(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ב) דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כׇּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃ (ג) וְזֹאת֙ הַתְּרוּמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּקְח֖וּ מֵאִתָּ֑ם זָהָ֥ב וָכֶ֖סֶף וּנְחֹֽשֶׁת׃ (ד) וּתְכֵ֧לֶת וְאַרְגָּמָ֛ן וְתוֹלַ֥עַת שָׁנִ֖י וְשֵׁ֥שׁ וְעִזִּֽים׃ (ה) וְעֹרֹ֨ת אֵילִ֧ם מְאׇדָּמִ֛ים וְעֹרֹ֥ת תְּחָשִׁ֖ים וַעֲצֵ֥י שִׁטִּֽים׃ (ו) שֶׁ֖מֶן לַמָּאֹ֑ר בְּשָׂמִים֙ לְשֶׁ֣מֶן הַמִּשְׁחָ֔ה וְלִקְטֹ֖רֶת הַסַּמִּֽים׃ (ז) אַבְנֵי־שֹׁ֕הַם וְאַבְנֵ֖י מִלֻּאִ֑ים לָאֵפֹ֖ד וְלַחֹֽשֶׁן׃ (ח) וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃ (ט) כְּכֹ֗ל אֲשֶׁ֤ר אֲנִי֙ מַרְאֶ֣ה אוֹתְךָ֔ אֵ֚ת תַּבְנִ֣ית הַמִּשְׁכָּ֔ן וְאֵ֖ת תַּבְנִ֣ית כׇּל־כֵּלָ֑יו וְכֵ֖ן תַּעֲשֽׂוּ׃ {ס}
(1) ה' spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart is so moved. (3) And these are the gifts that you shall accept from them: gold, silver, and copper; (4) blue, purple, and crimson yarns, fine linen, goats’ hair; (5) tanned ram skins, dolphin skins, and acacia wood; (6) oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the aromatic incense; (7) lapis lazuli and other stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. (8) And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. (9) Exactly as I show you—the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings—so shall you make it.
This section of the Torah, the description of the Mishkan, takes place right after we encounter God on Mount Sinai, and right before the Golden Calf, which is followed by the actual building of the Mishkan.
And this timeline is affirmed by Nachmanides in his comments on the opening verse of this week's Torah portion:
And this timeline is affirmed by Nachmanides in his comments on the opening verse of this week's Torah portion:
כאשר דבר השם עם ישראל פנים בפנים עשרת הדברות, וצוה אותם על ידי משה קצת מצות שהם כמו אבות למצותיה של תורה, כאשר הנהיגו רבותינו עם הגרים שבאים להתיהד (יבמות מז:), וישראל קבלו עליהם לעשות כל מה שיצום על ידו של משה, וכרת עמהם ברית על כל זה, מעתה הנה הם לו לעם והוא להם לאלקים כאשר התנה עמהם מתחלה ועתה אם שמוע תשמעו בקולי ושמרתם את בריתי והייתם לי סגולה (שמות י״ט:ה׳), ואמר ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש (שם יט ו), והנה הם קדושים ראוים שיהיה בהם מקדש להשרות שכינתו ביניהם ולכן צוה תחלה על דבר המשכן שיהיה לו בית בתוכם מקודש לשמו, ושם ידבר עם משה ויצוה את בני ישראל:
והנה עקר החפץ במשכן הוא מקום מנוחת השכינה שהוא הארון, כמו שאמר (שמות כ״ה:כ״ב) ונועדתי לך שם ודברתי אתך מעל הכפרת, על כן הקדים הארון והכפרת בכאן כי הוא מוקדם במעלה, וסמך לארון השלחן והמנורה שהם כלים כמוהו, ויורו על ענין המשכן שבעבורם נעשה אבל משה הקדים בפרשת ויקהל את המשכן את אהלו ואת מכסהו (שמות ל״ה:י״א), וכן עשה בצלאל (שמות ל״ו:ח׳), לפי שהוא הראוי לקדם במעשה: וסוד המשכן הוא, שיהיה הכבוד אשר שכן על הר סיני שוכן עליו בנסתר וכמו שנאמר שם (שמות כ״ד:ט״ז) וישכן כבוד