Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Terumah: Introduction to the Miskhan Volume 19, No. 19 3 Adar I 5765 February 12, 2005 Sponsored by Bobbi and Jules Meisler in memory of mother Anne Meisler a"h The Katz family on the yahrzeit of Yitzchak Isaac ben Yehuda Indig a"h Today's Learning: Shevi'it 1:1-2 O.C. 320:3-5 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Nidah 56 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Bava Metzia 19 Beginning this week, five consecutive parashot are devoted completely or partially to the design and construction of the Mishkan / Tabernacle and its kelim / vessels and implements. R' Moshe ben Nachman z"l (Ramban; 1194-1270) writes that after Hashem had taught some of the mitzvot at Har Sinai-just as a convert learns some of the laws to start out-and after the Jewish People agreed to do whatever Moshe would teach them in the future, they became Hashem's nation. Hashem had told them to be holy, and they had agreed to do so; now it was time for Him to rest His Presence among them. Therefore He commanded that they build a Mishkan, which would be a house dedicated to Him and the place where He would speak to Moshe. Ramban continues: The most important part of the Mishkan was the Aron / Ark, the place where the Shechinah actually "rested" and from which Hashem's voice appeared to emanate to Moshe. Therefore the command to make the Aron comes first in the parashah. Next came the commands to make the Shulchan / Table and Menorah since they are also kelim (rather than part of the Mishkan's structure). The "secret" of the Mishkan, writes Ramban, is that the glory of Hashem that rested on Har Sinai [in the open] would now rest among Bnei Yisrael in a concealed way. Ramban adds: "One who will look carefully at the verses regarding the Giving of the Torah and our commentary to those verses will understand the secret of the Miskhan and the Bet Hamikdash. (Commentary to the Torah: Shemot 25:1) ******** "They shall make a sanctuary for Me - so that I will dwell among them." (25:8) R' Samson Raphael Hirsch z"l (1808-1888) wrote a lengthy essay discussing the symbolism of the Mishkan / Tabernacle, its kelim / vessels and implements, and the materials from which they were made. This week and in future weeks we will summarize some of R' Hirsch's thoughts in that work. Readers who are familiar with the history of Judaism in Germany in the 19th century and with R' Hirsch's role in the struggle against "reform" may appreciate some of R' Hirsch's points in that broader context. * When seeking the symbolism of anything in the Torah, one must bear in mind that nowhere in the Torah do we find statements intended to teach us about matters that are beyond our own senses. "Symbols cannot represent truths that were entirely unknown to us before." Any lessons we are meant to learn from the Mishkan and kelim are bound to be straightforward practical lessons, not metaphysical truths. R' Hirsch cites a proof to his claim. We will read in two weeks that Moshe asked to see G-d, and his request was denied, as "No man can see G-d and live." Then Moshe asked to know G-d's ways, and he was answered with the 13 Attributes of Mercy: "Hashem, Hashem, E-l, Rachum, Ve'chanun, etc." Moshe was not answered with abstract metaphysical information, but rather with a very practical description that we are called upon to emulate. This teaches that nothing in the Torah is of purely "theoretical interest," writes R' Hirsch. * The structure of the Mikdash must somehow represent the conditions that we must fulfill in order to accomplish the Sanctuary's real purpose. That purpose is twofold: first, to be the place where our assigned task-"Kedoshim te'hiyu" / "Be holy!-finds its purest expression, and second, to be the place where G-d fulfills His promise: "I will dwell among them." [See Ramban quoted on p.1] How are we to keep G-d dwelling in our midst? R' Hirsch notes that the Torah does not say, "If you will follow these precise architectural plans and thereafter bring sacrifices in the Mishkan, then I will dwell among you." In fact, three times already, Hashem has rejected the "houses" that we have built for Him, and each time He told us the reason (through our Prophets and Sages). Never was it because He did not like the Sanctuary or its furnishings. Rather, we read in Parashat Bechukotai that G-d's continued presence among us depends on our fulfillment of the mitzvot. R' Hirsch writes: "G-d's dwelling in our midst extends beyond the narrow confines of the Temple. His dwelling in our midst means that His beneficent and protecting Presence will be felt in every aspect of our lives. Moreover, G-d's presence in our midst is not dependent on the existence of the Temple, but, in the final