The name of this week’s Parsha, Vayakhel, means to gather together disparate elements of a potential whole. It’s like an artisan, artist, or researcher tackling their tasks, but first needing to collect the project elements/items/information needed for the project’s successful completion. Should a basic element of the project not be secured, this will jeopardize the success of the whole undertaking. Imagine trying to send a probe to a distant planet, e.g. Mars, but the compass settings (DSN – Deep Space Navigation systems) not operating accurately. An error of 1 degree would mean that the probe would miss the planet by millions of miles! The most significant life project you will ever undertake is yourself – mastering the various elements of mind, body, emotion, and soul. Yet our education system, and most people individually, tend to spend a lifetime improving their mind, neglecting other primary elements of ‘the project’. One often finds very clever, academically lettered individuals, behaving in a boorish, cruel or unsympathetic manner. At a table sat a dozen Nazi leaders plotting the ‘Final Solution’ – many of these holding PH.D degrees. Mind is no guarantee of ethics, morality or emotional/spiritual intelligence. The Parsha informs as that we need to take the disparate elements of our whole, and integrate these into a single masterful unit to ensure that our moral compass and spiritual adeptness are fully developed, making the project of life a real success. Is your life a well-rounded project?