March 4, 2006 Parshas Terumah

4 Adar 5766 Volume 20, Number 19

I
It's Not Material Hashkafic
Thought
n this week's parsha, the everything in the universe from this lesson about Through an
Rabbi Joshua Hoffman

Jewish nation is com- belongs, uses non-fruit trees destroying fruit trees for
Opaque Lens

manded to build the
mishkan with all of its
details. The basic structure
consisted of forty eight
wooden boards covered
I
to build His own house, all building purposes, this
Midrash may carry other,
Rabbi Hayyim Angel
n last week’s issue, we com-
less obvious messages as pared Yeshayahu’s throne
well. room vision (Yeshayahu 6:1-3) to
The essence In commanding the produc-
Yehezkel’s ma’aseh ha-merkavah.

with several layers of cur-
tains. The Torah tells us that
the wood used for the
boards was 'atzei shittim,'
usually translated as acacia
wood. The Midrash Rabbah
to our parsha (35:1) says that
God specifically chose this
tree because it does not bear
fruit. The message, says the
Midrash, is that we should
be careful about destroying
fruit trees. If God, to whom
of the nation
tion of curtains for the
is the
Mishkan, the Torah says,
"And you shall make the
spirituality Mishkan of ten curtains"
of its (Shemos, 26:1). Rashi in par-
members shas Vayakheil points out
that the Mishkan is named
after the lower layer of cur-
tains. Rabbi Eliyahu Meir
the more so should a human Bloch, in his sefer, Pninei
being be careful to build his
Da'as, comments on our
own structures out of non- verse that we would really
fruit-bearing trees. Aside expect the Torah to refer to
continued on page 3
This week, we will discuss the
same vision in relation to the
prophecy of Moshe Rabbenu.
Though deeply inspired by
Yeshayahu’s throne room vision,
Chazal noticed a theological dif-
ficulty with it. Moshe, the
Master of the Prophets, had
been told by God: “You cannot
see My face, for no man shall see
Me and live” (Shemos 33:20).
How, then, could Yeshayahu see
God, and live to tell about it?
The Talmud offers the following
answer: “‘I saw the Lord’
(Yeshayahu 6:1) [is to be under-
stood] in accordance with the
tenet that all the prophets looked
through a dim glass, but Moshe

A
T abl e Torah For the One Who Has Everything looked through a clear glass

lthough one may think Hashem does void but to advance Hashem's reputation in tionary extension of the delegation of the
continued on page 2
Leib Zalesch

not appreciate our gifts, at the opening
of this week's parsha Hashem requests us to
take terumah for him. How are we to under-
stand the apparently difficult command to
give Hashem terumah, something which, like
everything else, already belongs to Him?
Rashi answers with one word: "lishmi,” [for
my Name]. He means to say that the
Terumah command is not meant to fill a
NEW YORK CITY SHABBOS TIMES
Candles Dawn Sunrise Shema (MA)
the world. Many mitzvos must be done
“lishmah” (for the sake of the command-
ment), including matzah, tzitzis, and the
writing of a Torah, but why must terumah
also be done “lishmah”? The Ramban con-
nects the Mishkan under construction to the
revelation at Har Sinai and the delegation of
the Jews as Hashem's chosen people. The
Mishkan, the Ramban explains, is the sta-
Shema (Gra) Tefilla (MA) Tefilla (Gra)
Jews as the mobile representatives of
Hashem. As the Jews were meant to advance
Hashem's Name throughout the world, all
work connected to the Mishkan was also to
be undertaken “lishmah,” to advance His
reputation. Similarly, by terumah, since the
ultimate purpose was spreading Hashem’s
name, “lishma” was required.
Chatzos Mincha Ged. Shkia Havdala

This issue is sponsored in honor of the recent engagement of Jonny Gordon and Ilana London. Mazel Tov!
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 Through an Opaque Lens

I
Divinely Intimate (Yevamot 49b)." In other words, a combination of objectivity and
continued from page 1

Yeshayahu truly believed that he subjectivity in their prophecies.

saw God, but his vision was not They combined true perception
n his introduction to Sefer mate goal is the formation of
Dovi Bergman

