Reflections from Rabbi Ellis

We are now in the seventh Parsha of the second book of the Torah, the book of Shmote. There are eleven Parshiot in the book of Shmote, last week we hit the midpoint of Shmote, this week we start the second half. Starting this week the whole rest of the book of Shmote is occupied with the Mishkan, the traveling Temple that was at the center of our camp for the balance of our time in the desert. Except for a small detour in Parsha Ki Tisa, the rest of the book of Shmote is dedicated to the plans, fabrication techniques and resources used for the Mishkan.

The Mishkan occupies a unique position in the psyche of the Jewish people. We spend weeks reading about it every year, yet we only used it for just under 60 years, until Joshua established a shrine for the Aharon at Shilo. Subsequently the Beit Hamikdash - the Temple in Jerusalem - has superseded the Mishkan as the place designated for us to meet with G!d. Why then do we spend so much time learning about a place that we will never recreate?

The Mishkan is one of the most important parts of the Torah judging on the amount of text dedicated to it. What was the purpose of it, what did the Mishkan do, how did it affect us and what are we missing now that we no longer have it?

Rashi, the eleventh century Torah commentator par excellence, tells us that the Mishkan was an innovation that G!d came up with after the sin of the golden calf. Initially, according to Rashi, there was not supposed to be a national shrine for Israel. Instead each person would have the ability to make offerings to G!d at their home. After the sin of the golden calf G!d became cognizant of our spiritual needs and that we needed a place where we could assemble as a nation to feel G!d’s presence. To be a holy nation we needed the ability to serve G!d as a unified nation, and not just as individuals. The Mishkan was a symbolic recreation of the Garden of Eden. The message of the Mishkan was first and foremost one of forgiveness. Just as G!d forgave the Children of Israel for the sin of the golden calf, so too he can forgive us for our transgressions and when we work together as a nation we have the potential to recreate the world.

The message of the Mishkan is that G!d can forgive us, renew us and dwell amongst us, but only when we are an us. The Mishkan as such is a goal towards which the whole nation not only yearned, but also worked together to achieve. The miraculous nature of the Mishkan was not that G!d rested his presence there, the amazing thing about the Mishkan is that it was a project in which the whole nation took part. This is the true Messianic vision, not of a world that is perfect, but one in which each of us plays a part in making it better.

Shabbat Shalom!