Parshas Terumah - Mishkan Man

Parshas Terumah

Mishkan Man

By: Daniel Listhaus

“They shall make for Me a Sanctuary – so that I may dwell among them – in conformance with all that I show you, the form of the Mishkan and the form of all its vessels; and so shall you do.”

-Terumah 25:8-9

After receiving the Torah and understanding its mitzvos, Hashem commanded us to build a Mikdash. Parshas Terumah describes the many keilim (vessels) which had to be made, the specifications and details as to how they should be made, and with which materials. The Torah clearly depicts the precise measurements and descriptions of the Aron, Shulchan, Menorah, Copper Mizbeach, Paroches, and all of their respective accessories. Even the Mishkan and the Courtyard itself had their own specific requirements.

The question that begs to be asked on the whole Parsha is, what was the purpose of the Mishkan? Even if we could somehow grasp a small understanding that perhaps the Mishkan was there to allow us to offer karbanos and do many more mitzvos, how would we understand the need to have to fulfill all the specifications of the keilim? For example, if the purpose of the Aron was to house the eidus (luchos and the Torah)¹, why was it important for some parts to be made of gold and others of wood? If the Menorah was there to be lit, why was it necessary for its structure to be so complicated with intricate details, that even Moshe rabbeinu had trouble understanding how to make it? Also, did it really matter that the Mishkan and its courtyard had to be of certain sizes? What if they wanted to do an expansion to have more space? On the surface it appears that there was too much attention to detail regarding the Mishkan. If the purpose was to have a place where the Shechina could “rest”, we could sacrifice animals, and offer incenses, it would seem that there would be much easier ways to accomplish these goals. So, what exactly was the purpose of the Mishkan and why were all these details and measurements such important factors?

If one would take the time to look around and examine the nature that surrounds him, one would see unbelievable creations and undeniable proof of an “Intelligent Designer”. Hashem has placed his stamp of truth in so many areas of the physical world we live in. For example, there is a sequence of numbers called the Fibonacci series. This series is created by starting with 1 and getting the next number in the series by adding together the two numbers which preceded it.² This series goes a lot deeper than an easy math puzzle though. The ratio between any two consecutive numbers in this series approaches the Golden Ratio, which is approximately 1.61803399. This ratio could be seen in plant stems, petals, seeds, fruits, human arm, fingers, the cochlea of the inner ear, and in many other things. This ratio and series are everywhere! This is just one example of many complex truths that one will run into a lot when studying nature. Hashem set a specific rules and orders for nature to follow. In order for the physical world to function properly, everything has to follow a precise set of instructions and details.

This concept is one that is touched upon by Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi in his work, The Kuzari. The Kuzari is a lengthy discussion between a Rabbi and a gentile king – the Kuzari, which covers many fundamentals aspects of Judaism. During the conversation, when discussing the necessary details given to us regarding karbanos, the Rabbi says as follows, “Hashem elucidated the details of the sacrificial laws and other laws – every facet involving very detailed laws. The same attention to detail is prevalent in all of nature. Each physical object is made up of a combination of different elements, combined according to very exact specifications. The proportions must be more precise than the mind could imagine; even if the smallest error was made in the proportions of these elements, the object would no longer exist as it is. The plant, animal, or limb in question would be defective or would not exist at all.... The Torah also records how the sacrificial animals is to be cut, how to arrange the pieces, which parts are to be eaten...and which to be burned. All these details are based on the Torah and on that which the Sages recorded in the Oral Law, all originating from Hashem's words to Moshe. Similarly the Shulchan, Menorah, Aron, Courtyard, Pillars, Covers and all procedures, were shown to Moshe and required intricate specifications.” The Rabbi then ends off, “When it comes to serving Hashem, one cannot rely on logic, inference, or discretion....”³

When it comes to the way the physical world must be prepared to connect to the spiritual world, there is also a clear set of rules which must be followed. It is beyond our comprehension to understand how this world works in its own right, let alone its complicated relationship with the spiritual realm. The measurements and details contained in the Mishkan are parts of a unique formula which provides the connection between the physical and spiritual worlds.

