This week, we conclude the book of Exodus (Shemot) and also concludes a series of parashot dealing with the Mishkan – the Tabernacle.
The Torah describes and redescribes the Tabernacle and its vessels seven times. Many answers have been given to why. Some emphasize G-d’s affinity for sacred items and the centrality of the Sanctuary for Israel. Some state that this is a way to bring honor to God and the space we build for him while others emphasize that it is a means of creating a mutual connection between G-d and the Jewish people in order to merge the realm of the eternal with that of the material.
Rabbi Sacks speaks how the Mishkan serves to create a space for the divine in our lives. His words can be used to inform us of the Torah’s insistence on this repetition.
“The Torah is not man’s book of G‑d. It is G‑d’s book of mankind. It is not difficult for an infinite, omnipotent creator to make a home for humanity. What is difficult is for human beings, in their finitude and vulnerability, to make a home for G‑d. Yet that is the purpose, not only of the Mishkan in particular, but of the Torah as a whole.
If G‑d is perceptible everywhere, there is no room for mankind. But if G‑d is perceptible nowhere, how can humanity know Him, reach Him, or understand what He wants from us?
The answer—already hinted at in the account of creation itself—is that G‑d reserves, in several dimensions, a domain that is peculiarly His.
The first is in time—the seventh day (month, year, jubilee).
The second was among the nations after their division into multiple languages and civilizations—the covenantal people, the children of Israel.
The third was in space—the Tabernacle, and today, the synagogue, sacred space.
Each of these is holy, meaning that it is a point at which the Divine Presence emerges from hiddenness to exposure, from concealment to revelation. As Shabbat is to time, so the synagogue (Tabernacle) is to space: kadosh, holy, set apart, G‑d’s domain. The holy is the metaphysical arena where heaven and earth meet.”
In other words, if the creation of the world is G-d making a home for us, the building of the Mishkan is us creating a home for G-d. The Midrash articulates this explicitly in saying that creation came about as G-d desired a home in this world (I.e. in our home), a task fulfilled through the creation of Sacred moments, spaces and people.
Perhaps this explains the repetition. When it comes to a home, especially one that you directly help with its building (like in the case of the Mishkan for the Jews), you don’t get bored by it. Every beam, socket and nail has a story and significance since it contains your imprint, efforts and contributions. We feel bound to that which we give to. The Mishkan contained the collective effort and infinite soul of the entire Jewish people and thus, each element contained infinite value and significance.
So as we conclude the book of Shmot and also bless the upcoming month of Nissan, may we go from strength to strength as we move forward into new beginnings and possibilities together! Shabbat Shalom
Classes and Davening
Thursday at 4:30 pm – Judaism’s Life Changing Ideas
Virtual Friday Kabbalat Shabbat at 5:00 pm (The Last One)
Sunday at 8:30 am- Rosh Chodesh Davening
Sunday at 10:00 am- A Dive Into the Passover Haggadah
Tuesday at 1 pm- Parsha Class
Next Thursday at 8:00 pm- Shabbat Hagadol Drasha (Virtual)