A Thought On Parshios Behar-Bechukosai

A Thought On Parshios Behar-Bechukosai "...v'Nosati Mishkani b'sochachem..." "...and I shall put My shrine in your midst..." (26:11) We have learned throughout many parshios about the Mishkan, the shrine in the desert which was a forerunner to the Mikdash, the Sacred Temple, later to be built in Jerusalem. During our wandering in the desert, we served HaShem in the Mishkan, which was a mobile structure. Once our nation was secure in Israel, the Mikdash served as a permanent shrine. The difference between the two places is apparent. The differences between the words is apparent also, with Mikdash meaning designated sacred place, and Mishkan meaning Dwelling Place for the Sacred. It seems strange here that the passage preceding our verse is talking about all the good which will be given to us once we are established in Israel. Why does HaShem promise us that He will place His mishkan in our midst? By that point in our history, the mishkan was passe. Rashi hastens to write here that in this instance, mishkan actually refers to the Mikdash. Still, that is not what the verse says. That is not the straight translation of the word. According to Rashi, the Torah should have written "and I shall place my Mikdash in your midst." The Bechor Shor writes that the word does not refer to the Mikdash, nor does it refer to the Mishkan! The verse is not talking about any structure or any place. The word Mishkani means "My Divine Presence". The concept of the verse translates as "you will sense My Presence within yourselves as long as you merit it." HaShem does not depict that sense as "my Mikdash" - My Sacred Presence, because mikdash is permanence, and no one of us can claim that we will, at all times and in all situations, deserve to be crowned with a permanent sense of the Sacred. Rather, the promise is conditional, just as the mishkan was portable. We might merit to feel that closeness with HaShem but that requires constant work on our parts. The Bechor Shor says that we are given this promise in the manner that malachim - angelic messengers - have the Presence within and around them. Their mission is temporary and once complete, they vanish. In a similar way, our internal Mishkan sense is impermanent. If we do not retain it, that sense of Presence will vanish from us. Wishing you a good Shabbos. D Fox