Boulder Aish Kodesh

The building of the Mishkan in many ways parallels the original act of creation. The same ‘skills’ – ‘wisdom, understanding, and knowledge’ – were required for both. As the Gemarra Brachot 55a tells us, ‘R’ Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Betzal’el knew how to join together the letters with which heaven and earth were created…’

But more than requiring the same skills as the original act of creation, the Mishkan was meant to be a facsimile of the world, in microcosm. As is written in the Ha’amek Davar, “…all the details of the Mishkan were reflective of all the details of the world that the Creator created.” One might surmise that this parallelism served the purpose of giving a visitor to the Mishkan the experience of being at the center of the world.

As the Ha’amek Davar mentions, every detail of the Mishkan paralleled an essential aspect of the larger world. He continues,

And Hashem commanded that they make a representation of the entire world in the building of the Mishkan and its vessels. G-d [then] showed Moshe a vision of the entire world. And in the sense that the Mishkan contained within it a representation of the entire world, it would be possible for the Divine Presence to rest there. We find that several aspects of the Mishkan had to be made in such and such a way, and it would have seemed to us that this was for the sole purpose of the building itself. For example, the fifty hooks of the curtains would have seemed to be for the sole purpose of joining the sets of curtains: accordingly, if one of them were not attached properly to its clasp, this would not damage or nullify the status of the Mishkan [as a place worthy of receiving the Divine Presence]. But it is not so – but each detail must be so in accordance with the structure of the world to which the hooks correspond – fifty hooks, each attached to its clasps. And if one should be lacking, then it would be a representation of the world, and the Divine Presence could not rest there.

By looking at the parallel in reverse, we could say that, just as every detail of the Mishkan was essential in order for the Divine Presence to rest there, so too every detail of the world is essential in order for the Divine Presence to rest there. And when does the Divine Presence rest upon the world? As the Mei Hashiloach tells us in Parshat Kedoshim, “And guard my Shabbats: ‘My Shabbats’ –any moment of the resting of the Divine Presence – at any time, even if it be just for a moment – is called Shabbat.”

Since Shabbat is the Divine Presence, and the Divine Presence would only rest in the Mishkan if every detail is exactly as it should be, so too the Divine Presence of Shabbat can only rest upon a world where every detail is exactly as it should be. This is true in space as well as in time. When Shabbat arrives, it is the Divine Presence resting upon all the details of the week previous. Each moment of the week is absolutely necessary for the resting of the Divine Presence. If one wishes to be fully able to fulfill the prayer ‘let us receive the face of Shabbat’, then one must recognize the relationship between the week that is past and the Shabbat that arrives. For this reason, it is essential to look at one’s actions of the previous week before Shabbat, as mentioned in the writings of the Ari (Pri Etz Chayim Shabbat Chapter 3) and in the Be’er Heitev (on Shulchan Aruch 250). By doing so, one can be sure that one will be as familiar as possible with the nuances of the Divine Presence when it comes to rest on Shabbat.

If we are wise, we can have this consciousness during the week as well. We can recognize that all of our actions and work of the week will ultimately become vessels for the Divine Presence of Shabbat. If our eyes are opened, we can see that Hashem makes opportunities available to us during the week in order to build a vessel to receive Shabbat. This is what we say in the prayer Lecha Dodi, ‘[Shabbat is] last in action, first in thought.’

This relationship between attention to details and invitation of the Divine Presence is essential to Jewish practice. We find it, for example, in understanding the lessons of the Torah. If one does not understand the simple meaning of a verse or passage, one cannot understand the deeper meanings of the passage. The Malbim, for example, systematized the grammar of the books of the Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim, in order to better understand the nuances of the simple level. By understanding the differences between ויאמר ל- and ויאמר אל - , for example, we can more closely comprehend what is actually happening in the story, which will give us truer and deeper insight into the deeper meanings of the text.

Similarly, according to R’ Bachaye (Shemot 25:2), the Mishkan corresponded to the experience at Sinai. And, according to Yalkut Shim’oni Shemot 19:280, if one Jew had been missing from the receiving of the Torah, then the Torah could not have been given.

There are, however, times when this rule is transcended. One such time is the holiday of Purim. R’ Rafael Luria, in his book Beit Genazai, likens all other holidays to the first Temple, which required the vessels of the Temple – the ark, the Menorah, the Table, etc. – in order to draw down the Divine Presence. But Purim was the time of preparation for building the Second Temple. It therefore corresponds to a Temple without all of the vessels. In fact, in the story of Purim, the vessels of the Temple are in disarray, as Achashveirosh wears the clothes of the High Priest, and the vessels of the Temple are used to serve food at his party. And the Divine Presence rested upon that chaos. As R’ Luria writes, ‘they drew light from creation itself…’ As he continues, ‘every place will be as if it is an Ark…’

Purim is a time when the details of the world do not need to be in a certain order to draw down the Divine Presence. The story itself lacks a miraculous moment like the 10 plagues, the parting of the Sea, or the giving of the Torah. It lacks the clarity of ‘this is my G-d… (Shemot 15:2)’ And yet it is the last and greatest of all miracles, for it reveals, as R’ Luria writes, ‘the light that is within the creation.’ This is reflected in the fact that a Torah that lacks one letter is passul, void, and cannot be read from as a kosher Torah, as the Minchat Chinuch writes, ‘if it is missing one letter, it is not a sefer Torah.’ A Megillah, on the other hand, could be missing up to half of the words, and it is still Kosher to read from, as is written in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim 680:3.

So we are left with a clear assignment to put together every detail in order to build a Mishkan out of our lives, but