In this weeks parsha, Parshat Termuah, the building of the Mishkan is described.
In Perek 25: 11: the Torah says, "וְצִפִּיתָ אֹתוֹ זָהָב טָהוֹר מִבַּיִת וּמִחוּץ תְּצַפֶּנּוּ"
This translates to "And you shall cover it with pure gold on the inside and on the outside you shall cover it".
Talmud Bavli 72B says that Betzalel, the architect of the Mishkan, was to make 3 arks, one of gold for the inside, one of gold for the outside and one made of wood in the middle. The question is raised of the wooden, inner ark, why not just make it gold? The Mishkan is a very holy place, surely expense was no issue, so why "downsize" the center ark and make it out of wood?
The Daat Zekenim answers that had the ark been made of 100% gold it would have been too heavy to carry.
From here we can learn an important lesson about God's consideration of Bnei Yisrael in the Midbar. The ark carried the broken remains of the shattered tablets, the ultimate sign of Bnei Yisrael's rebellion against God. By making transporting these symbolic remains easier for Bnei Yisrael, Hashem was essentially making a concession despite their egregious sin, demonstrating His mercy and glory in a tangible way.
Q1) Why else was the center ark wooden?
Q2) Where else do we see this idea of Hashem making concessions for Bnei Yisrael?
Q3) Is there any other significance to the particular materials used in the Mishkan?
ReplyDeleteIs there any other significance to the particular materials used in the Mishkan?
Just like Hashem used wood for a symbolic purpose, so too all the materials in the Mishkan were used for a symbolic purpose. According to Rabbi Shmuel (Midrash HadGadol), everything used in the Mishkan symbolized heaven: the gold represented the sun, silver for the moon, copper for the western horizon at sunset, blue for the sky, purple for the clouds, red for the rainbow, flax for the seraphim, goat for the constellation of capricorn, ram skins were dyed red for thunder, tachash skins for lightening, shittim wood for shooting starts, oil for lighting for the seven planets, spices for incense and anointing oil for the dew and rain, and shoham stones and gemstones for scenery for hail and snow. This was all because Hashem said that his home is in the heavens, but if the Jewish people make him a home on earth (the Mishkan), he will reside there.
"You shall make the Altar of acacia wood, five cubits in length and five cubits in width-the Altar shall be square- and three cubits in height. You shall make horns on its four corners, from it shall its horns be; and you shall cover it with copper" (Shemos 27:1-2).
ReplyDeleteThe Midrash HaGadol asks why the alter is compared to copper. He says that the sages learned that there were two Altars. One was gold and one was copper. The one of gold is comparable to the soul of man. The one of copper represents the body of man.
The golden Altar rested in the inner sanctum while the copper Altar was in the outer courtyard.
The gold covered Alter was not seen by the nation but the copper one was available to be seen.
Just as gold is more valuable than copper, so is the soul more valuable than the body. Just as each day they drew close through animal sacrifices before Hashem on the Altar of copper, so a person needs to acknowledge- confess, and review his deeds each and every day constantly before Hashem and serve Him with body and soul.
Additionally, the difference between a great person and everyone else is that a great person is greater in his private life (represented by the Gold), than in his public life (represented by the copper)
You shall make the Altar of acacia wood, five cubits in length and five cubits in width-the Altar shall be square- and three cubits in height. You shall make horns on its four corners, from it shall its horns be; and you shall cover it with copper. (Shemos 27:1-2).
ReplyDeleteThe Midrash HaGadol asks why it uses copper and gold specifically. He says that the sages learned that there were two Altars. One was gold and one was copper. The one of gold is comparable to the soul of man. The one of copper represents the body of man. Just as gold is more valuable than copper, so is the soul more valuable than the body.
The golden Altar rested in the inner sanctum while the copper Altar was in the outer courtyard. The gold covered Alter was not seen by the nation but the copper one was available to be seen. Rabbi Label Lam says that this is symbolic of the difference between a great person and everyone else. A great person is greater in his private life than in his public life, and everyone else is just the opposite. It is harder than it looks to create a real place of holiness.
