PIVOTAL
PLANKS: PARSHAT TERUMAH
Shira Smile Shiur
– January 27, 2014/Shevat 25, 5774
Summary by Channie
Koplowitz Stein
In
giving instructions for fashioning the beams for the structure of the Mishkan,
the Tabernacle, Hashem informs Moshe of the position of the various
beams and
the materials to be used for their composition. Hashem concludes with,
“You
shall build the Tabernacle according to this manner, as you will have
been
shown on the mountain.” Why repeat this last detail when we are
already told
that Bnei Yisroel did all exactly as Moshe had instructed them
according to the
command of Hashem?
Among
the multiple approaches to understanding this seemingly irrelevant
repetition,
Rabbi Gamliel Horowitz, begins our first explanation in Tiv Hatorah.
Since Hashem had already told us that He desires a Sanctuary so that He
may
dwell within us, not only within it (veshochanti betocham),
we are to understand that it is not only the physical structure that is
to be
built according to His will, but also the temple we build within
ourselves that
must be built according to His will. In other words, as Rabbi Beyfus
explains
in Yalkut Lekach Tov, your actions dedicated to Hashem’s
command should
be the model upon which the physical structure is to be built. Rabbi
Beyfus
explains further through an analogy. If we are expecting an important
visitor
to our home, we take great pains to ensure that the house is clean and
orderly,
for we value the opinion our guest will form of us and we want him to
feel
comfortable. Similarly, Hashem wants to come to reside within us.
Therefore, we
must make ourselves a comfortable home for His presence, leading our
lives
according to His will to accommodate His presence within us and within
our
homes.
The
Slonimer Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom Noach Berezovsky details further how our
inner
sanctuary mirrors the Sanctuary we built during our sojourn in the
desert. That
Sanctuary had three distinct areas, the Holy of Holies, the inner
chamber, and
the outer chamber. Each of these areas corresponds to a major area of
human
physiology. The Holy of Holies, seat of the Ark and the Tablets of the
Law,
corresponds to the brain, the mind, and the source of all our thoughts
and
imagination. As such, our thoughts and intentions in all our
interactions must
always be directed by Heaven, focusing on what He would want of us.
Next, the
inner chamber where the Table of Showbread and the Menorah were placed
corresponds to the heart, the seat of our desires, hopes and ambitions.
These
too should be focused toward Hashem. Finally, the outer chamber where
the altar
for sacrificial animals was located and which always had a fire burning
corresponds
to the kidneys, the seat of our physical desires and passions.
Using
these correlations, the Netivot Shalom explains the verse in
Psalms,
“One thing I asked of Hashem … that I dwell in the house
of Hashem all the days
of my life …” Rabbi Beyfus notes that the way to ensure
that we dwell in the
house of Hashem is to bring our passions and desires in alignment with
Hashem’s
desires. Our entire hashkofoh, the orientation of our homes and
of our
lives, must be a Torah orientation. We’re here to build, to do,
and to create
that Sanctuary within ourselves so that it reflects the sanctity of the
Holy
Temple, so that we become a place where Hashem feels comfortable.
While
the beams of the Tabernacle must be inherently infused with holiness,
the
position of each within the structure must also be maintained, informs
us Rabbi
Weinberger in Shemen Hatov, quoting the Talmud
Yerushalmi. Each
beam was marked with a letter to maintain its position, similar to Tab
A
fitting into Slot B in a model building kit. If all the beams
were
fairly similar, what difference would their position make? Letitcha
Elyon
notes that there is a difference in energy and therefore of kedushah
in
different positions, and so it was important that each beam maintain
its
position each time the Tabernacle was dismantled and then rebuilt.
Similarly,
notes Mishchat Shemen citing the Shlah Hakadosh, a man
dons his tallit
in the same position each time he wears it, finding the atarah,
the
decorative band, and placing that end on top.
