Parshat Terumah
February 27th-28th, 2004
6 Adar, 5764

This is a most interesting parsha...especially if you are getting your Master's Degree in Architecture! (Or interior design.)

For here is where we learn about the commandment (given by Hashem to Moshe, to pass on to the Jewish people) to build the Tabernacle, or Mishkan--the portable physical structure which served as the focal point of our service unto G-d in our travels through the midbar (desert) and in our early years in the Holy Land, until the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Mishkan was the place where G-d communicated with Moshe in the midbar (His "voice" emanating from the cover of the Ark, in that section known as the Holy of Holies), and the place where the Tablets of the Law were housed (in the aforementioned Ark). It was also the site of the Altar, on which the various categories of korbanos, offerings, (enumerated chiefly in the Book of Leviticus, or Vayikra) were brought.

You will find the description of this Mishkan to be amazingly detailed and precise, with all the relevant measurements and specifications recorded, both of the outer structure as well as of the holy vessels within (like the golden Menorah and the Shulchan, or Table, that held the "showbreads"). "They shall make an Ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits its length; a cubit and a half its width; and a cubit and a half its height...You shall make a Menorah of pure gold, hammered out...Six branches shall emerge from its sides...three cups engraved like almonds on each branch...You shall make planks for the Tabernacle, twenty planks for the south side..." And so on.

It is likely that some people reading the verses of this portion will get a bit restless, a little bored perhaps, and wonder about the significance of all this detail. That the Mishkan was something of an architectural marvel, and that its vessels (as well as the garments of the Kohanim who served therein--discussed in next week's portion) were possessed of striking beauty is undeniable...and should be inspiring for those who mistakenly think the Jewish concept of service unto G-d (avodas Hashem) precludes a sense of aesthetics. [To learn and see more, check out the lovely book of photographs of a model of the Mishkan, The Tabernacle: Its Structure and Utensils, by Moshe Levine; Soncino Press...or go to the following website: www.yucs.org/~rweiser/mik.html.] But still, when all is said and done, to just read about all these exact measurements is a little dry, no??? (Except for Architecture students, as mentioned before--like Abi, our good friend from SCAD!)

I believe this portion--and that very complaint some might voice as they read it (or start reading it, before skipping over it)--illustrates a crucial point about the study of the written Torah (the Five Books). To fully understand and appreciate the meaning and depth of the written Torah, we need to study it along with the Oral tradition that supplements and elucidates it (i.e., The Midrash and Talmud), and along with the classical commentaries that draw from--and are informed by-- that great body of Oral tradition. [Rashi and Ramban--Nachmanidies--are perhaps the two greatest commentators in our tradition, but there are many.] With the help of these other sources, we can uncover some of the inner meanings of the details of the Mishkan.

Let me give you some idea of what I'm talking about, specifically.

There are different approaches to analyzing, and understanding, the mitzvos (commandments) of the Torah--and building the Mishkan (and later the Temple) most definitely falls under the category of a mitzvah! (It is traditionally enumerated as one of the 613 biblical mitzvos--#95, according to the Sefer HaChinuch.) The different commentaries deal with the Mishkan according to their various perspectives and approaches--which are (generally) by no means incompatible.

Although traditionally we understand that the ultimate "reason" for doing the mitzvos is that the Holy One, Blessed is He, gave them to us to carry out (for our own spiritual benefit in this world and the next), we are nonetheless encouraged to do our best to understand the practical details of each mitzvah (in order to perform it properly) and, to the greatest extent possible, to understand the depths of meaning contained within each mitzvah and those details. That does not mean that our performance is predicated on our prior understanding. The Jewish people (in last week's portion) accepted the call to become G-d's chosen people (and the bearers of His Law) by responding, "we will do and we will listen, or understand, and the traditional commentary on that slightly enigmatic formulation is that we accepted first, and above all, TO DO, to carry out the program of commandments in the Torah, regardless of whether or not we UNDERSTAND all of them, or every last detail of all of them. But (as I said before) we should strive our very best to study and understand, for the more we understand, the deeper and more devoted will be our performance--and the more our minds (and hearts and souls) become sanctified by the study of Torah itself.