As people, we have a built-in portable feature to take plain things and infuse them with kedusha (Holiness). This is the power of our minds and kavannah (intentions). However, the main connection between this world and its counterpart in the spiritual world, is the Mishkan/Beis HaMikdash, which is the place where we meet with the presence of Hashem.

Each person is a microcosm of the mikdash, while, simultaneously, the mikdash is an icon of the perfect person. As the Kuzari explains, someone who designates every facet of his body: Aron (ark; representing the heart), Cheruvim (Angel sculptures on top of the Aron; representing ones' lungs), Digestive system, supporting systems, and senses, for kedusha, is someone who is fit to house the shechina within him.

The passuk⁴ (verse) in this week's parsha states, “They shall make Me a Mikdash – so that I may dwell in them – in conformance with all that I show you, the form of the Mishkan and the form of all of its vessels; and so shall you do.”

There are two things that strike out from this passuk. First, why does the torah switch from calling the Tabernacle a Mikdash to calling it a Mishkan? Second, the first part of the passuk does not seem to be grammatically correct. “They shall make Me a Mikdash – so that I may dwell in them”? If “them” is a pronoun referring back to the Mikdash, it should be “it”, not “them”?

The Ohr HaChaim⁵, S'forno⁶, and the Alter of Slabodka⁷ explain that the real place for the Shechina is to dwell amongst us. The passuk uses the phrase “so that I may dwell among them” because it is referring to the Jewish people. Perhaps if we put this together with the aforementioned Kuzari, we could see a deeper understanding in this passuk. If we make ourselves like the mikdash – meaning, if we align all of our body parts and abilities with their mirror images in the mikdash, then we will become fit for the shechinas Hashem to dwell amongst us.

Each of us is a mikdash me'at (miniature version of the mishkan). It is our job to make sure that our keilim are being used properly as the keilim in the mishkan that they represent. With this in mind, may we merit to achieve, as the Sefer Chareidim writes, “Bilvavi mishkan evneh...” (“In my heart, I shall build a Sanctuary...”).⁸

1See Gemara Bava Basra 14a

2Thus, the sequence comes to be 1, 1, 2, 3,5,8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144....as far as you could go.

3Kuzari 1:99 (Translation based on Feldheim)

4Shemos 25:8-9

5Shemos 25:8-9

6Shemos 25:8

7Ohr HaTzafun; Part 2

8Piyut brought in Sefer Chareidim by R' Elazar AzKari

Parshas Mishpatim - Pear Pressure

Parshas Mishpatim

Pear Pressure

By: Daniel Listhaus

“You shall not go after the many to do bad; and you shall not respond to a dispute to tilt after the many.”

-Mishpatim 23:2

This passuk in our parsha is alluding to a number of laws relevant to how the sanhedrin/beis din (Jewish court) must conduct itself. There are many different views as to how to learn this passuk. Rashi¹ explains that when the passuk says, “Do not respond to a dispute...”, the word for 'dispute' (ריב) is written without the letter yud (as רב) to teach us that a judge cannot argue with someone greater (רב) than him in the court. For this reason, the sanhedrin would start voicing their opinions “from the side” - meaning starting from the lesser members of the court.

The Ohr HaChaim², however, does not like Rashi's explanation because it is not the simple reading of the passuk. Instead, the Ohr HaChaim takes a completely different approach in how to interpret this passuk. He explains that the gemara³ brings a statement from Rav Kahana that if beis din unanimously declares someone guilty in a capital case, the accused is actually acquitted. The Ohr HaChaim continues to explain that the aforementioned passuk is coming to counter mistakes that people might rationalize and make in one of two situations. The first scenario is as follows. Imagine all the judges voiced their opinions and so far everyone held that the person is guilty. Now it is your turn to vote and you think that the man is innocent. So you think to yourself the following, “If I say innocent, then the result will be that the man will be found guilty because both requirements will have been met. First, the overwhelming majority is saying guilty⁴; and second, there is opposition of at least one person saying innocent – me. If I also say guilty, though, then the second requirement will not be met and indeed the person will come out innocent just as I honestly believe he is. Furthermore, I am anyway probably doing the right thing by saying guilty even though I think he is innocent, because everyone else said guilty and this way I could be mevatel da'ati l'rabim (lower my opinion and instead agree to others)”. This, writes the Ohr HaChaim, is a tremendous mistake to think. It is not your job to outsmart the Torah. Do not fool yourself to follow after the majority just to get your desired outcome. Rather you should say what you think and allow Hashem's system of rules to determine the conclusion that is supposed to be reached.

