Tabernacle: Laden with Treasures
Moshe Ben-Chaim
On more than one occasion, I have heard sermons on these current Torah sections addressing the Tabernacle, where the Rabbi apologizes for its "dry nature" or his difficulty in presenting exciting ideas. The Jerusalem Talmud (Shviyis 2b) says as follows, "It [Torah] is not a vain matter from you". (Deut. 32:47) It is not vain, and if it is, then "from you" it is vain."
The Talmud addresses the usage of "from you" to mean this: Moses was teaching the Jews that if they view any part of Torah as vain or empty, it is due to their own shortcomings that they cannot see the gems within those verses. Let us now search for the exciting treasures in the Tabernacle!
In the opening chapter of Hilchos Bais Habechira, Maimonides says one of the essential principles governing the Temple 's construction is a room called the "Holy of Holies". Yet, in the very next law when listing the various vessels, the Ark – the centerpiece of this Holy of Holies – is glaringly absent from the list. How can the room be called a "essential principles" taking precedence over its centerpiece?
Even in chapter 4 when Maimonides touches upon the Ark, he focusses on the chambers where it was to be hidden upon the prophesied destruction of the Temple. And he does not focus on its measurements as he did regarding the other vessels. How do we explain this second omission? And why was the Ark alone hidden? No other vessel is hidden! What is this unique character belonging to the Ark alone?
Hilchos Klay Hamikdash chapter two addresses the incense. After formulating 11 laws governing this incense, Maimonides includes two final laws...concerning the carrying of the Ark! What are these two laws doing together with the incense? These two laws include restrictions of transporting the Ark via wagon or animal, and that it must me carried by man, with their faces towards the Ark, and not to remove its poles.
What's he meaning of the medrash that the Ark didn't occupy any measurement? Meaning, the Holy of Holies was 20 cubits square, yet if one measured from any side of the Ark to the wall, he measured 10 cubits. This means the Ark did not diminish space on this room. What is the need for such a miracle, and what is the lesson?
Maimonides states that the Ark rested upon the Evven Shesiyah (a stone) from which the formation of the Earth took place. Of what relevance is this stone to the Ark?
Exodus 30:36 says concerning the incense "...and you shall place of it in front of the Testimony (the Ark containing the Tablets of Testimony) in the Tabernacle where I meet you there..." The problem is that the incense altar is not in front of the Ark. It is furthest removed from it, and also, the Ark is behind the Parochess curtain . So in what manner is the incense burned "in front" of the Ark? I believe one answer addressees all of our questions.
Let us step back. Why did God command man to build the Tabernacle? Sforno teaches it was a response to the sin of the Gold Calf; a concession to man's nature. The Jews expressed an inability to relate to God purely abstractly. "Moshe, the man who took us out of Egypt, we know not what has happened to him" was said by the Jews before sculpting the Gold Calf. They were crippled by the loss of Moshe; a tangible relationship with God. Thus, they created the Calf as a replacement. God's response to this sin was to offer man a highly structured approach to his religious life...intended to prevent another Gold Calf catastrophe. The Temple is replete with laws governing each move the Priests make. There exists no room for man to outlet his religious emotions, as expressed when creating the Calf. He must conform to God's will and not imagine he knows how to approach God.
Thus, the centerpiece of Tabernacle is the Ark, an object housing the Law, which reflects God's wisdom. But this law is in a room – the Holy of Holies – which is off-limits. No one may ever enter, lest he suffer death, save the high priest on Yom Kippur. The purpose of this restriction parallels the restriction upon the Jews to ascend Mount Sinai at Revelation. Man must demonstrate that God is "unapproachable" or unknowable. Those who feel they can approach God, or feel there is something tangible about the Creator, forfeit their lives, as seen in Ahron's two sons who were killed for approaching God without being commanded; the Jews during the Gold Calf event; and the Jews who opened the Ark upon its return from the Philistines.
I addition to this room's restriction, God commanded us in the daily incense. When the priest enters the Tabernacle, he is first confronted with the incense altar. Although spatially distanced from the Ark and separated by a curtain, ideationally the incense cloud is to create a veil between us and God; between the priest and the Ark. In this sense, the incense is "in front" of the Ark. It is amazing how the verse indicates this central concept.
Now, although the design of the Tabernacle indicates a veil between man and God, simultaneously we must never lose focus of a life of searching out God; a life pursuing wisdom. Therefore, the carrying of the Ark on man's shoulders, facing it, and not placing it on wagons or animals all target one idea: we must never lose focus of our primary objective...the pursuit of God's wisdom. These two ideas – God's unapproachable nature and wisdom as life's focus – are two sides of one coin, and appropriately joined in Maimonides' laws of Klay Hamikdash. The laws of incense and carrying the Ark belong together, for it is in the transport of the Ark that one might view it as luggage or dormant. Not so. Wisdom is to be engaged at all times. The Ark is to be viewed and cared for at all times. We must never lose focus of God's wisdom or treat it lightly, as in transporting the Ark on wagons or animals.
This also explains why King Solomon commanded the Ark be stored in hiding. It is not something that man can approach. No other vessel was meant to teach this lesson, so no others were hidden upon the Temple's destruction. Perhaps also, the Holy of Holies is formulated as primary to the Tabernacle, and not the Ark. For it is the concept of "restricted area" that intends to convey our ignorance of God's nature. In that law (Bais Habechira 1:5) Maimonides also includes the laws of creating a courtyard around the Tabernacle, for this too intends to limit one's approach. So it is the approach that is the central lesson, not the object of the approach.
Maimonides omits the Ark in his listing of all the vessels in Tabernacle. This could be due to the fact that the Ark is not utilitarian. A "vessel" on the other hand is used, as were the altars, the Table and the Menorah. Therefore, Ark is simply not considered a vessel. But the Ark had to be made, so why does Maimonides omit mentioning the Ark's measurements, unlike the other vessels? A friend suggested the Ark was the one vessel made only once, therefore in his book of laws for all generations – the Mishneh Torah – Maimonides does not include laws about its creation. That is a one-time occurrence, not a perpetual law. However, I have no confirmation that this is true and welcome your sources.
What's he meaning of the medrash that the Ark didn't occupy any measurement? Meaning, the Holy of Holies was 20 cubits square. Yet if one measured from any side of the centrally-located Ark and to any wall, he measured 10 cubits. This means the Ark did not diminish space on this room. What is the need for such a miracle, and what is the lesson?
Perhaps this teaches that wisdom is not of this world. Yes, it is reflected in all of God's creations, but the physical world is a "result" of that metaphysical wisdom, and not a "location" of wisdom. The fact the Ark did not take up measurable space makes it akin to wisdom, directing us to this further realization or a world of wisdom "outside" Earthly confines.
Finally, the Ark rested upon the Evven Shesiyah – Earth's the formation stone. This relationship teaches the purpose of the Earth. Without man's pursuit of wisdom – what Ark represents – the Earth fails in its purpose. The Earth's very formation, inhabitable by humans, enables the existence of the lone creature that can perceive God.