Shemos, the Ramban a dwelling place for the
explains that the building of Shechinah. As there is no
the Mishkan represented the Beis Hamikdash or Mishkan
completion of the geulah standing today, what the
from Egypt. It is incorrect to Jewish People do now to
translate geulah as a mere achieve this exalted mission?
“exodus.” Geulah implies a Even though the full national
return to previous spiritual realization of intimacy with
heights while “exodus” Hashem can come only
implies a mere physical through the return to Israel
escape. In order to be and the erection of the third
redeemed the Jewish People Beis Hamikdash, there is at
had “to return to the level least one common Jewish
that their forefathers had item today that allows us to
a ch i e ve d ,” achieve a
w h i c h taste of that
involved the The Jewish closeness—
people’s
actual resting the Aron
of the Divine (“Ark
Presence on ultimate goal t
h e
fully accurate, though he did not
perceive this distortion. On the
other hand, because Moshe’s
prophecy was vastly superior to
that of Yeshayahu, he truly
understood that he could not see
God.
One Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah
1:14) similarly suggests that
Yehezkel saw through nine lenses,
whereas Moshe looked through
only one when experiencing
prophecy. The Midrash con-
cludes that Yehezkel perceived
prophecy through a “dirty” lens,
i.e., his vision was clouded and he
also could not see fully through
to the other side.
Rabbenu Bahya, followed by sev-
eral later commentators (includ-
ing Akedat Yitzhak, Abarbanel
and Malbim), adds another
of
dimension to this Talmudic pas-
sage by referring to God’s distinc-
of God with their spiritual attain-
ments, historical circumstances,
and the needs of their audiences.
Moshe, in contrast, was unique in
his perception of objective Truth.
Moshe, who enjoyed the closest
relationship to God, appreciated
God’s infinitude like none
other—he truly understood that
he could not see God and live.
Given that God’s praise of
Moshe’s unparalleled prophecy
appears in the same chapter as the
Torah’s praise of Moshe’s match-
less humility (Bamidbar 12:3), it
appears that these two elements
are integrally linked. The extent
of one’s humility is the extent
that God’s presence is welcomed
within. As Chazal derive from
Yeshayahu’s vision, “If one walks
with a stiff bearing even for four
cubits, it is as if he pushed against
the heels of the Divine Presence,

is the
their tents. Covenant”). tion between Moshe’s prophecy since it is written, ‘the whole
and that of all other prophets: earth is full of His glory’
According to T h e
formation of R a m b a n
(Yeshayahu 6:3) ” (Berakhot 43b).
the Ramban, He said, Hear now My
words; If there is a prophet Although we have been dis-
a dwelling
the main points out cussing the nature of non-Moshe
among you, I the Lord will make
dimension in that the prophecy, these principles apply
place for the Aron was
myself known to him in a vision
which geulah (ba-mar’ah), and will speak to him all the more to non-prophets. By
must occur is the focal definition, we have objective and
Shechinah
in a dream. Not so with My ser-
spiritual, and point of the vant Moshe, for he is the trusted subjective components mixed
one in all My house. With him I into our perceptions. Personal
thus, the D i v i n e background and experience, the
speak mouth to mouth, manifest-
physical escape from Egypt Revelation in the Mishkan, as circumstances of our times, our
ly (ba-mar’eh), and not in dark
was only the first step to Hashem told the Jewish speech; and he beholds the form levels of spiritual and intellectual
redemption. The story of People, “I [Hashem] shall of the Lord. Why then were you attainment, and other variables
geulah extends far beyond the speak with you from not afraid to speak against My contribute to our overall percep-
tion of Truth. The greater one’s
end of the Exodus from atop…the Aron” (Shemos servant Moshe? (Bamidbar 12:6-
8). humility and religious character,
Egypt, the complete geulah 25:22). The Aron, which in the greater one’s ability is to tran-
only occurring with the fin- ancient times contained the Rabbenu Bahya explains that a
scend those variables that cloud
mar’eh is a vision, and that is how
ishing of the Mishkan when Luchos Habris, represents Moshe perceived God. However,
human perception. Somewhat
the Divine Presence could Torah. Every single member all other prophets, by looking
paradoxically, apprehending this
lack of true clarity may bring us
once again be found amongst of the Jewish People needed through an opaque lens, saw a
one step closer to gaining clarity
the tents of the Jewish to contribute something to its mar’ah, a mirror. By advancing
in our ever-growing relationship
People. creation, “in order that they this interpretation, he intimates
with God.
that the vision of other prophets
The Ramban states clearly [the Jewish people] should was colored to some degree by
that the Jewish people’s ulti- merit Torah.” This is the rea- their personality. Thus, non-
Moshe prophets in fact perceived
continued on page 3