Rabbi Dr. I. Grunfeld, the late masterful expositor of Torah concepts and Jewish law in English (see his book, The Sabbath, for a wonderful introduction to the holy day), discusses a few of the main conceptual approaches to studying and elucidating the mitzvos in the early chapters of his work, The Jewish Dietary Laws (Soncino).

One is the ethical approach, which he defines--with specific reference to the dietary laws, but his analysis holds true for many (if not all) of the commandments--as that which focuses on how the mitzvos help us attain "holiness or self-sanctification," the most complete moral self-mastery possible. Seen in this light, the mitzvos are a grand "system of moral discipline," that seek to elevate and sanctify all our drives and instincts. The Talmud and Midrash are full of statements treating the various mitzvos in this way, and indeed, the Written Torah itself states that the ultimate goal of the commandments is the attainment of holiness (kedusha): "and you will do all My commandments, and be holy unto your G-d" (Numbers: 15, 40)

A second approach to the mitzvos is one favored by Madonna, and more seriously, a whole lot of others in our day and age: the mystical approach. (I happen to think that the modern interest to study Jewish mysticism, apart from some of its weird and even absurd manifestations, is at its core a healthy desire to penetrate to the core truths of existence: G-d, the soul, the spiritual dimensions beyond this physical world, etc.) As Grunfeld writes:

"...for the mystical interpretation, the divine laws are more than a course of training in moral discipline; their main importance lies rather in their effect on macrocosm and microcosm alike, that is, on the universe as a whole and on man viewed as the epitome of the universe."

It is chiefly in the Zohar, and other works of Kabbalah (but also in certain classical commentaries with a mystical bent, such as Ohr HaChayim), that this approach is adopted. Admittedly, I myself am not proficient in this holy, sacred and complex domain of Jewish knowledge (though I probably know at least as much as Madonna...or at least Sandra Bernhardt), but it is here that we find discussions of the metaphysical effects of individual mitzvos (on the individual soul, and on the cosmos), and details of "rectifications" (tikkunim) associated with our service unto G-d in study and practice.

Finally, Grunfeld writes, there is the symbolical approach to mitzvos. Symbolism, he explains, "is the use of a sign or an action to convey and implant an idea, which is not manifest directly but is perceived by association." Certainly, we can all appreciate that some commandments of the Torah lend themselves most readily to a symbolical approach: think of matzah ("the bread of affliction") and everything else at the Seder, for instance. Even the Sabbath, that pillar of our faith (described as a "sign," or symbol, of our eternal Covenant with G-d), can be understood this way: by ceasing to perform creative activities (melacha) on the Sabbath--activities which, by the way, are Talmudically derived from the different activities that were used to construct the Mishkan!--we symbolically declare that we are not the ultimate Creators (or movers and shakers) in this world.

Remember, as I mentioned before: these approaches are not mutually exclusive. They all hold true, and are but different angles to approach the Torah, revealing different facets (and dimensions) of the mitzvos. To keep the Sabbath according to halakhic specifications is to engage in a beneficial (and pleasurable!) ethical, mystical and symbolical experience: in so doing we grow in self-discipline, we sanctify and "illuminate" our souls, we make mystical "rectifications," and we symbolically declare our status as "created beings," rather than Master Creators. (Remember that for six days of the week, we DO engage in the panoply of human creative, productive and earth-shaping activities!) We also--simply, but crucially--fulfill the commandment of our Creator!

Back to the Mishkan, and all the precise details spelled out in the Torah's verses. Well, all three approaches discussed above apply to the Tabernacle as well, and are adopted by the classical sources of our oral tradition (Talmud and Midrash, Zohar, etc.), and reflected in the commentaries. And all three (or any one of them) can help to uncover the depth and beauty of this portion.