- Rabbi Yosef Kalatsky teaches that there are thirteen materials used to build the mishcan. When Hashem took the Jews out of Egypt He had performed thirteen miracles, and so to thank Hashem for His thirteen miracles the Jews use thirteen materials. But Why the number thirteen? (for both miracles and materials) The Maharal says that thirteen in gematriya is “echad” (translates to one). The Jewish nation is made up of thirteen tribes (Rauvan, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Yisachar, Zevulan, Gad, Naftali, Dan, Asher, Binyamin, Ephraim, Minasha), these thirteen tribes represent the ONE God (Hashem). The Maharal also says that with the thirteen miracles of Hashem showed the Jews he was the ONE true God. Moshe and the Jews are commanded it build the mishcan, a place where Hashem will live among and served in to be built by thirteen materials to show there is ONE true Hashem to serve, and the ONE true Hashem should be served by ONE united nation. So the thirteen is significant because it shows both there is ONE Hashem, and that that ONE Hashem should be served by ONE united nation.
ReplyDeleteWhy was the ark made out of cedar wood particularly? Isn't it bad for the mishkan to be associated with arrogance as the cedar tree is?
ReplyDeleteThe bal shem tov says that there are two situations where arrogance is necessary. The first when a persons yetzer hara is trying to convince him of doing a sin by asserting his worthlessness. In this case, ones arrogance has to put the yetzer hara back in its place. The other situation where arrogance is necessary is when others seek to discourage a person from religious commitment. In this case the person needs to fill with a sense of pride in the path he has chosen and resist discouragement.
The Medrash Rabbah says that the world was not worthy enough for gold and was created to be used in the mishkan. Therefore, the mishkan should not be looked upon in a descending way and think that only some of the mishkan was made of gold; but rather it should be looked up upon and think that gold was created just for the use of the mishkan and therefore each piece made of gold is so amazing.
ReplyDeleteRabbi S. Weiss speaks of the materials used to build the mishkan and the many symbolisms brought by them. Rabbi Weiss brings a very interesting source from the Talmud (yoma 72) which specifically speaks about the meaning of the materials used to construct the aron hakodesh. It learns from the Aron’s inner and outer layers of gold that a pious Jew should be also be “tocho k’boro”, pure both inside & out. It suggests that a jew's external persona, the one that the public sees, should be equally matched by his inner, private self; both should be “golden.” Often times we are too focused on someone’s superficiality, on his externals. We may not realize that there could be a very different person underneath the surface.This is why we must ensure our inner and outer match, and to always present the very best versions of ourselves, as not to create a "chilul hashem"
ReplyDeleteAs we can see, Hashem enumerated thirteen different items that were to be used for the building of the Mishkan. The Midrash explains that the significance of using thirteen materials to build the Mishkan is to reflect the thirteen miraculous acts that Hashem had performed for the Jews in order to bring about the exodus from Egypt. In return for Hashem's thirteen actions, the Jews were to use thirteen materials to bring about the full function of the Mishkan.
ReplyDeleteRav Simcha Schepps, z"l, says that there is a major difference between gold and wood. Gold is an extremely soft metal. It is very malleable.
ReplyDeleteThe Aron represents Torah. Wood is solid and does not easily bend. The reason they strengthened the Aron with a wooden inside is to emphasize that we should not try to mold the Torah to meet our own needs. Pure gold could be formed and twisted any which way. We are not allowed to do that with Torah.
Unfortunately, we have been witness to different movements that try to shape the Torah. If they cannot fit their lives to the Torah, they try to shape the Torah to match their lives. This is what the Torah wants us to avoid and this is the message taught by the firm solid wood inside of the Aron between the two layers of gold.
Rashi says the Ark is made like this because it is like a crown surrounding it above its rim. Bezalel made the outer ark higher than the inner one, until it extended upwards opposite the thickness of the ark cover and slightly higher than it, so that when the ark cover lies on the thickness of the walls, the crown extends slightly over the thickness of the ark cover (Yoma 72b). And the crown is the symbol of the crown of the Torah (Tan. Vayakhel 8, Exod. Rabbah 34:2).
ReplyDelete