The Ohr HaChaim continues to explain another similar circumstance which one might rationalize that it is okay to distort the truth and follow after the majority. Imagine that all the judges have already stated their opinions, and they all think that the person is guilty. Inside your head you also agree that he is guilty. However, you are torn. If you say that you also agree that he is guilty, then because the vote will be unanimous that he is guilty, the one on trial will actually go free. So, instead you think to yourself that you should say that he is innocent in order to create resistance, and as a result, the man will be convicted. Again the Ohr HaChaim expresses the importance of not trying to outsmart the Torah. We must do our job and allow Hashem to do His. Our job is to voice our honest opinion. Hashem's job is to add up the figures and plug the grand total into the Torah's formulas and equations. A judge must remember his role in court. His job is not to make everyone else happy or to ensure that his opinion materializes. Rather, a judge's job is to claim what he honestly thinks.

The Ohr HaChaim seems to be teaching us that we must constantly be balancing two roles. On the one hand, we are each our own person and responsible for ourselves as individuals. On the other hand, we share a role as part of the rabim (public). We must understand when it is our duty to be independent and when the proper thing is to be mevatel (make oneself secondary) to the rabim. When it comes to the sanhedrin, the Torah says that each individual judge has the task of applying his Torah to the court case and come out with his own unique perspective, independent of what others have said, think, or what one could say to seem to be in consensus with the general public.

Rashi in Gemara⁵ seems to start off explaining the same way as he does in Chumash, but then seems to add in a little more information than necessary. Rashi starts by saying that the passuk is coming to teach an issur (prohibition) of arguing with the greatest member of the sanhedrin. However, Rashi does not stop here but instead continues to write, “And this is why the sanhedrin starts voicing their opinion “from the side” - from the least of the members of the sanhedrin, in order that one should not hear one of his colleagues declaring innocent, and agree to him.”

This Rashi seems to be self-contradictory! What is the reason that the sanhedrin would start from the lesser judge? Is it so that he could not contradict the most prestigious member of the court, or is it because we do not want him to hear what his fellow judges have to say?

The Mahar'shal⁶ comes to address this issue and explains that Rashi was bothered by the following question. Granted the passuk teaches us (according to Rashi) that one is not permitted to argue with the head of the sanhedrin, and therefore he could not be the one who gives his view first, but still, why not start with the second most esteemed member of the sanhedrin? This is what Rashi is coming to answer and is why Rashi continues to explain that if we would start by other great members of the sanhedrin, the people after him may be swayed to agree. Therefore, we start all the way by the least prestigious member of the sanhedrin.⁷

The S'forno⁸ writes a similar idea that the Torah is telling the sanhedrin that if ten people have voted innocent and eleven have voted guilty, the one whose turn it is now to vote should not say that he will vote guilty because that is what the majority has decided thus far. A judges decision must be completely independent of what others have said. Each individual's vote must be based on his own s'varos (logic) and applications, nothing to do with the opinions of others.

Let us stop a minute and think about who exactly we are talking about. We are dealing with the sanhedrin. The sanhedrin was comprised of the most outstanding people. They were not only fluent in all of Torah, not only humongous ba'alei middos and yirei shamayim (G-d fearing people with great traits), but they had overcome and conquered some of man's hardest desires. The judges of sanhedrin had to meet a specific set of qualifications. They had to be wealthy people, G-d fearing, men of truth, and people who despise money.⁹ These Rabbanim were independent thinkers and open-minded within the limits of the Torah. Even the least prestigious of the sanhedrin was still so incredible in terms of his Torah knowledge and yiras Hashem. For example, we know that there were 600,000 Jewish men between 20 and 60. Multiply that by two to include women of the same age bracket, and let us multiply that number by two to include all people from 0 to 20 and 60 to 80, the product is 2,400,000. The 71 or 23 member sanhedrin represented a tiny fraction of the population and every single one of them were really the cream-of-the-crop. Is it really necessary for the Torah to demand of the sanhedrin to start from the least among them in order to ensure that one will not just copy what someone greater than him said, or even worse, just state an opinion arbitrarily based on which direction most of the sanhedrin already voted towards? How could a member of the sanhedrin, with all the incredible qualities previously discussed, actually decide to vote solely based on what he heard his colleagues say so far, or voice his opinion only based on where the majority is standing at this point? How could a member of the sanhedrin consciously do something like this?