ה' על הר סיני, וכתיב (דברים ה כא) הן הראנו ה' אלקינו את כבודו ואת גדלו, כן כתוב במשכן וכבוד ה, מלא את המשכן (שמות מ׳:ל״ד). והזכיר במשכן שני פעמים וכבוד ה' מלא את המשכן, כנגד "את כבודו ואת גדלו"; והיה במשכן תמיד עם ישראל הכבוד שנראה להם בהר סיני. ובבא משה (שמות ל״ד:ל״ד) היה אליו הדבור אשר נדבר לו בהר סיני. וכמו שאמר במתן תורה (דברים ד לו) מן השמים השמיעך את קולו ליסרך ועל הארץ הראך את אשו הגדולה, כך במשכן כתיב (במדבר ז פט) וישמע את הקול מדבר אליו מעל הכפרת מבין שני הכרובים וידבר אליו:
ונכפל ''וידבר אליו'' להגיד מה שאמרו בקבלה שהיה הקול בא מן השמים אל משה מעל הכפרת ומשם מדבר עמו' כי כל דבור עם משה היה מן השמים ביום ונשמע מבין שני הכרובים, כדרך ודבריו שמעת מתוך האש (דברים ד לו), ועל כן היו שניהם זהב וכן אמר הכתוב (להלן כט מב מג) אשר אועד לכם שמה לדבר אליך שם ונקדש בכבודי, כי שם יהיה בית מועד לדבור ונקדש בכבודי: והמסתכל יפה בכתובים הנאמרים במתן תורה ומבין מה שכתבנו בהם (עי' להלן פסוק כא) יבין סוד המשכן ובית המקדש, ויוכל להתבונן בו ממה שאמר שלמה בחכמתו בתפלתו בבית המקדש, ה', אלקי ישראל (מלכים א ח׳:כ״ג) ' כמו שאמר בהר סיני ויראו את אלקי ישראל (שמות כ״ד:י׳), והוסיף שם לפרש ''ה'''לענין שרמזנו שם למעלה כי אלקי ישראל יושב הכרובים (מלכים א ח כג), כמו שאמר וכבוד אלקי ישראל עליהם מלמעלה היא החיה אשר ראיתי תחת אלקי ישראל בנהר כבר ואדע כי כרובים המה (יחזקאל י יט כ) ואמר דוד ולתבנית המרכבה הכרובים זהב לפורשים וסוככים על ארון ברית ה' (דהי''א כח יח), וכן יזכיר תמיד בבית המקדש לשם ה, (מלכים א ה׳:י״ט), לשמך (שם ח מד), ויאמר בכל פעם ופעם ואתה תשמע השמים (שם ח לב), במדת רחמים, וכתיב (שם ח מד מה) והתפללו אל ה' דרך העיר אשר בחרת בה והבית אשר בניתי לשמך ושמעת השמים, ובביאור אמר כי האמנם ישב אלקים את האדם על הארץ הנה שמים ושמי השמים לא יכלכלוך (דהי''ב ו יח). וכתיב על הארון להעלות משם את ארון האלקים אשר נקרא שם שם ה' צבאות יושב הכרובים עליו (שמואל ב ו׳:ב׳). ובדברי הימים (א יג ו) להעלות משם את ארון האלקים ה' יושב הכרובים אשר נקרא שם, כי השם יושב הכרובים:
והנה עקר החפץ במשכן הוא מקום מנוחת השכינה שהוא הארון, כמו שאמר (שמות כ״ה:כ״ב) ונועדתי לך שם ודברתי אתך מעל הכפרת, על כן הקדים הארון והכפרת בכאן כי הוא מוקדם במעלה, וסמך לארון השלחן והמנורה שהם כלים כמוהו, ויורו על ענין המשכן שבעבורם נעשה אבל משה הקדים בפרשת ויקהל את המשכן את אהלו ואת מכסהו (שמות ל״ה:י״א), וכן עשה בצלאל (שמות ל״ו:ח׳), לפי שהוא הראוי לקדם במעשה: וסוד המשכן הוא, שיהיה הכבוד אשר שכן על הר סיני שוכן עליו בנסתר וכמו שנאמר שם (שמות כ״ד:ט״ז) וישכן כבוד ה' על הר סיני, וכתיב (דברים ה כא) הן הראנו ה' אלקינו את כבודו ואת גדלו, כן כתוב במשכן וכבוד ה, מלא את המשכן (שמות מ׳:ל״ד). והזכיר במשכן שני פעמים וכבוד ה' מלא את המשכן, כנגד "את כבודו ואת גדלו"; והיה במשכן תמיד עם ישראל הכבוד שנראה להם בהר סיני. ובבא משה (שמות ל״ד:ל״ד) היה אליו הדבור אשר נדבר לו בהר סיני. וכמו שאמר במתן תורה (דברים ד לו) מן השמים השמיעך את קולו ליסרך ועל הארץ הראך את אשו הגדולה, כך במשכן כתיב (במדבר ז פט) וישמע את הקול מדבר אליו מעל הכפרת מבין שני הכרובים וידבר אליו:
