BS”D
“EGEL”
EXPIATION: PARSHAT PEKUDEI
Shira Smiles Shiur –
2019/5779
Adapted by Channie
Koplowitz Stein
Eileh pekudei/These are the accountings of the
Tabernacle, the Mishkan Ha’eidus/Tabernacle of Testimony...” We know
that after the sin of the egel hazahav/golden calf, Bnei Yisroel built a
Mishkan/Tabernacle so that Hashem’s presence could dwell among them. Is
this why it was called Mishkan Ha’eidus/Tabernacle of
Testimony, that the edifice was testifying to the presence of Hashem
among us? If so, how, and if not, what was it testifying to?
While the Ibn Ezra posits that the Mishkan was
called Mishkan Ha’eidus because it housed the luchot, referred to
as luchot ha’eidus, Rashi, citing the Medrash, tells us that the Mishkan
bore witness that Hashem forgave us for the sin of the golden calf. Eilah
pekudei/These/accountings, writes Rabbi Munk z”l, represent an atonement for
the declaration, “Eileh/these are your gods...” referring to the golden
calf. But it is also the fulfillment of Hashem’s promise to Avraham Avinu, that
Hashem pakod yifkod/will surely remember Bnei Yisroel and redeem then
from Egypt. In either case, it is testimony to the world that Hashem has
forgiven Bnei Yisroel and that He dwells in our midst. But hasn’t Hashem
already shown He’s forgiven us when He gave us the second set of luchot,
asks Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter? Why did we need the Tabernacle of Testimony in
this capacity, asks Rabbi Druck?
Testimony, by definition, is something attested to in
public. This explains why the second set of luchot could not be a
testimony to Hashem’s forgiving Bnei Yisroel. While Hashem indeed gave the
first set of luchot publicly to all of Bnei Yisroel, and even to an
extent the entire world bearing witness, Hashem gave the second set of luchot
privately to Moshe who then descended to Bnei Yisroel. In fact, notes Rabbi
Druck z”l, Hashem has never completely forgiven us for the sin of the golden
calf, and in each generation we continue to suffer from the effects of that
sin. Instead, Hashem overlooks the sin in order to maintain the relationship
with Bnei Yisroel that He will never sever. Even if Hashem had not forgiven us
at all, had not been willing to be mevater/overlook the sin, He would
still have given us the second set of luchot to maintain that
relationship. The Mishkan was the testimony that Hashem had
reestablished that relationship.
There is a well known parable of a king who has an
only daughter. When she marries, the king finds it impossible to separate from
her. He asks the prince who has married his daughter to build for him a small
apartment where he can stay to be near his beloved daughter.
The analogy is clear. Hashem gave His beloved Torah to
Bnei Yisroel. Hashem asks Bnei Yisroel to always be true to the Torah, and to
build Him a dwelling so He can remain close to His beloved daughter. Obviously,
for Bnei Yisroel to retain a close relationship with the “Father in law”, we
must continue to value and protect His Torah. Then, even if the dwelling should
be destroyed, the relationship Hashem has with His son in law may remain
intact.
What was so powerful about the Mishkan that it could
reestablish the loving relationship between Hashem and Bnei Yisroel? Rabbi
Parness suggests that with the Mishkan we demonstrated our commitment to the
relationship. When Hashem initially gave us the Torah, He showed His love for
us with this special gift. Unfortunately, we failed tragically in the
relationship, and fashioned the golden calf. But, notes Rabbi Parness quoting
the Sefas Emes, that sin was an external lapse; in our inner core, in our
essence, we remained committed to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. We proved how strongly we
wanted that relationship by our overwhelming and immediate response in donating
everything needed for the construction of Hashem’s “dwelling”.
That same shechinah that rested in the Mishkan
exists in the core of each of us, writes Rabbi Reiss in Meirosh Tzurim.
Just as there is a residual, negative scar left from the sin of the golden
calf, so there is a permanent, positive impression of the Beit Hamikdosh left
at its site and within each of us. It is the flame of love directly from
Hakodosh Boruch Hu that can never be extinguished, even when we no longer have
a Beit Hamikdosh. But without the Beit Hamikdosh, how do we access this love?
In Avodat Avodah, the Tosher Rebbe z”l gives us
some insight and direction. “These are pekudei Hamikdosh/the accountings
of the Mikdosh...” That buzz word pakod is
used several several other times in Tanach. We’ve already noted how it
was used to herald the redemption. Other times it was used for a different kind
of redemption. For example, “Hashem pokad et
Sarah…/ Hashem remembered Sarah [and she conceived].” These pekudei
Hamishkan, writes the Tosher Rebbe, were similarly meant to bring to mind
the good of Hashem’s presence, for all good and salvation comes from there. If
we can keep ourselves in a constant state of simcha, of serenity and joy
that comes from feeling ourselves always in God’s presence, we can facilitate
more of God’s blessings coming to us. This mindset can only come through a
sense of gratitude for all Hashem has already given us coupled with an
understanding that Hashem has given all this to us not through our own merit,
not through entitlement, but through His love. We can be joyous, for we realize
He gives us all we really need. Hashem is close to the humble, and He will not
reside with the arrogant.
The Tosher Rebbe gives us yet an additional path to
tap into experiencing God’s presence. Just as Hashem’s presence “rested” on the
Mishkan, so did He “rest” on the Shabbat. We can tap into that state of
serenity and blessing by clinging to Shabbat, for Shabbat is the source of all brachah/blessing.
