A Thought On Parshas VaYak'hel
A Thought on Parshas VaYak'hel
"...es ha'mishkan...es ha'aron..."
"...the shrine... the ark..." (35:11-12)
The Torah instructed us to place the eidus - the testimony - inside the ark. It is known as the Ark of Testimony. The Torah also refers to the mishkan - the shrine which enclosed the ark and all of the articles used in the avoda service and rituals - as mishkan ha'eidus - the Shrine ("Tabernacle") of the Testimony. The Torah also refers to the shrine as simply mishkan without referencing the testimony. This seems to give two very different messages as to what the shrine enshrined, and what encased the "testimony" (testimony or testimonies is a reference to the tablets of the Torah which Moshe brought down from Sinai).
Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel helps clarify the verses. Mishkan indeed means a shrine or a sacred enclosure. All which was sacred and consecrated for our supreme avoda needed to be enclosed within a shrine, for the shrine represented the metaphorical dwelling place (from which the word mishkan is derived) for the Shechina (which is the term which refers to the Divine Presence) which is more fully sensed within that enclosure, given that it is a place dedicated for serving HaShem.
However, there was a second mishkan concept. The ark which housed the Torah was also called a dwelling place. Within the ark dwelled the Holy Torah, the testimony. The Torah which was encased within the ark gave the ark a status of mishkan, since the Torah rested within it.
This gives us two very different understandings of a "sacred dwelling." The MIshkan proper, that is, the structure which enclosed the consecrated articles, was not called a shrine because of those objects which it surrounded, for they were objects and objects alone. It was a Mishkan because the objects which it housed were for devotional worship and this worship was a catalyst for the Shechina to be associated with that place. The Mishkan was a mishkan for the Divine Presence. The devotional service within that enclosure brought forth that sense of a "dwelling place" for the Shechina.
The ark, on the other hand, also housed an object yet it was the object, namely the Torah within, which imparted a status of mishkan to its container. Without the Torah, the ark was a box. Once it held the Torah, the ark became a mishkan.
The MIshkan was a catalyst for the Divine Presence to "dwell" within it when we demonstrated that we wanted to "dwell nearer to the Shechina". The Torah was a catalyst for the ark to become a mishkan simply by placing the Torah within it. Perhaps we can use Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel's analysis in understanding ourselves: when we build a house, if we seek for it to become a "home for kedusha" we need to furnish it with all of the appropriate objects but we also need to practice our devotion in order that our home become a catalyst to attract that sense of the Sacred. When we learn Torah, when the holy words of Torah are contained within us, the Torah alone serves catalytically to elevate us so that we become "containers of the testimony." We sanctify ourselves and have a standard to live up to. Torah permeates our being and alters our status.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
"...es ha'mishkan...es ha'aron..."
"...the shrine... the ark..." (35:11-12)
The Torah instructed us to place the eidus - the testimony - inside the ark. It is known as the Ark of Testimony. The Torah also refers to the mishkan - the shrine which enclosed the ark and all of the articles used in the avoda service and rituals - as mishkan ha'eidus - the Shrine ("Tabernacle") of the Testimony. The Torah also refers to the shrine as simply mishkan without referencing the testimony. This seems to give two very different messages as to what the shrine enshrined, and what encased the "testimony" (testimony or testimonies is a reference to the tablets of the Torah which Moshe brought down from Sinai).
Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel helps clarify the verses. Mishkan indeed means a shrine or a sacred enclosure. All which was sacred and consecrated for our supreme avoda needed to be enclosed within a shrine, for the shrine represented the metaphorical dwelling place (from which the word mishkan is derived) for the Shechina (which is the term which refers to the Divine Presence) which is more fully sensed within that enclosure, given that it is a place dedicated for serving HaShem.
However, there was a second mishkan concept. The ark which housed the Torah was also called a dwelling place. Within the ark dwelled the Holy Torah, the testimony. The Torah which was encased within the ark gave the ark a status of mishkan, since the Torah rested within it.
This gives us two very different understandings of a "sacred dwelling." The MIshkan proper, that is, the structure which enclosed the consecrated articles, was not called a shrine because of those objects which it surrounded, for they were objects and objects alone. It was a Mishkan because the objects which it housed were for devotional worship and this worship was a catalyst for the Shechina to be associated with that place. The Mishkan was a mishkan for the Divine Presence. The devotional service within that enclosure brought forth that sense of a "dwelling place" for the Shechina.
The ark, on the other hand, also housed an object yet it was the object, namely the Torah within, which imparted a status of mishkan to its container. Without the Torah, the ark was a box. Once it held the Torah, the ark became a mishkan.
The MIshkan was a catalyst for the Divine Presence to "dwell" within it when we demonstrated that we wanted to "dwell nearer to the Shechina". The Torah was a catalyst for the ark to become a mishkan simply by placing the Torah within it. Perhaps we can use Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel's analysis in understanding ourselves: when we build a house, if we seek for it to become a "home for kedusha" we need to furnish it with all of the appropriate objects but we also need to practice our devotion in order that our home become a catalyst to attract that sense of the Sacred. When we learn Torah, when the holy words of Torah are contained within us, the Torah alone serves catalytically to elevate us so that we become "containers of the testimony." We sanctify ourselves and have a standard to live up to. Torah permeates our being and alters our status.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 8:11 PM
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