I think that the answer to this question could be learned from a pear.¹⁰ If you ever have an unripe pear that you would like to ripen a lot faster than it wants to, there is a simple solution. You could take a ripening banana and put it in a paper bag with the pear. The reason this works is because bananas produce a lot of Ethylene¹¹, the chemical that stimulates fruits to ripen, when ripening. Therefore if you put a ripening banana in the same bag as a pear, the pear will benefit from the extra supply of Ethylene in the air, and will in turn start to ripen as well. This is an amazing fact – just by being in the same bag as a ripening banana, the pear will start to ripen as well. The “pear pressure” is just too great to bear. Whether the pear wants to start ripening or not makes no difference, it will find itself unconsciously start ripening under the pressure of its fellow fruits.

Perhaps this is what the Torah is trying to teach us as well. Of course the sanhedrin consisted of the best people in the world. However, in the end of the day, being in the same room as others, especially when others are greater or one side has more members in agreement, there is an incredible pressure which effects us subconsciously and tells us not to think for ourselves, but instead follow after the crowd. The rationales start to kick in and then mistakes could, G-d forbid, be made. This is not the job of a member of the sanhedrin. Someone appointed as part of the sanhedrin is expected to bring his Torah to the table and offer his insights and opinions on the subject based on his own thoughts and perspective.

Peer pressure is something which effects us whether we like it or not. We are influenced by our family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Like many things, however, this pressure could be used for good or bad. The mishna in Pirkei Avos¹² states that Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer are of the opinion that the proper ways a person should cling to in order to ensure reward in olam haba'ah (The World to Come), are to cling to a good friend and a good neighbor, respectively. The opposite holds true as well, though. Being around a bad friend or living in a community with bad values is the worst thing for a person. It will subconsciously change him as a person and effect him in every decision and aspect of life.

We cannot ignore the fact that people must live and interact with others on a daily basis. However, we must also realize that, as a result, one will, by definition, be influenced by those who he or she comes in contact with. The only way that one could prepare oneself for this is if one learns the lesson from the sanhedrin. Just like the smallest of the sanhedrin must state his opinion first before hearing those of his colleagues which may effect his decision, so too we must make sure that we solidify our values, beliefs, and opinions so that we could have a proverbial bar setting our standards.

On the other hand, the powerful force of peer pressure could be harnessed and used for tremendous good. One who takes the time in researching those he will spend time with, and follows the advice of Pirkei Avos¹³ to “acquire for yourself a friend”, will allow himself to grow and become an even greater person through sharing with a friend each others' strengths and positive motivations.

May we take the lesson of peer pressure to realize that our environments and influential circles have a tremendous impact on us whether we be a person or a pear.

1Shemos 23:2

2Ibid.

3Sanhedrin 17a

4Rashi (23:2) in our parsha as well as the gemara Sanhedrin explain that to convict someone in a capital case, there has to be a winning majority of at least two votes. (And if you will ask: Q. How is it possible to have a winning vote of [at least] two in a sanhedrin of 23? The sanhedrin had to consist of an odd amount of members so, mathematically, it is impossible for there ever to be a winning majority of exactly two. A. The sanhedrin had to consist of an odd amount of members but they were allowed to abstain.

5Sanhedrin 36a

6Ibid.

7See Mahar'sha there to see his many questions on this Mahar'shal and his alternate explanation.

8Shemos 23:2

9Shemos 18:21

10Okay, I admit you could learn it from other fruits too, but then I lose my pun.

11H2C=CH2 or C2H4

12Pirkei Avos 2:13-14

13Pirkei Avos 1:6

Parshas Yisro - Sunken Chunk

Parshas Yisro

Sunken Chunk

By: Daniel Listhaus

“You have seen what I did to Egypt, and that I carried you on the wings of eagles and brought you to Me. And now, if you listen well to Me and you will keep My covenant, you will be a treasure to Me from among the all the nations, for the earth is Mine.”