Make Shabbat more meaningful. Introduce a new short ritual to enhance the
Shabbat experience, whether it’s singing special zemirot, enjoying a
special Shabbat treat, inviting special guests, or playing a “gratitude game”
around the Shabbat table. [Reading Shir Hashirim on Friday night may be
especially meaningful for you, for Shir Hashirim is the allegorical tale
of the reciprocal love between Hakodosh Boruch Hu and Bnei Yisroel. CKS]
Rav Dovid Hofstedter clarifies a puzzle for us. There
were two complementary events going on at Sinai. One was obviously Hashem
giving us the Torah. But the other aspect was Hashem’s designating us as His am
segulah/His treasured nation. When we sinned with the golden calf, we
caused terrible harm to the gift of the Torah, and Hashem could never forgive
that harm (although He has spread the punishment for that transgression over
the millennia of our history rather than destroying us in one fell swoop). The
scar from a burn, for example, remains long after the injury itself heals. But
as a loving father, Hashem can overlook the insult to His dignity as a
momentary, perhaps childish lapse in our judgment that would not permanently
affect our relationship.
The Sifsei Chaim offers yet another reality that
the Mishkan is bearing witness to. Just as the shechinah came
down to all of Bnei Yisroel when we accepted the Torah, so did it come down to
the entire congregation again when the Mishkan was completed. The Mishkan
was the source. The generating station, into which all Bnei Yisroel could tap
to access the energy of Hashem’s shechinah since they were all part of
the collective that contributed to build it. Indeed, continues the Sifsei
Chaim, the very sockets that supported the entire structure were fashioned
from the half shekels that every individual in Bnei Yisroel contributed.
Further, although individuals could bring personal korbanot/sacrifices,
almost all the sacrifices in the Mishkan and in the Beit Hamikdosh were
communal sacrifices.
Rabbi Shmulevitz z”ldiscusses a deeper meaning
in Bnei Yisroel’s relationship to the Torah. While we camped in unison at the
foot of the mountain and answered the call of the Torah in unison, the
acceptance of the Torah was still involuntary. The unity was in appearance. It
was only almost a millennium later, at Purim, that we accepted the Torah in its
fullest sense, with joy. It was a day when, because we were almost annihilated,
that we united not only with a sense of purpose, but also with a sense of
caring and sensitivity to each other. And today Purim is equally celebrated
with caring for the less fortunate and with a sense of camaraderie and sharing.
Purim is considered on such a high level that the day we generally consider the
holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom (Ha)Kipurim, is compared to Purim as
the lesser of the two, as Yom/a day kiPurim/like Purim.
Rabbi Shmulevitz z”l then cites one of the last verses
in Mishleh/Proverbs that the Gemarrah uses to compare the righteousness
of different generations: “False is charm – refers to the generation of Moshe
and Joshua; vain is beauty—refers to the generation of [King] Chizkiyahu [when
the entire nation, led by their king, did teshuvah]; but a God-fearing woman is
praiseworthy – refers to the generation of Rav Yehudah bar Ilai… when six
students would cover themselves with one blanket.” Rashi there explains that
although only one blanket was available, no one took it for themselves. Rather
they pushed it toward each other, trying to keep the others warm. [Similar stories
are told of the Holocaust, when the Nazis would give a blanket to only one
prisoner among six, yet the one with the blanket pulled others to share the
blanket with him,even if he could not cover himself fully. CKS] It is this “one
heart”, this sensitivity to others, that distinguishes us as a nation worthy of
the Torah.
The Mishkan was more than just a structure, albeit a
sacred one. The Mishkan was a recreation of the world in microcosm,notes
Rav Dovid Hofstedter, citing Medrash Tanchuma. Each element represented
a different aspect of creation – the curtains represented the heavens, the
Parochet that separated the main sanctuary from the Holy of Holies
represented the separation of the waters above from the waters below, and so on
with each element of the Mishkan.
When Bnei Yisroel made the golden calf, they sullied
the whole world so that it was no longer a place suitable for Hashem’s presence
to rest in. The world itself needed to be recreated, at least symbolically.
This time, however, Bnei Yisroel needed to put in effort, and Hashem would
create a successful edifice worthy of His presence.
The second set of luchot could not recreate the world.
Hashem imbued Bezalel, the chief architect of the Mishkan, with the qualities
necessary for the Mishkan’s construction, the same chochma/wisdom,
tenuvah/understanding and daas/knowledge that Hashem used in
creating the world. This symbolic recreation of the world was the testimony
that Hashem forgave us and cleansed the world of the impurity created by our sin.
There is a link between Hashem, the Torah and Klal
Yisroel. We are here to bear witness that Hashem is the Creator of the olam/world,
albeit His presence may be neolam/hidden/invisible, writes Rabbi
Reiss in Meirosh Tzurim. When we retain our connection to Hashem through
the Torah, we are keeping the world alive and bearing testimony to the reality
of Hashem’s existence and presence. We no longer have a Mishkan or a
Beit Hamikdosh, but we still have the Torah, we have tefillah/prayers of
the Beit Hamikdosh, and we have the ability to care for each other through gemillat
chasadim/acts of loving kindness. When we enter our inner Mishkan by
learning Torah, doing mitzvoth, and helping one another we are helping maintain
the world’s existence as the Mishkan and Beit Hamikdosh did earlier in
our history, and when it will be rebuilt IY”H, may it be soon in our day.