ונכפל ''וידבר אליו'' להגיד מה שאמרו בקבלה שהיה הקול בא מן השמים אל משה מעל הכפרת ומשם מדבר עמו' כי כל דבור עם משה היה מן השמים ביום ונשמע מבין שני הכרובים, כדרך ודבריו שמעת מתוך האש (דברים ד לו), ועל כן היו שניהם זהב וכן אמר הכתוב (להלן כט מב מג) אשר אועד לכם שמה לדבר אליך שם ונקדש בכבודי, כי שם יהיה בית מועד לדבור ונקדש בכבודי: והמסתכל יפה בכתובים הנאמרים במתן תורה ומבין מה שכתבנו בהם (עי' להלן פסוק כא) יבין סוד המשכן ובית המקדש, ויוכל להתבונן בו ממה שאמר שלמה בחכמתו בתפלתו בבית המקדש, ה', אלקי ישראל (מלכים א ח׳:כ״ג) ' כמו שאמר בהר סיני ויראו את אלקי ישראל (שמות כ״ד:י׳), והוסיף שם לפרש ''ה'''לענין שרמזנו שם למעלה כי אלקי ישראל יושב הכרובים (מלכים א ח כג), כמו שאמר וכבוד אלקי ישראל עליהם מלמעלה היא החיה אשר ראיתי תחת אלקי ישראל בנהר כבר ואדע כי כרובים המה (יחזקאל י יט כ) ואמר דוד ולתבנית המרכבה הכרובים זהב לפורשים וסוככים על ארון ברית ה' (דהי''א כח יח), וכן יזכיר תמיד בבית המקדש לשם ה, (מלכים א ה׳:י״ט), לשמך (שם ח מד), ויאמר בכל פעם ופעם ואתה תשמע השמים (שם ח לב), במדת רחמים, וכתיב (שם ח מד מה) והתפללו אל ה' דרך העיר אשר בחרת בה והבית אשר בניתי לשמך ושמעת השמים, ובביאור אמר כי האמנם ישב אלקים את האדם על הארץ הנה שמים ושמי השמים לא יכלכלוך (דהי''ב ו יח). וכתיב על הארון להעלות משם את ארון האלקים אשר נקרא שם שם ה' צבאות יושב הכרובים עליו (שמואל ב ו׳:ב׳). ובדברי הימים (א יג ו) להעלות משם את ארון האלקים ה' יושב הכרובים אשר נקרא שם, כי השם יושב הכרובים:
Now that G-d had told Israel face to face the Ten Utterances, and had further commanded them through Moses some of the precepts which are like general principles to the [individual] commandments of the Torah...and now that the Israelites accepted upon themselves to do all that God would command them through Moses and God made a covenant with them concerning all this, from now on they are God's people and God is their God This is in accordance with the condition God made with them at the beginning: Now, therefore, if ye will indeed hearken unto My voice, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be Mine own treasure, and God said further: and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. They are now holy, in that they are worthy that there be amongst them a Sanctuary through which God makes God's Divine Glory dwell among them. Therefore God first commanded concerning the Tabernacle, so that God have among them a house dedicated to God's name, from where God would speak with Moses and command the children of Israel. Thus the main purpose of the Tabernacle was to contain a place in which the Divine Glory rests, this being the ark...
Good. Makes sense. We have read all of those sections up to now, and this is how the events described in the Torah unfold. Unless, you also read Rashi on the Torah, who has a different view of what is going on with this Torah portion. Rashi here is commenting on a later verse about the Golden Calf, but it relates directly to this week's Torah portion and Nachmanides comment there as well.