-Yisro 19:4-5

As the B'nei Yisroel are getting ready to accept the Torah, Hashem commands Moshe to give this introduction – that if we decide now to listen to the mitzvos of Hashem, then we will become a treasure to Hashem. Rashi¹ on this passuk explains based on the Mechilta² that Hashem was telling us the following, “If you accept the Torah upon yourselves now, then it will be pleasant to you from now on, for all beginnings are difficult.” The Sifsei Chochomim³ comments on this that Rashi stresses the word “if” because it is a conditional statement: If you accept the Torah now, then it will be pleasant in the future.

If we read this Rashi carefully, we will realize that there are a couple of difficulties. First, why is it that if we accept the Torah now it will be pleasant to us from now on? Second, what is Rashi coming to add by saying, “because all beginnings are difficult”? What is that coming to explain? It sounds like the whole condition in the beginning of Rashi is pivoted on this idea or reason. But where exactly does it fit into the picture? Is it the reason as to why one should accept the Torah now, or is it supposed to represent the reason why it will be pleasant later?

Perhaps we could better appreciate and understand this Rashi if we introspect two areas of human psychology. The first fact to realize is that when a person invests time in something it becomes important to him. The Nachalas Yaakov⁴ writes that there are two approaches to Torah. One approach is to jump in and work hard at it. The other method is, as the mishna in Pirkei Avos⁵ warns against, the attitude of, “I'll study Torah when I get around to it”. Starting any new project is difficult, especially an endless, life-time task of learning Torah and becoming closer to Hashem. However, it is the willingness of a person to, despite its difficulty, invest time in such an undertaking which makes the task precious in his eyes. In other words, it is indeed the reason that all beginnings are difficult which makes it that if a person decides to spend the time working on such a difficult project, that it will in fact become pleasant from now on. Something which people invest time into becomes important to them. It is a cause and effect relationship and this is what Rashi is pointing out: If one takes the step forward and spends the time working on Torah when it is most difficult, then surely it will be pleasant in one's eyes from now and on. This is a natural effect in investing time in something, it gains importance in one's eyes.

This is a tremendous lesson to take to heart. There is a dual relationship between chashivus (importance) and resources. On the one hand, we are willing and actually desire to spend time and money for things which are important to us. On the other hand, this relationship works conversely as well. Things that we spend our resources – time and/or money – on also become chashuv (important) in our eyes.

Unfortunately, there is a second, flip-side, to this area of psychology which often times works to our detriment. There are times that we spend time or money on a certain task and then cannot get ourselves to stop even when we realize that continuing would be a complete waste of time. In economics, this idea is known as sunk costs. Essentially, this concept describes the idea that a decision at any given point should be made independent of the history associated with the task at hand. To make this clearer, let us analyze an experiment that Max Bazerman, a professor at Harvard, does with his MBA students each year⁶. Every year, this professor comes to class with a $20 bill and tells his students that he will be auctioning off the twenty dollars. There are two rules to this auction. The first rule is that the highest bidder receives the twenty dollars. The second rule is that the second highest bidder must pay that sum without getting anything in return. For example, if the winning bidder bids nine dollars and the second to highest bidder offered eight dollars, the nine-dollar guy will win the $20, while the eight-dollar bidder will have to pay the professor without getting anything in return.

The auction starts at one dollar and quickly reaches the $12-$16 range, at which point usually all students leave the auction except for two or three. Slowly, the bidding reaches $20. At this point all the onlookers start laughing because it is clear to everyone that it is impossible for any one of the remaining bidders to come out making money. Yet, despite this realization, the bidding almost always goes beyond $21. As a matter of fact, most of these auctions go beyond $50 and often up to $100. One time the winning bid actually went all the way to $204! The force behind this drive to keep bidding is called Loss Aversion. People are afraid to lose or feel that they have lost and will continue spending money in order not to admit to a loss.