The
Tiv Hatorah deduces from the ordered structure of the Mishkan
that we too must create order in our service to Hashem. We should have
a
designated place where we daven regularly for, as the Sifsei
Chaim points
out, the Torah alludes to Yitzchak’s going daily to Be’er
Lachai Roee
for his afternoon prayers, for this was a place already infused with
holiness
when an angel appeared there to Hagar. This is where Yitzchak felt a
special
connection to Hakodosh Boruch Hu and, as Rav Dessler points out, a
place from
which previous prayers from this place would escort current prayers
upward to
God’s throne. So too when we designate a particular area as our
“prayer nook”,
we infuse it with the holiness of our cumulative prayers in this spot.
Letitcha
Elyon cites Rabbi Reuvain Grozovsky a”h, original Rosh
Yeshiva of Torah
Vodaath, in noting that creating a designated place refers not only to
a
physical area but also to my place in life, a mental, spiritual and
emotional
place where one can feel grounded, where the vagaries and vicissitudes
of life
won’t affect the basic structure. Therefore one will be asked at
the end of his
life, “Did you designate times for Torah study,” rather
than, “Did you study
Torah?” As Rabbi Pincus writes in Tiferes Shimshon, we
are not always in
the mood to learn or to do acts of kindness, but if we designate
specific times
and places for these activities, these times for prayer, for
learning and
for doing acts of chessed become inviolate. Just as the entire
world
runs on structure or else chaos will result, so too must we invest our
lives
with structure, adds Rabbi Wolbe in Aleh Shor.
Rabbi
Mordechai Kaminetsky emphasizes this point of orderliness in Step
by Step. The
entire world was created order out of chaos, and the Torah was the
blueprint of
creation. Therefore, if we are to try to find our own purpose in the
world, we
must create structure within our lives. If we have a schedule from
which we
refuse to deviate, we will always know where we are and what
we’re supposed to
be doing, and we will retain our sense of purpose.
While
the positioning of the beams was so clearly and fully structured, the
sockets
into which they were inserted were interchangeable. According to Rabbi
Yehudah
Klein in Alei Higayon, the 100 sockets represent the 100
blessings we
are encouraged to recite daily. These blessings represent our awe of
heaven
which should be ubiquitous, with no designated and limiting place.
Further,
notes Rabbi Kofman in Mishchat Shemen, the priests rotated
their duties
in the service in the Beit Hamikdosh. If order was so important, why
deviate on
this point? Rabbi Kofman suggests that changing the specific duties on
a daily
basis was a means of dispelling rote performance and maintaining
enthusiasm in
the service, so that even within strict structure we could maintain an
element
of spontaneity and eagerness. We must try to recreate our original
enthusiasm
for each mitzvah on a daily basis.
We
could say that by creating order and structure and by maintaining
eagerness for
mitzvah performance, we are emulating Hashem and creating a life of
meaning.
How are we to do this? By not taking life for granted and by feeling
the chessed
of Hashem every moment from our Modeh Ani in the
morning until
we go to sleep with the Shema on our lips Then we become Yehudim,
Jews whose very name means gratefulness. And we emulate Hashem by
creating
order and structure in the edifices of our lives, in the performance of
mitzvoth that form the daily fabric of our lives, because we recognize
that
Hashem is always guarding us, keeping us from harm. But we also know
that
Hashem’s chessed is constant and ubiquitous, and we can
emulate Hashem
by also looking for spontaneous and constant opportunities to perform
acts of
loving kindness.
Rabbi
Mordechai Drucker gives us an interesting insight into these two
elements of
service to Hashem. Using the observation of the Baal Haturim that
the
phrase “ata horaita – you have been shown” is
used only when Moshe
reviews the Sinai experience, an event referred to in our current
verse, and
here when Moshe instructs Bnei Yisroel in building the Sanctuary, Rabbi
Drucker
explains that you cannot build a structure of service to Hashem without
emunah,
without faith. Whether you are building a physical sanctuary of wood
and stone
or the sanctuary within ourselves, you must be able to share and give
of what
you have, for Hashem is the One Who gives us everything. When you
recognize
that truth, you can imbue your life and all your actions with that
belief and
build a structure of commitment to Hashem that will withstand any
threat. That
Sanctuary, whether it be an external edifice or within the essence of
the human
soul, will be a Sanctuary in which Hashem can comfortably reside.