ויתן אל משה וגו'. אֵין מֻקְדָּם וּמְאֻחָר בַּתּוֹרָה – מַעֲשֵׂה הָעֵגֶל קֹדֶם לְצִוּוּי מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן יָמִים רַבִּים הָיָה – שֶׁהֲרֵי בְי"ז בְּתַמּוּז נִשְׁתַּבְּרוּ הַלּוּחוֹת, וּבְיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים נִתְרַצָּה הַקָּבָּ"ה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, וּלְמָחֳרָת הִתְחִילוּ בְנִדְבַת הַמִּשְׁכָּן וְהוּקַם בְּאֶחָד בְּנִיסָן (תנחומא):
ויתן אל משה וגו׳ AND HE GAVE UNTO MOSES etc. — There is no “earlier” or “later” (no chronological order) in the events related in the Torah: in fact the incident of the golden calf happened a considerable time before the command regarding the work of the Tabernacle was given. For on the seventeenth of Tammuz the Tablets were broken (when the people were worshipping the calf) and on the Day of Atonement God became reconciled with Israel, and on the next day (the eleventh of Tishri), they began to bring their contributions for the Mishkan which was set up on the first of Nisan. (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 31).
Now we have another timeline, according to Rashi, who is quoting an earlier midrash from Midrash Tanchuma, where the timeline is:
1. Mount Sinai
2. Moses is late coming down/Golden Calf
3. Moses reconciles Israel with God
4. God commands the Mishkan and people begin to donate the materials.
Why does this even matter? Who cares if the details of the Mishkan were given before the Golden Calf or after the Golden Calf? What is the difference?
It turns out that the difference is tremendous, and it also turns out that we should care about this as well, because this difference is at the core of Jewish life for over two thousand years.
1. Mount Sinai
2. Moses is late coming down/Golden Calf
3. Moses reconciles Israel with God
4. God commands the Mishkan and people begin to donate the materials.
Why does this even matter? Who cares if the details of the Mishkan were given before the Golden Calf or after the Golden Calf? What is the difference?
It turns out that the difference is tremendous, and it also turns out that we should care about this as well, because this difference is at the core of Jewish life for over two thousand years.
If the Mishkan is given first, then what does that mean?
- The Mishkan is essential, baked into the plan for the cosmos from the very beginning.
- The Golden Calf stands to derail this plan, but the Mishkan comes to atone for it. All is good.
- When the Temples are destroyed in Jerusalem (I and II), it is a cosmic catastrophe.
- We should be yearning for a restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem, which we have in Musaf.
- The Mishken is not essential, but conventional, given in response to the Golden Calf.
- The Golden Calf (and idolatry in general) is the reason that we need the Mishkan.
- The Mishkan and the later Temples are not something that stand as an ideal, but we structure that we needed for periods of time while we moved away from idolatry towards monotheism.
- Musaf has a different tone in that sense, and perhaps why many feel that it's language should be changed (which we have done) or done away with (which other liberal movements have done).
This now raises up the idea that there are two foundational ways to understand the Torah, epitomized by two particular Rabbis, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Ishmael, who each come from centuries of their particular perspectives. What are these two approaches, and how do they connect to the question of which came first: Miskhan or The Golden Calf?
Rabbi Akiva
His was the Road of Vision
Focused on the esoteric meanings of the Torah, the hidden meaning of the text (assuming that it was all there the whole time, and calls for discovering and unpacking what is there).
Torah: Located in Heaven, our copy/version is on earth; at its core, it's infinite, every detail has meaning, layers and layers to be discovered.
Seeks out the wondrous and mysterious
Sought to penetrate inner depths
Used profound and potent language
Did not shrink from anthropomorphism
Preserved the concrete images in scripture
Cherished imaginative meanings
Added metaphorical embellishments
Created images of the supernal world
Championed free exegesis and intellectual flights
A poet with huge acuity
Combined the Esoteric and analytic
Wanted to reveal the Torah’s secrets
When it came to public life, Rabbi Akiva sought to rouse the public, to demand action from them, to be their guide
He was a person of action
A spokesperson for his people, a public servant
Not wary of danger, taught many how to revolt, fight, how to give ones life for God.
Rabbi Akiva taught that God and Israel have a strong sense of mutual empathy; when Israel suffers, God suffers; when Israel is in exile, God is in exile; when Israel is redeemed, God is redeemed, redemption is not just a human need but a divine need as well. The Immanence of God was paramount in his teachings.
Theodicy: Rabbi Akiva accepted the suffering of the good and prosperity of the wicked as an act of God’s kindness.