This same principle could also be seen when it comes to spending time on something. For example, imagine you go to an amusement park and you really want to go on a certain roller coaster, however it is closed. So, you go and wait in line for the bumper cars. After standing in line for 25 minutes you hear that the roller coaster you really wanted to go on has re-opened. Chances are that you would choose not to go on the roller coaster at that point because, after all, you have already invested the time into waiting for the bumper cars. This is a sad truth even though you originally had no intention or desire to go on the bumper cars ride. This is also a form of loss aversion. We feel too bad to admit that we have wasted our time and as a result are more willing to waste even more time than to admit this to ourselves. This is know as the Sunk Cost Fallacy.

The reality is that it does not make sense to take into account costs that have already been spent. Whether it be a sunken chunk of money or time, a decision now should be made independent of those facts. If in an isolated decision between the roller coaster or the bumper cars, you would choose the roller coaster, then that should be the only factor in your decision even after waiting the 25 minutes in line. Those 25 minutes were spent already regardless of what you decide to do at this point, and therefore should not be taken into account as a relevant factor when weighing the option of staying on the bumper cars line versus going to the roller coaster. Rather, the decision at hand would be to decide if it is worth it to remain on this line for another five minutes, until it is your turn for the bumper cars, or go to the roller coaster line and wait there for as long as it takes. Those should be the only relevant factors in the decision. The fact that it is emotionally painful to admit that you just wasted 25 minutes is not a rational reason to waste another five minutes to continue to go on the bumper cars ride.

This concept is one that effects us on a daily basis in both physical and spiritual ways. How often does one go to a restaurant and find the food unappetizing. Yet one is willing to finish it, despite the stomach pains it may bring later, as to not feel bad about the money already spent on the food? How often does one start a video game and get bored half way through yet feel the need to continue to the end because of the levels already achieved? These are all bad decisions people make when blindly following the Sunk Cost Fallacy. We tend to forget that the money or time we spent on something does not know or care if we will choose to continue the task in which we invested.

We must be in-tuned to the fact that human psychology attributes chashivus to things we spend money or time on just as we would spend money and time on things that are chashuv to us. This converse relationship is one we must realize and watch for as to not fall into the trap of the Sunk Cost Fallacy. More importantly, though, if we do find ourselves doing something which is a waste of time we should train ourselves to remake our decisions constantly in the present, without being based on what we have done in the past. This way we will only continue to support that which we rationally decide to be important, and not just support projects on which we are afraid to admit that we have wasted time or money.

Perhaps this is another angle as to how to understand a different Rashi in this week's parsha. Rashi⁷ writes a few passukim (verses) earlier that Hashem demands of us to view the learning of Torah each day as if it was given today. Every day we should re-decide to follow ratzon Hashem and keep His mitzvos. It should not become a routine or an emotional need to go further because of the time, money, and reputation we already have invested in a Torah lifestyle, rather we should constantly realize that the investment of being a shomer Torah u'mitzvos (keeper of the Torah and mitzvos) is one that is worth everything and totally outweighs anything which might conflict with it at any given point. As a matter of fact, the Yalkut Me'am Lo'ez⁸ points out that in birkas HaTorah the text of the bracha is: Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, who selected us from all the nations...Blessed are You, Hashem, the Giver of the Torah.” The present-tense form of the word is used – “Giver”, as opposed to “The One Who gave”, as to allude to the fact that every day we must re-accept the Torah upon ourselves.

The lesson of Rashi that success in Torah is correlated and conditioned with one's drive to spend time on studying Torah at the point which is hardest, is one of which we must constantly be aware. We must be careful in deciding which tasks and projects to undertake, but at the same time know that after a bad decision is made we must not be afraid to admit it to ourselves and re-decide based on the present conditions. In this way we will avoid falling into the trap of wasting our lives via loss aversion and the Sunk Cost Fallacy.

May we have the zechus to better decide and understand what is best for us so that we could invest our time into things that are chashuv to Hashem, and in return these things will become even more chashuv to us.

1Shemos 19:5

2Ibid

3Ibid

4Ibid

5Pirkei Avos 2:5

6Brafman, Ori and Rom, Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior. 2008. Random House Inc., New York. Page 30.

7Shemos 19:1

8Yalkut Me'am Lo'ez, Parshas Yisro; 3^rd Perek; 19:1