Hamaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Terumah Volume VI/Number 19 (253) 4 Adar I 5752/February 8, 1992 Parasha Overview This week's Parasha describes the "Mishkan" which Moshe built in the desert, and the donations which Bnei Yisrael gave towards the construction, and it tells of the vessels (such as the "Aron" - ark) which Hashem told Moshe to build. The Haftara (Melachim I 5:26 - 6:13) parallels the Parasha with its description of the Bet Hamikdash built by King Shlomo. It is important to note that there is more to this parallelism than the fact that each structure was used, in its own time, as a place to bring sacrifices. According to at least one Halachic authority (R' Moshe Trani: Kiryat Sefer), the Mishkan was actually a scale model of the future Bet Hamikdash. (For example, the Gemara (Sukkah 5b) notes that in both structures the "Keruvim" were one-third the height of the space in which they stood.) Since many commentaries maintain that there is deep symbolism in the design of these structures, Kiryat Sefer's observation suggests that the two structures shared a common purpose and symbolism. The primary purpose of the both the Mishkan and the Bet Hamikdash was to provide a place where Hashem's presence could be felt among His people and from which the Torah could go out to the Jews ("Ki mitziyon tetze Torah"). Thus we find that Moshe taught the commandment to build the Aron (which housed the Torah) before the commandment to build the Mishkan itself. Also, we read that Hashem told Moshe to build the Mishkan "according to the model that you saw at Har Sinai" (25:40). R' Gedalya Schorr explains that the design of the Mishkan was intended to remind us in some way of the giving of the Torah. In a related vein, we read in the Haftara that Hashem told Shlomo, "This house which you are building, if you will follow My decrees and observe My laws and keep My commandments, [then] I will dwell among Bnei Yisrael." While it is a Mitzvah to donate money and jewels to build a Bet Hamikdash, that is not what makes it beautiful and holy. A Bet Hamikdash exists so that the Torah may be learned and kept, and that, in turn, makes it possible for the structure to stand (Kochav Miyaakov). We can infer from this that a Bet Hamikdash - and similarly, a "shul", which Chazal call a "Mikdash Me'at" ("a small Bet Hamikdash") - must be built in accordance with the Torah. R' Meir Schlesinger, Shlita, once recalled to this writer how he would go with his teacher, R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Shlita, to persuade shopkeepers in Yerushalayim to close for Shabbat. One of them refused saying, "With this money, I will build a shul." However, our Haftara teaches, this cannot be, for a house of Torah must be built according to the laws of the Torah. Why, in fact, is the building of the Bet Hamikdash not permitted on Shabbat, while bringing sacrifices in that Bet Hamikdash is permitted? R' Schlesinger explained that what the Torah seeks from us is consistent Mitzvah observance, not that we go through cycles of great spiritual accomplishment followed by spiritual lows. Building a Bet Hamikdash may be the highlight of a person's life, but it is a one-time event. What the Torah loves more are the every-day "sacrifices." ************************************ The Midrash comments on B'reishit 1:4: "'And evening came' - this refers to the Mishkan; 'and morning came' - this refers to the first [Shlomo's] Bet Hamikdash; 'one day' - this refers to the second Bet Hamikdash." What does this mean? R' Yehonatan Eyebschutz explains as follows: We read in Tehilim (90:4), "For eyes like yesterday and a part of the night." One thousand of our years is like a little more than a day in Hashem's eyes. To be more precise, a Midrash teaches that one of His days equals 960 of our years. Our Haftara says that the Bet Hamikdash was built 480 years after the Exodus, and therefore, almost the same number of years after the Mishkan was built. Four hundred eighty years is half of Hashem's day. Since the day begins at sunset, we can (and the above Midrash does) say that the Mishkan was built in the evening and the Bet Hamikdash was built in the morning. The second Bet Hamikdash was built 480 years after the first (i.e. 410 years of the first Temple and 70 years of exile). Thus, when the second Bet Hamikdash was built, 960 years after the Mishkan was constructed, the "day" was over. Regarding the third Bet Hamikdash, the Midrash cites the pasuk (see Zechariah 14:7): "On that day, there will be neither day nor night." This is because the third Temple will stand forever. (Ahavat Yehonatan) ************************************ From the box which held the "Luchot" and the Torah and was overlaid with gold both inside and out (Sh'mot 25:10-11), Chazal derived this lesson: "Any would-be 'Talmid Chacham' (Torah scholar) whose inside is not like his outside is not a Talmid Chacham." To be a true Torah scholar, it is not enough to perform the Mitzvot in the public view; a true Talmid Chacham is so immersed in Torah that it permeates his entire being and controls his every thought. The Tanna (sage of the Mishnah) Rabban Gamliel ("RG") made the above lesson the admissions qualifications for his Yeshiva, announcing that "Anyone whose inside is not like his outside" could not enter. Thus, most applicants were probably turned away. However, says the Gemara (Berachot 28a), "On that day [when RG was succeeded as Rosh Yeshiva by R' Elazar ben Azaryah ("R'EBA")], many benches were added to the study hall." If the Gemara means to tell us that R'EBA lowered the admissions standards, why choose the phrase, "[M]any benches were added"? Why not say. "Such-and-such many students came"? Also, is the Gemara's intention in telling this story to criticize RG for keeping out the students, or is there some other understanding of this quotation? One Rosh Yeshiva of this generation has suggested that the Gemara is in fact defending RG! When he was succeeded by another Rosh Yeshiva and the standards were lowered, more benches had to be added. The Gemara is telling us that the benches themselves became a topic of discussion. Whereas before, students chose a Yeshiva based on its program and quality of learning, now students were more interested in the quality of the benches (or in modern terms, the dormitory and the food). Rabban Gamliel was thus vindicated. ************************************ The Rescue of the Mir - Part III The Yeshiva's deportation to Shanghai was in many ways a blessing. Firstly, it saved them from being rounded up and placed internment camps, as other foreign nationals were after Pearl Harbor. Also, it saved them from having to contend with the Halachic problems related to the "International Date Line controversy." Briefly, while modern convention placed the International Date Line approximately halfway around the world from Greenwich, England, Halachic scholars have long been aware of the need for such a line, and, based on Chazal's teachings, placed it somewhere else. [The subject is discussed at length in R' Yehuda Halevi's Kuzari, written in the 11th century.] However, the exact location of Chazal's dateline is not known, and, as a result, many Jews in Japan felt obligated to observe two days of Shabbat and Yom Kippur. In Shanghai, however, this problem did not arise. The Yeshiva quickly settled into the "Bet Aharon Synagogue" in the center of Shaghai's business district. This magnificent Shul had been built ten years earlier, for reasons which are unclear, since there was no community for it to serve. So obviously was the hand of Hashem guiding events that this Shul was built (by a non- observant Jew, married to a gentile woman) with exactly the number of seats that the Yeshiva would later need (Y. Leitner, Operation: Torah Rescue, p. 92). The structure also included a kitchen, dining hall, and "Mikva". Where did a Yeshiva in Shanghai get the hundreds of Gemarot and other texts which it needed? The ever-resourceful students established a printing press (called "Torah Ohr Printing Committee") which produced the necessary volumes of Talmud, commentaries, and Mussar works. The students printed a Torah journal as well (also called Torah Ohr). Besides the Mir Yeshiva, hundreds of other Lithuanian and Polish Jews also found refuge in China. These included both renowned Gedolim and "ordinary" families. Thus, despite many hardships, the refugees were able to maintain a semblance of normalcy, studying Torah, and even conducting marriages and building families. ************************************ The learning schedule for this Shabbat is: Daily Mishnah Kelim 17:14-15 (Learn two Mishnayot every day) Daily Halacha Orach Chaim (Mishnah Berura) 340:8-10 (Learn three paragraphs each day) Daf Yomi Rosh Hashana 8 (Learn two sides of a page each day) Shmirat Halashon: "Arurin" 1-3 or Guard Your Tongue: L.H. 9:7-9 Rambam Chapter/Day: Hilchot Mechirah - Chapter 22 3 Chapters/Day: Hilchot Terumot - Chapters 13-15 Sefer Hamitzvot Sh:N137; Su:P127; M:P127; Tu:P127; W:P127; Th:P127,P128,N152; F:N150,N151 ************************************ The hard copy distribution of this week's Hamaayan is sponsored by: Dr. and Mrs. Irving Katz on the Yahrzeits of Avraham Abba ben Avigdor Moshe Hakohen (2 Adar I) Etia (Etush) bat Avigdor Moshe Hakohen (10 Adar)