Focused on the value of the world to come.
His was the Road of Vision
Focused on the esoteric meanings of the Torah, the hidden meaning of the text (assuming that it was all there the whole time, and calls for discovering and unpacking what is there).
Torah: Located in Heaven, our copy/version is on earth; at its core, it's infinite, every detail has meaning, layers and layers to be discovered.
Seeks out the wondrous and mysterious
Sought to penetrate inner depths
Used profound and potent language
Did not shrink from anthropomorphism
Preserved the concrete images in scripture
Cherished imaginative meanings
Added metaphorical embellishments
Created images of the supernal world
Championed free exegesis and intellectual flights
A poet with huge acuity
Combined the Esoteric and analytic
Wanted to reveal the Torah’s secrets
When it came to public life, Rabbi Akiva sought to rouse the public, to demand action from them, to be their guide
He was a person of action
A spokesperson for his people, a public servant
Not wary of danger, taught many how to revolt, fight, how to give ones life for God.
Rabbi Akiva taught that God and Israel have a strong sense of mutual empathy; when Israel suffers, God suffers; when Israel is in exile, God is in exile; when Israel is redeemed, God is redeemed, redemption is not just a human need but a divine need as well. The Immanence of God was paramount in his teachings.
Theodicy: Rabbi Akiva accepted the suffering of the good and prosperity of the wicked as an act of God’s kindness.
Focused on the value of the world to come.
Rabbi Ishmael
Road of Reason
Focused on the surface, contextual meaning of the text (which then calls for creative exegesis and innovation)
His teaching is marked by its delicacy
Intellectual reserve
Clear thinking
Sobriety
The middle way, never swept into extremism
Level headed caution
Did not impose his authority in the text
More focus on what is written than speculation on what is beyond comprehension
Logical
Lucid
Simple language
Sought to strip Scripture of anthropomorphisms and excise unnecessary metaphor and imagery
When it came to his public life and his view of public life, Was beloved and admired by colleagues
Spoke with a still small voice
He called for accommodation, adaptation;
He was against rebellion and opposition; Moderate in all things, guarded abasing extremism
Criticized those who demanded martyrdom, those who focused too much on vicitimization
For him, the world is built on compassion, not heroism.
Rabbi Akiva’s mutual empathy between God and Israel is foreign to him
God's justice and power are primary here, not compassion.
Saw no good answer to why the good suffer and the wicked prosper
Taught that Moses struggled with this question his entire life
Rabbi Ishmael focused on the value of this world
For him, metaphysics was intellectual, spiritual and philosophical
Torah: Text given to us in order to understand it and to establish traditions, the Torah invites us to deduce new directives and truths from it, by the use of logic and reason. The Oral Torah is construction NOT discovery in the spirit of Rabbi Akiva.
Road of Reason
Focused on the surface, contextual meaning of the text (which then calls for creative exegesis and innovation)
His teaching is marked by its delicacy
Intellectual reserve
Clear thinking
Sobriety
The middle way, never swept into extremism
Level headed caution
Did not impose his authority in the text
More focus on what is written than speculation on what is beyond comprehension
Logical
Lucid
Simple language
Sought to strip Scripture of anthropomorphisms and excise unnecessary metaphor and imagery
When it came to his public life and his view of public life, Was beloved and admired by colleagues
Spoke with a still small voice
He called for accommodation, adaptation;
He was against rebellion and opposition; Moderate in all things, guarded abasing extremism
Criticized those who demanded martyrdom, those who focused too much on vicitimization
For him, the world is built on compassion, not heroism.
Rabbi Akiva’s mutual empathy between God and Israel is foreign to him
God's justice and power are primary here, not compassion.
Saw no good answer to why the good suffer and the wicked prosper
Taught that Moses struggled with this question his entire life
Rabbi Ishmael focused on the value of this world
For him, metaphysics was intellectual, spiritual and philosophical
Torah: Text given to us in order to understand it and to establish traditions, the Torah invites us to deduce new directives and truths from it, by the use of logic and reason. The Oral Torah is construction NOT discovery in the spirit of Rabbi Akiva.
Mishkan is Essential = Rabbi Akiva / Nachmanides
Mishken is Conventional = Rabbi Ishmael / Rashi
So what we have here are two twin cores of Rabbinic Judaism, which have been intertwined for centuries. The Akivan school has been dominant for a very long time, with the Ishmaelian school influencing sages and scholars indirectly and unconsciously over the centuries. They have each always been here.