It is well accepted that the Tabernacle--and the precise details of its design--had immense mystical significance:

"According to the Kabbalists, the Tabernacle represents a microcosm of the universe, reflecting the deepest truths about life and the universe. On an infinitesimally small scale, the Tabernacle reflects the universal source from which life and blessings emanate to all the spheres of creation." (Rabbi Elie Munk, The Call of the Torah.)

In his inspiring writings (including his monumental Torah commentary), Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch focused heavily on the symbolical approach. "All the parts of the Tabernacle and the numerous details of the sacrifices represent specific ideas and principles which are to be reflected in the souls of the Israelites" (Munk, explaining Hirsch's approach). Every vessel, and each material used to construct the vessels, has symbolical meaning. According to our Sages, Rabbi Munk explains, the Menorah is "the symbol of the light of the spirit in contrast to brute physical and material strength," and its light "represents the victory of the spirit over material forces...[that spirit that] draws its inspiration from G-d." The Shulchan (Table) represents material wealth and physical blessing or well-being. Look in Hirsch, or other classical commentators, for more details on the symbolical meanings of the Mishkan, and how every facet of the structure teaches us important concepts about the Jewish view of this world, and our purpose in it.

I myself would like to finish with the ethical approach, because (not surprisingly, perhaps) this is the one the Torah itself specifically makes explicit reference to with regard to the Mishkan.

The Mishkan--and later the Temple (Beis Hamikdash) itself--was meant to be a "dwelling place for the Shechina [Presence of G-d]." Of course, we know (I hope) that G-d's glory fills the whole world, and there is no place where His presence cannot be "accessed," as it were. But at the same time, the Torah teaches us that the Mishkan and Temple were physical places where the feeling of G-d's closeness, the perception of His presence (and His reality!), were most intense. In fact, a "cloud" (anan) covered the Tent of Meeting (the central structure of the Tabernacle, housing the Ark)--a physical manifestation of the "resting of the Shechina" in the Jewish camp. However, there was something MORE--and more sweeping--to G-d's commandment to build the Tabernacle than just the intention to "symbolically" give His Presence a "home" on earth.

Let's listen closely to the Torah's words: "They [the Jewish people] shall make a Sanctuary for Me--so that I may dwell in them..." (25, 8) Where does G-d want to "dwell?" Not in "it," the Tabernacle, primarily...but in "them," in the hearts and souls of the Jewish people (and all mankind)! By commanding us to create a physical place (and structure) where His presence could be perceived more clearly, His intention was that our inner life and consciousness should become permanently elevated, that we should carry around that knowledge (and feeling) of the closeness of G-d throughout our daily lives...even when we are far from that Sanctuary. We would ideally be inspired by the Tabernacle/Temple, and all it symbolized, to become holier people, to be "servants of G-d" in every moment, and every situation (and locale), of our lives. "G-d asked each person to build a Sanctuary in his heart, to prepare himself to be a Tabernacle for G-d and to be a dwelling place for His splendor...to build an altar, there to uplift his soul and be ready to sacrifice his desires at every instant for G-d" (Munk, quoting Shelah, Malbim and others).

We don't have that physical structure called the Mishkan (or the Temple) anymore, and that is a great pity. To be sure, we are at a spiritual disadvantage when we lack that physical site of intense holiness. (That goes for both the Jewish people, and for all mankind.) But we still have the responsibility to build that holy Mishkan in our hearts and minds, in our homes and in our lives. We can make our homes (and our hearts and minds) fitting for the Shechina to dwell therein; the mitzvos of the Torah--studying them, meditating deeply on them and performing them--will bring us to that goal. This Torah portion can be a symbolical, mystical and ethical blueprint--and source of inspiration-- for that construction project. And in the merit of our striving for holiness, may we soon see the return of the physical Temple, in our lifetime.

GOOD SHABBOS/SHABBAT SHALOM.

My e-mail address is yosefe@comcast.net

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Rabbi Yosef Edelstein, Savannah Kollel. Phone: 912-351-0469; fax: 354-9923