The Weekly Dvar Torah
Volume 2 Issue #17
The Sanctuary Within
Mishpatim
Adapted from the wisdom of Rav Meir Simcha HaCohen of Dvinsk from the Meshech Chochmoh and Rav Tzadok HaCohen from Pri Tzadik and other works.
By Rav Yitzchak Schwartz Rosh Yeshiva Orchos Chaim Jerusalem
yschwartz@orchos.org.
This publication, Zichron Yehoshua, is in memory of Yehoshua Yakov ben Moshe-Jeffrey Nussbaum through a generous grant from Dr. Eric Nussbaum and family.
This issue is dedicated to Avigail bas Yocheved, Hashem yishmoreho v’yevorcheho.
“And Hashem spoke unto Moses, saying: 'Speak unto the children of Israel, that they take for Me an offering; of every man whose heart makes him willing you shall take My offering.†(Shemot 25:1-2)
The Torah reading goes on to describe in detail the contributions of the Jewish people to construct the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The building of the Mishkan had monumental significance. It was designed to become the one and only dwelling place of the Shechina in this world. The Shechina is that aspect of Hashem that is openly revealed within the realm of physical creation. The medrash points out that although there are several types of offerings described in the Torah, the one that Hashem cherishes the most is the contribution to the Mishkan because it emanated from the wholeness of heart of the Jewish people.
Rav Tzadok HaCohen expounds upon the deeper meaning of this medrash. He points out that the Zohar, in its commentary of this week’s Torah portion, explains an amazing fundamental – the closest place to Hashem in this world lies within the hearts of the Jewish people. Just as the Mishkan was sanctified to serve as a dwelling place for the Shechina so the heart of every Jew has the capacity to become a dwelling place for the Shechina. Just as the Mishkan was sanctified in order to qualify for its lofty purpose, so too should the Jewish people sanctify their hearts in order to actualize their supreme role – to be a dwelling place for the Shechina.
Rav Tzadok goes on to explain that we find three different facets of kedusha – sanctity: sanctity of time, sanctity of space, and sanctity of man. The first place that the Torah employs the word kedusha is in the framework of Shabbat. “and He sanctified the seventh day†– the sanctity of time. The second aspect of kedusha we find when Moshe witnesses the revelation of the Shechina in the burning bush. Hashem instructed Moshe to remove his shoes because the land that he stands upon is holy – sanctity of space. The Torah reveals the concept of the sanctity of space within the framework of Moshe’s mission in order to teach us that it is the Torah, for which Moshe stands, that sanctifies space. The third type of kedusha is the Jewish people who were sanctified upon the receiving of the Torah “and you shall be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.†– the sanctity of man. The sanctity of time, man and space are a parallelism. The sanctities of Shabbat – time, the Mishkan – space, and the Jewish people – man, are unique manifestations of the same reality – the presence of the Shechina.
Our sages refer to the sanctity of Shabbat in this way: “Shabbat is fixed and established,†i.e. the sanctity of Shabbat is immutable. Hashem blessed the seventh day with innate kedusha that endures in every generation. In contrast to this, the kedusha of space and the kedusha of man underwent change. Before the sin of the golden calf, the sanctity of space included all of the area where the Jewish people encamped. Subsequent to the sin, the kedusha of space was restricted to the confines of the Mishkan – “and they should make for me a mishkan and I will dwell within them.â€
Similarly, prior to the sin of the golden calf, the entire nation was a kingdom of priests. The people were able to devote themselves to studying the wisdom of Torah in order to become teachers of the ways of Hashem. However, after the sin, the mandate of the priesthood was limited to the descendants of Aharon the holy priest. From that time on, the sanctity of man would be manifest exclusively in the descendants of Aharon the high priest.
Notwithstanding the sin of the golden calf, every week the unconditional sanctity of Shabbat returns. Within the pristine sanctity of the Shabbat, every Jewish soul has an opportunity to regain its own intrinsic kedusha. Furthermore, Shabbat is sanctified with a prohibition to engage in the mundane toils of creating a livelihood, which frees us to devote our time and energies to engage in our sacred calling as a nation of priests and a holy people by delving into the study of Torah. On Shabbat, unshackled from the burden and distractions of the grind of weekday activities, surrounded by its sanctity and engrossed in Torah study, we create a corresponding reality to the Mishkan.
This is the deeper meaning of the teaching of the Zohar that extols praises upon those who prepare a dwelling place for the Shechina on Shabbat within the chambers of the heart. On Shabbat, Hashem calls upon us to detach from routine physicality and apply our time and energy to delve into the wisdom of Torah, enabling us to fulfill our sacred mission. Through focusing our hearts on the spiritual opportunities that Shabbat provides, we can build a virtual Mishkan – a dwelling place for the Shechina. This is the deeper meaning of the medrash of our sages “Hashem is the heart of the Jewish people as is written in the scripture - But G-d is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.†(Tehilim 73:26)
By Rav Yitzchak Schwartz Rosh Yeshiva Orchos Chaim Jerusalem
yschwartz@orchos.org.