And I think these two approaches have been with us even earlier than that.
Mishken is Conventional = Rabbi Ishmael / Rashi
So what we have here are two twin cores of Rabbinic Judaism, which have been intertwined for centuries. The Akivan school has been dominant for a very long time, with the Ishmaelian school influencing sages and scholars indirectly and unconsciously over the centuries. They have each always been here.
And I think these two approaches have been with us even earlier than that.
(א) וַיְכֻלּ֛וּ הַשָּׁמַ֥יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ וְכׇל־צְבָאָֽם׃ (ב) וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹקִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃ (ג) וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹקִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹקִ֖ים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ {פ}
(ד) אֵ֣לֶּה תוֹלְד֧וֹת הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ בְּהִבָּֽרְאָ֑ם בְּי֗וֹם עֲשׂ֛וֹת ה' אֱלֹקִ֖ים אֶ֥רֶץ וְשָׁמָֽיִם׃
(ד) אֵ֣לֶּה תוֹלְד֧וֹת הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ בְּהִבָּֽרְאָ֑ם בְּי֗וֹם עֲשׂ֛וֹת ה' אֱלֹקִ֖ים אֶ֥רֶץ וְשָׁמָֽיִם׃
(1) The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. (2) On the seventh day God finished the work that had been undertaken: [God] ceased on the seventh day from doing any of the work. (3) And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy—having ceased on it from all the work of creation that God had done. (4) Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created. When God ה' made earth and heaven—
(לג) וַיָּ֣קֶם אֶת־הֶחָצֵ֗ר סָבִיב֙ לַמִּשְׁכָּ֣ן וְלַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ וַיִּתֵּ֕ן אֶת־מָסַ֖ךְ שַׁ֣עַר הֶחָצֵ֑ר וַיְכַ֥ל מֹשֶׁ֖ה אֶת־הַמְּלָאכָֽה׃ {פ}
(לד) וַיְכַ֥ס הֶעָנָ֖ן אֶת־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וּכְב֣וֹד ה' מָלֵ֖א אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּֽן׃
(לד) וַיְכַ֥ס הֶעָנָ֖ן אֶת־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וּכְב֣וֹד ה' מָלֵ֖א אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּֽן׃
(33) And he set up the enclosure around the Tabernacle and the altar, and put up the screen for the gate of the enclosure. When Moses had finished the work, (34) the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Presence of ה' filled the Tabernacle.
What is the capstone of Creation? Shabbat or the Mishkan? Holiness in Time of Holiness in Space? The language of the Primordial Shabbat has specific terms (see above), and some of that language is reflected in the completion of the Mishkan itself (see above). So what does that mean?
The Ishmaelian school (might) say: Shabbat is the capstone of Creation. It comes at the end of the narrative, and also reflects the language of the day, which is that in ANE Creation mythologies, the end of Creation comes after a cosmic battle between the Elder gods and the Younger gods, when the Younger gods build a palace for the king of the gods who led them to victory. Shabbat is an anti-idolatrous rejection of that idea, of sacred spaces, and the supremacy of holiness in time.
The Akivan school (might) say: the capstone of Creation was delayed until after Israel came to Sinai, entered the Covenant, and then built the Mishkan, thus completing Creation. And the language from the Primordial Shabbat hints at the upcoming physical structure in which God's presence will dwell on earth as it dwells in the Heavens. In fact, the Mishkan is a small version of the Universe, with materials from animal, plant and mineral kingdoms, and even a human being in a small version of the Mishkan/Universe as well. It's all part of the same cosmic pattern.
The Ishmaelian school (might) say: Shabbat is the capstone of Creation. It comes at the end of the narrative, and also reflects the language of the day, which is that in ANE Creation mythologies, the end of Creation comes after a cosmic battle between the Elder gods and the Younger gods, when the Younger gods build a palace for the king of the gods who led them to victory. Shabbat is an anti-idolatrous rejection of that idea, of sacred spaces, and the supremacy of holiness in time.
The Akivan school (might) say: the capstone of Creation was delayed until after Israel came to Sinai, entered the Covenant, and then built the Mishkan, thus completing Creation. And the language from the Primordial Shabbat hints at the upcoming physical structure in which God's presence will dwell on earth as it dwells in the Heavens. In fact, the Mishkan is a small version of the Universe, with materials from animal, plant and mineral kingdoms, and even a human being in a small version of the Mishkan/Universe as well. It's all part of the same cosmic pattern.