EINAYIM L’TORAH • 2
Divinely
vhv, ohn,Intimate continued from page 2
son, the Shemos Rabbah (33:6) explains,
that the command to build the Aron was
uniquely stated in the plural (25:10), an
adress to all Jews. Additionally,
Rabbeinu Bachyei explains that the root
of the word “Aron” is “ohr,” or light,
which represents the light of the Torah.
The Maharal on Pirkei Avos (3:5)
explains that the real force behind the
Mishkan, which let the Shechinah to rest
upon the Jewish People, was the Torah.
It is written in tractate Berachot that,
“Even one person who learns Torah, the
Shechinah is with him.” The Maharal
quotes a Midrash that gives the follow-
It's Not Material
the boards as the Mishkan, since the
continued from page 1
boards give the structure physical sta-
bility, while the curtains only serve as a
covering. That the curtains define the
Mishkan tells us that it is not necessar-
ily the strongest physical aspect of the
Mishkan that defines it and constitutes
its true foundation. Similarly, it is not
the material aspects of the Jewish
nation that define its nature, the
essence of the nation being the spiritu-
ality of its members. Within the con-
text of Rabbi Bloch's remarks, the fact
that the wood used for the boards was
not fruit-bearing takes on added sig-
nificance. The simple acacia wood
The Greatest Jewish Music
Tzvi Simcha Cohen • (646) 387-8573 • TSimcha@gmail.com
ing parable. A king once agreed to marry
off his only daughter to a prince from a
foreign land and was subsequently over-
taken by love for his daughter; he could
not bear the prospect of their separa-
tion. Therefore, he told the prince, “I
can’t hold her back from you because
she is your wife, but I cannot leave her
either. Do me this one favor. Wherever
you go make a small room where I can
stay, and this way I shall have a place to
visit her.” So too, Hashem could not
bear to part with His Torah. Therefore,
He commanded the Jewish People to
make a dwelling place where He could
that does not bear fruit further de-
emphasizes the centrality of the
boards in defining the mishkan, turn-
ing our focus away from the physical
strength of the structure.
Another lesson can be learned from
the use of a non-fruit tree in the
mishkan. The Aron was also made of
atzei shittim, which was then overlaid
on the inside and outside with gold.
The Aron, which housed the tablets
and the Sefer Torah written by Moshe,
represents the written law, while the
Menorah, the Rabbis tell us, represents
the oral law. The Chasam Sofer writes
that the designs on the Menorah – the
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reside and stay close to it. Ideally, there
should always be a special place where
Hashem’s Presence can reside close to
the Torah; chowever,
ontinued fromeven
page 1if that place
doesn’t exist, since Hashem cannot bear
to be separate from his treasure, the
Torah, whenever a person learns Torah
as an individual, Hashem lets that indi-
vidual savor some of the intimacy and
love that former generations were grant-
ed in much greater abundance. May the
merit of our Torah learning bring us
Divine intimacy in all our endeavors!
knobs, the flowers, etc. – are symbolic
of the details of the oral laws and the
many elaborate explanations given by
students over the generations. All of
the laws stem from one main body, the
written Torah. Perhaps this explains
why the core of the Aron, which rep-
resents the written law, was made of
‘atzei shittim,’ a tree that does not pro-
duce new fruit every season. The
basic text of the written law is
unchanging; it does not produce
“fruit.” The oral law explains the true
meaning of the written law, but the
text of the written law, represented by
acacia wood, is immutable.
PARSHAS TERUMAH • 3
Parsha Points in Terumah
Ephraim Meth
• Moshe is instructed to collect the Jews’ donations for the building of the Mishkan (tabernacle).
• Hashem instructs Moshe in the construction of the Mishkan’s primary vessels – the Aron (ark),
Shulchan (table), menorah, and Mizbayach (altar) – and their attendant vessels. Einayim L’Torah
• Hashem instructs Moshe in the construction and assembly of the Mishkan’s components: the 500 W. 185th Street
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• The Aron serves as the repository of the luchot (tablets of law).
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• Moshe also learns how to construct the Mishkan’s courtyard, and how to arrange the vessels in
the Mishkan. Executive Director
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