to make each event a blessed one.