This leads to another question about Torah as well.
What is the nature of the Oral Torah in particular?
Is it all about discovering the hidden depths of the Torah, seeking meaning in every letter and details? Was it all there from the beginning waiting to be revealed? And if we have forgotten or lost some of those discoveries, can they be rediscovered? OR
Is it all about understanding the Torah in its context, and deriving from it new meaning and new interpretations, adding innovations and adaptations as the current time call for?
In short: Is Torah Retrospective (looking backwards) or Prospective (looking forwards)?
So here are the questions I have sought to raise up today:
1. What comes first: The Mishkan or the Golden Calf, which raised the next question:
2. What is the primary goal of the Torah? To serve God in all ways or to wean us off of idolatry?
3. What is the capstone of Creation? Shabbat or the Mishkan?
4. What is the nature of the Written and Oral Torah? Retrospective or Prospective? Given that nature, how are we supposed to read the Written and Oral Torah?
What I have come to understand is we are not supposed to answer each of these questions and then move on. My understanding is that these questions are an essential part of what the Torah is:
And I have also come to understand that all of the contemporary streams and denominations in Jewish life today all come from different ways of balancing out these core tensions, which have always been with us, and always will be.
An all Akivan Judaism might have faded away, focusing exclusively on the past.
An all Ishmaelian Judaism might have faded away, becoming like all the other nations.
We have always been between these two competing tensions, balancing one approach with the other in a myriad of ways, each movement and denomination doing so according to the principles and approaches that they each think are the best for doing so.
In the end, what I want to give you today is a pair of lenses through which to understand the Judaism of any time period. And we need to use both to understand how Jewish life is balanced in any given situation. How does any one person, community, movement, relate to these two approaches of Jewish life? It is always a decision, a custom, a law, a ritual, a way, that takes in to account all of the tradition that has come before and the pull on that tradition into the future to adapt and change.
It is not that we are right and they are wrong. We need to understand that we are balancing Jewish life in one way, and they are balancing Jewish life in another way.
What is the nature of the Oral Torah in particular?
Is it all about discovering the hidden depths of the Torah, seeking meaning in every letter and details? Was it all there from the beginning waiting to be revealed? And if we have forgotten or lost some of those discoveries, can they be rediscovered? OR
Is it all about understanding the Torah in its context, and deriving from it new meaning and new interpretations, adding innovations and adaptations as the current time call for?
In short: Is Torah Retrospective (looking backwards) or Prospective (looking forwards)?
So here are the questions I have sought to raise up today:
1. What comes first: The Mishkan or the Golden Calf, which raised the next question:
2. What is the primary goal of the Torah? To serve God in all ways or to wean us off of idolatry?
3. What is the capstone of Creation? Shabbat or the Mishkan?
4. What is the nature of the Written and Oral Torah? Retrospective or Prospective? Given that nature, how are we supposed to read the Written and Oral Torah?
What I have come to understand is we are not supposed to answer each of these questions and then move on. My understanding is that these questions are an essential part of what the Torah is:
- the rational and the mystical
- the conventional and the essential
- the sober and the soaring
- the universal and the particular
- the Ishmaelian way and the Akivan way
- the Rashi approach and Nachmanides way
- the Prospective way and the Retrospective way.
- And so on...
And I have also come to understand that all of the contemporary streams and denominations in Jewish life today all come from different ways of balancing out these core tensions, which have always been with us, and always will be.
An all Akivan Judaism might have faded away, focusing exclusively on the past.
An all Ishmaelian Judaism might have faded away, becoming like all the other nations.
We have always been between these two competing tensions, balancing one approach with the other in a myriad of ways, each movement and denomination doing so according to the principles and approaches that they each think are the best for doing so.
In the end, what I want to give you today is a pair of lenses through which to understand the Judaism of any time period. And we need to use both to understand how Jewish life is balanced in any given situation. How does any one person, community, movement, relate to these two approaches of Jewish life? It is always a decision, a custom, a law, a ritual, a way, that takes in to account all of the tradition that has come before and the pull on that tradition into the future to adapt and change.
It is not that we are right and they are wrong. We need to understand that we are balancing Jewish life in one way, and they are balancing Jewish life in another way.