analysis, solely on whether we will sanctify and dedicate all of our lives to the fulfillment of His holy Will, to the fulfillment of His Law." (Collected Writings III p.161) ******** "Like everything that I show you, the form of the Mishkan / Tabernacle and the form of all its vessels; and so shall you do." (25:9) Rashi comments: "And so shall you do"-for future generations. R' Eliezer Zusia Portugal z"l (the Skulener Rebbe) asks: How can building a Temple be a mitzvah for future generations when, at least according to some opinions, the Third Temple will descend from Heaven as a building of fire? He answers: The Temple that will descend is being constructed all the time from our mitzvot. Every good deed adds a course of "bricks" to that Temple. This verse is commanding us to do those good deeds. (Noam Eliezer) ******** "They shall make an Aron / Ark of acacia wood . . ." (25:10) "You shall make a Shulchan / Table of acacia wood . . ." (25:23) "You shall make a Menorah of pure gold . . ." (25:31) "You shall make the Mishkan of ten curtains . . ." (26:1) As the order of these verses indicates, Moshe was commanded to make the major kelim before he was commanded to make the components of the Mishkan itself. However, the Gemara relates that when Moshe told Betzalel- the chief craftsman of the Mishkan and its kelim-to make the kelim first and then the Mishkan, Betzalel challenged him, "Does one make furniture before building a house?" Moshe responded that Betzalel had divined G-d's intention. "Were you standing b'tzel e-l / in the shadow of G-d?" Moshe asked, making a play on the craftsman's name. What did Moshe's response mean? After all, G-d did give the command to make kelim before He gave the command to make the parts of the Mishkan! R' Aharon Kotler z"l (Lakewood rosh yeshiva; died 1962) explains: The first of the kelim listed in the Torah is the Aron, which housed the Luchot and also the Torah scroll that Moshe wrote. Our Sages teach that Hashem created the Torah before He created the world. Likewise, the Aron is listed before any other item from the Mishkan. But Hashem did not create the *physical* Torah before He created the world. To the contrary, the Torah was not given until the world was more than two thousand years old. Only conceptually did the Torah precede the world, but not in actuality. To paraphrase the expression with which our Sages describe the Sabbath day (another "later" creation), "Sof ma'aseh b'machshavah techilah" / "The end in deed was the first in thought." Betzalel understood that, although the concept of an Aron preceded the rest of the Mishkan and its contents, the physical Aron was *not* to come first. It was mentioned first only to emphasize the preeminence of Torah. Because Betzalel divined this, Moshe said to him, "Were you standing in G-d's shadow that you came to understand these secrets?" (Mishnat Rabbi Aharon III p.124) ******** Introductions This week we revive a feature in which we excerpt from the author's introduction to a Torah work. Our first selection is from Sefer Ezrat Kohanim, an 850-page commentary on the very short Talmudic tractate Midot. The subject of Midot is the architecture of the Bet Hamikdash, and this commentary delves at length into the tractate's halachic and aggadic aspects. The author of Ezrat Kohanim was R' Yehoshua Yosef Hakohen z"l, 19th century rabbi of Mordy, Poland and a leading chassid of several generations of Izbica (Izhbitzer) Rebbes. Among those whose letters of approval grace the work is the famed chassidic leader, R' Tzaddok Hakohen. Our Sages have said, "Everything needs mazal, even a Sefer Torah in the ark." [This refers to the fact that most synagogues have several Torahs and some are rarely used]. Perhaps this explains why most of our holy brethren, including the greatest sages, are lax when it comes to studying the design of the Temple, as related in the book of Yechezkel and the tractate Midot, and applying their intelligence to understanding what is written there to the best of their abilities. Another reason [why this subject is inadequately studied] may relate to what Ramban z"l writes in Sha'ar Ha'gmul: "The more sanctified that something is, the greater its downfall [if it is destroyed]." Perhaps the thorough destruction of the Temple has also caused its study to be neglected. Nevertheless, we are not exempt from studying and delving into the structure of the Temple in all its aspects. Certainly, every understanding person realizes that this tractate [i.e., Midot] stands before the Heavenly Throne and pleads regarding its lot compared to other tractates. Our Sages have already taught (Rosh Hashanah 30a): Since the prophet tells us that Zion has no one who seeks it, the implication is that we should be seeking it. . .