According to Sforno, the commandment to build a Mishkan was as a response to the sin of the Golden Calf. These events appear out of order to express the principle that Hashem creates the antidote for the sin before it is committed. In truth, at the root of this grave sin was a desire to create a dwelling place upon which Hashem's Presence would rest and recreate the sublime spiritual high they had experienced at Mount Sinai only weeks before. This longing for a past spiritual experience is reminiscent of Bnei Yisrael's response to the vision they received during Kriyat Yam Suf. Commenting on the words "VaYisa Moshe Et Yisrael MiYam Suf VaYetzu el Midbar Shur…" "And Moshe caused Israel to journey from Yam Suf and they went out to the Wilderness of Shur," the Zohar explains that Bnei Yisrael were so enamored with the vision of God's Glory revealed to them-as even a simple maidservant saw what the prophets could not-that they had no desire to leave the water's edge, attempting to hang on to the moment as long as possible. Moshe was aware that this experience, though a true and profound expression of God's Presence, was only scratching the surface of what the People needed to be conscious of in order to enter into a committed relationship with God, in order to "know" God. So Moshe prayed that God would project a vision of His Glory into the Wilderness of Shur (Shur is rooted in the word Shar, a vision, like ashurenu "I will see it") so as to instill the desire within the people to move on and progress towards truth.
So too, after the giving of the Torah at Sinai, where the revelation of God's Glory was so expansive and overwhelming that Bnei Yisrael died and were brought back to life, they were left with a mind-numbing craving for more revelation. According to the Midrash, after Moshe did not come down from Sinai at the appointed time, the people panicked and were tricked by the Sitra Achra to believe that their leader and connection to God had died. In their vulnerable and confused state, they opened up to the alternative approach to reconnect to revelation suggested by the Erev Rav, the misguided spiritual thrill-seekers, who although they search for something bigger and greater-they do so based upon their own subjective interpretations of past emotional experiences, not the Truths that Hashem has revealed in this world.
Recalling the vision of the Chayah-angels of the Ma'aseh Merkava revealed to them at Sinai, an idolater named Micah threw a tablet engraved with the words "Alay Shur, emerge ox" into a fire created by the sorcery of two Egyptians, Yanus and Yamblus. This combination was able to draw down the radiance of one of the four faces of the Chayot-the ox. The tablet Micah used was the same tablet thrown by Moshe into the Nile in order to raise the bones of Yosef who is described as an ox because of his ability to channel to the tremendous physical gifts bestowed upon him in order to serve God. We see that when the physicality and beauty of this world is immersed within the purifying waters of the Torah and viewed within the context of a genuine search for God's Will-the result is the Tzaddik. However, when physicality is exposed to the volatile consciousness of a fiery and passionate longing for personal psycho-spiritual experience, it will lead to idolatry.
After the sin of the Golden Calf and Moshe is successful at supplicating Hashem on behalf of Bnei Yisrael, he is taken aback by Hashem's commandment to "make a sanctuary for Me so that I will dwell amongst them." According to the Midrash (Breishit Raba 4:3), Moshe said "how can You, Whose Glory fills heaven and earth dwell in a humble abode which we erect for you?!" His words especially ring true if the People were still stuck in their immature infatuation and addiction to spiritual high. Hashem appeases Moshe and says, "I don't even need the entire Mishkan to dwell. In fact, I will confine my Shechina to the limited area of one square Ama, between the rods of the Aron." The Midrash continues to expound that God can speak to man between the hairs of his head if He so wishes. The subtlety of the Midrash and the intricacy and complexity of the laws surrounding the Mishkan expresses that a relationship with God requires a conscious and sanctified engagement of all existence through a dynamic and daring openness to change and movement and growth, with eager anticipation for the glorious unfolding of God's creation around us. Through a commitment to walk in the ways of God and His Torah and avoidance of the ego's dangerously static infatuation with mere sensory experience and the hallucinations it can so easily fall prey to, we are enabled to purify and unify the mind, body and soul of our existence and find divinity in the smallest, stillest spaces, and understand the expansiveness of what a true relationship with God means.
Noam Sendor
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Noam Sendor grew up in Sharon, Massachusetts. Before coming to Bat Ayin he was a madrich at Yeshivat Yesodei HaTorah. He is currently a student at Yeshivat Bat Ayin and editor of the Bat Ayin monthly Daff. |