This publication, Zichron Yehoshua, is in memory of Yehoshua Yakov ben Moshe-Jeffrey Nussbaum through a generous grant from Dr. Eric Nussbaum and family.
This issue is dedicated to Avigail bas Yocheved, Hashem yishmoreho v’yevorcheho.
“And Hashem spoke unto Moses, saying: 'Speak unto the children of Israel, that they take for Me an offering; of every man whose heart makes him willing you shall take My offering.†(Shemot 25:1-2)
The Torah reading goes on to describe in detail the contributions of the Jewish people to construct the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The building of the Mishkan had monumental significance. It was designed to become the one and only dwelling place of the Shechina in this world. The Shechina is that aspect of Hashem that is openly revealed within the realm of physical creation. The medrash points out that although there are several types of offerings described in the Torah, the one that Hashem cherishes the most is the contribution to the Mishkan because it emanated from the wholeness of heart of the Jewish people.
Rav Tzadok HaCohen expounds upon the deeper meaning of this medrash. He points out that the Zohar, in its commentary of this week’s Torah portion, explains an amazing fundamental – the closest place to Hashem in this world lies within the hearts of the Jewish people. Just as the Mishkan was sanctified to serve as a dwelling place for the Shechina so the heart of every Jew has the capacity to become a dwelling place for the Shechina. Just as the Mishkan was sanctified in order to qualify for its lofty purpose, so too should the Jewish people sanctify their hearts in order to actualize their supreme role – to be a dwelling place for the Shechina.
Rav Tzadok goes on to explain that we find three different facets of kedusha – sanctity: sanctity of time, sanctity of space, and sanctity of man. The first place that the Torah employs the word kedusha is in the framework of Shabbat. “and He sanctified the seventh day†– the sanctity of time. The second aspect of kedusha we find when Moshe witnesses the revelation of the Shechina in the burning bush. Hashem instructed Moshe to remove his shoes because the land that he stands upon is holy – sanctity of space. The Torah reveals the concept of the sanctity of space within the framework of Moshe’s mission in order to teach us that it is the Torah, for which Moshe stands, that sanctifies space. The third type of kedusha is the Jewish people who were sanctified upon the receiving of the Torah “and you shall be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.†– the sanctity of man. The sanctity of time, man and space are a parallelism. The sanctities of Shabbat – time, the Mishkan – space, and the Jewish people – man, are unique manifestations of the same reality – the presence of the Shechina.
Our sages refer to the sanctity of Shabbat in this way: “Shabbat is fixed and established,†i.e. the sanctity of Shabbat is immutable. Hashem blessed the seventh day with innate kedusha that endures in every generation. In contrast to this, the kedusha of space and the kedusha of man underwent change. Before the sin of the golden calf, the sanctity of space included all of the area where the Jewish people encamped. Subsequent to the sin, the kedusha of space was restricted to the confines of the Mishkan – “and they should make for me a mishkan and I will dwell within them.â€
Similarly, prior to the sin of the golden calf, the entire nation was a kingdom of priests. The people were able to devote themselves to studying the wisdom of Torah in order to become teachers of the ways of Hashem. However, after the sin, the mandate of the priesthood was limited to the descendants of Aharon the holy priest. From that time on, the sanctity of man would be manifest exclusively in the descendants of Aharon the high priest.
Notwithstanding the sin of the golden calf, every week the unconditional sanctity of Shabbat returns. Within the pristine sanctity of the Shabbat, every Jewish soul has an opportunity to regain its own intrinsic kedusha. Furthermore, Shabbat is sanctified with a prohibition to engage in the mundane toils of creating a livelihood, which frees us to devote our time and energies to engage in our sacred calling as a nation of priests and a holy people by delving into the study of Torah. On Shabbat, unshackled from the burden and distractions of the grind of weekday activities, surrounded by its sanctity and engrossed in Torah study, we create a corresponding reality to the Mishkan.
This is the deeper meaning of the teaching of the Zohar that extols praises upon those who prepare a dwelling place for the Shechina on Shabbat within the chambers of the heart. On Shabbat, Hashem calls upon us to detach from routine physicality and apply our time and energy to delve into the wisdom of Torah, enabling us to fulfill our sacred mission. Through focusing our hearts on the spiritual opportunities that Shabbat provides, we can build a virtual Mishkan – a dwelling place for the Shechina. This is the deeper meaning of the medrash of our sages “Hashem is the heart of the Jewish people as is written in the scripture - But G-d is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.†(Tehilim 73:26)