The general idea of the Mishkan is a “dwelling-place,” so to speak, for Hashem in this world.
ח. וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם
“They shall make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them” (Truma 25:8) (more…)
There were four keilim that were kept inside the Mishkan – the Shulchan (table), the Aron (Ark), the Mizbeach (altar) and the Menora.
וְצִפִּיתָ אֹתוֹ זָהָב טָהוֹר מִבַּיִת וּמִחוּץ תְּצַפֶּנּוּ וְעָשִׂיתָ עָלָיו זֵר זָהָב סָבִיב – And you shall overlay it with pure gold; from inside and from outside you shall overlay it, and you shall make upon it a golden crown all around. (25:11) – Aron
וְצִפִּיתָ אֹתוֹ זָהָב טָהוֹר וְעָשִׂיתָ לּוֹ זֵר זָהָב סָבִיב – And you shall overlay it with pure gold, and you shall make for it a golden crown all around. (25:24) – Shulchan
וְצִפִּיתָ אֹתוֹ זָהָב טָהוֹר אֶת גַּגּוֹ וְאֶת קִירֹתָיו סָבִיב וְאֶת קַרְנֹתָיו וְעָשִׂיתָ לּוֹ זֵר זָהָב סָבִיב - You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top, its walls all around, and its horns; and you shall make for it a golden crown all around. (30:3) – Mizbeach
The Aron, Shulchan, and Mizbeach all had “crowns”, a gold design that bordered their edges, whereas the Menora is the odd one out, it had no crowns. What is the cause of this discrepancy? (more…)
In Parshas Teruma we are instructed regarding the construction of the Aron (Ark). The Torah tells us that it should be covered from inside and out with gold ‘מבית ומחוץ תצפנו’ Rashi on the pasuk (25:11) explains, in accordance with the Gemara, that three separate boxes were made – a central wooden box, and inner and outer golden boxes. Rashi says that they put the wooden box into the larger golden box and then the smaller golden box inside of it.
The pasuk says they covered the inside of the box first, and only then the outside, whereas Rashi first says that they covered the outside first, and worked their way inwards. Why does Rashi change the order of the pasuk? (more…)
The pasuk says דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה מֵאֵת כָּל אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ תִּקְחוּ אֶת תְּרוּמָתִי – Speak to the children of Israel, and have them take to Me an offering; from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My offering. (25:2)
The Midrash says that this pasuk is the same as the pasuk in Mishlei 4:2 כִּי לֶקַח טוֹב, נָתַתִּי לָכֶם; תּוֹרָתִי, אַל-תַּעֲזֹבוּ – For I gave you good teaching; forsake not My instruction.
The Midrash explains that this means that when we were given the Torah, Hashem was included as part of the deal, as it were. There is a parable here to which we can relate.
A powerful king had an only child, the princess. (more…)
There is a Gemara in Baba Basra 99 that discusses the Kruvim (cherubs). It brings down conflicting psukim, that faced each faced the other, or whether they faced the wall ie away from each other. The Gemara concludes that when the Jews were righteous they faced each other, and when they sinned, they turned away. The symbolism is clear.
There is a Gemara in Yuma 54 that when the Temple was destroyed, the Gentiles who burst in found them hugging. Many commentators query this: the only reason the Temple was destroyed was because the Jews sinned, so why were they even facing each other, let alone hugging?
There are three answers, which have overlapping themes.
The Ritva explains that Hashem punishes us exactly, and when the punishment is finished He loves us again, we have gotten our due. The Temple was destroyed, and G-ds anger had subsided.
The Klausenberger Rebbe says that this occurred so as not to disgrace the Jews, as clearly the position of the Kruvim was noteworthy, so if the punishment was to see the destruction of the Temple, then further embarrassment would be pointless if word spread that the Kruvim were facing opposite direction, ie that G-d was angry with the Jews.
The Arizal says that the Gentiles were not the subject of G-d’ anger, the Jews were. As such, the Gentiles, who were just the objects through which G-d implemented His judgement. In this regard, they were insignificant, and could not hold a candle to the Jews, as it were.
During the destruction, there was a traitor called Yosef of Meshisa who informed for the Romans. As a reward for his treachery, he was allowed to walk into the Temple and take a treasure for himself. He went in and took the Menorah, but was informed that the Romans were unaware of the aesthetic beauty the treasures, so he could not have it, but could go back in and take something else. He refused, and said it had been bad enough he’d angered his G-d once, and would nto do so again. He was tortured, and killed, but it is noteworthy that just going into the Temple had affected him so much so that he was now willing to die rather than betray his people and religion again. There was something that was supernatural about the Temple, that Gentiles were not party to.