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Thoughts on the Parsha ~
Parshas
Terumah
Wood You Think of Me?
By:
Daniel Listhaus
וְעָשׂוּ אֲרוֹן עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים אַמָּתַיִם וָחֵצִי אָרְכּוֹ
וְאַמָּה וָחֵצִי רָחְבּוֹ וְאַמָּה וָחֵצִי קֹמָתוֹ: וְצִפִּיתָ אֹתוֹ זָהָב טָהוֹר מִבַּיִת וּמִחוּץ תְּצַפֶּנּוּ
וְעָשִׂיתָ עָלָיו זֵר זָהָב סָבִיב:
“They
shall make an Aron of shittim wood, two and a half amos in
length; an amah and a half its width; and an amah and a half its
height. You shall cover it with pure gold, from inside and from outside you
shall cover it, and you shall make on it a golden diadem.”
-Shemos 25:10-11
The Holiest vessel in the Mishkan was the Aron
Kodesh (Holy Ark). The aron contained the luchos (tablets)
and was positioned in the kodesh hakedoshim (Holy of Holies).
The Torah[1] commands
that the aron be made of wood with a gold covering on the inside and
outside. Rashi[2],
based on his reading of the passuk (verse), understands this to
mean that the aron was in fact made of three arons – two gold
ones and one wooden one. Each of the arons had four walls with a bottom,
but no top – like an open box. The wooden aron was placed inside one of
the golden arons, while the other golden one was placed inside of it. In
this way, the aron was indeed covered both inside and outside by gold. Not
a mere covering, but rather actually sandwiched between two golden arons.
The Chizkuni[3] comments
that really the entire aron should have been made of gold. However,
being that the aron was so Holy and one of the keilim (vessels)
assigned to the B’nei Kehas to carry on their shoulders through the midbar
(desert), Hashem wanted to makes sure that they were not carrying more than
they needed to. He therefore was “mochel on His kavod” (loosely
translated: took less honor) allowing the middle aron to be made of wood
in order that the Levi’im who would have to carry it would not have to
carry as heavy a load.
As nice as
this Chizkuni is, there is a fundamental problem with this explanation. It
is true that the Levi’im who carried the aron carried it on their
shoulders. After all, the Torah[4] tells us
that unlike B’nei Gershon and B’nei Merari who received two
wagons and four oxen, and four wagons and eight oxen respectively according to
their work, B’nei Kehas did not receive wagons or oxen because their
load[5] had to be
carried on their shoulders. However, the Gemara[6] tells
us that as much as it may have looked like the B’nei Kehas were carrying
the aron, the reality was that it was weightless because it carried
itself. If so, the question which begs to be asked is why was it necessary for
the middle aron to be made of wood? According to the Chizkuni
that really the entire aron was supposed to be made of gold and only wasn’t
because that would make the load overbearingly heavy for the Levi’im who
would have to carry it, still why wasn’t it made of only gold? The Levi’im
did not have the burden of the weight of the aron on their shoulders
because it carried itself! So why was the wood necessary? Why not make the aron
completely of gold?
Perhaps
the answer is as follows. It is true that the aron carried itself, and
in fact even carried those who were carrying it. However, there is a concept of
ein somchin al ha’neis (we do not rely on miracles)[7] and therefore
when the Levi’im approached the aron it had to be with the full
intention and willpower that they would have to lift it and carry it to
wherever the shechinas Hashem would direct them to go. Therefore, Hashem
with His mercy and absolute perfection commanded that the middle aron be
made of lighter material so that the Levi’im should not feel for those
few seconds before they would pick it up for the first time, and realize that
the aron was even less than weightless but actually carried its bearers,
that Hashem had piled on a load that would be excruciatingly painful to carry on
their shoulders.
This is an
idea which is worth reflecting on because it speaks of a fundamental yesod.
Hashem’s design of this world is so perfect that every single aspect of it
whether cause or consequence, instance or anticipation, which effects our lives
either as individuals or as a community is only given in doses that we are able
to swallow. It may be difficult, it may even be extremely difficult; it may
even look impossible, but it isn’t. It is possible. If we are given a nisayon
(test) or are affected by the outcome of someone else’s nisayon it
is not by accident. First, we must understand that if it reached us we deserve
it. Second, we must internalize that if it reached us we must be able to do something
about it and conquer it. Hashem does not act spontaneously or randomly choose
people to pick on. Everything done is with an infinite number of calculations
creating a perfect world of hashgacha p’ratis (divine providence on an
individual level) in order to set up the proper playing field for bechira
(free choice) and ultimately s’char v’onesh (reward and
punishment). Giving someone a test that he or she cannot pass would be a
purposeless waste of time and would not be emes and there is no room for
that in the derech Hashem. Rather, we must understand and perhaps even
appreciate that as much as we would like to write off our nisyonos and
say G-d went too far and that it is impossible, it isn’t true. The very fact
that we are faced with a nisayon is absolute proof that in some way we
deserve it and that it must be achievable. Otherwise, it would be a setup for
failure, and that would be purposeless and sheker – the antithesis of
what Hashem stands for. As a matter of fact, oftentimes, if not most, Hashem
does even more for us than ensuring that our nisyonos do not exceed out
limits. Nisayon that we are “just able to pass” is a rare upper limit
because the truth is that Hashem is a G-d of rachamim (mercy) and often
removes hardships from us out of His love for us.
Perhaps
with this we can understand the Chizkuni’s explanation. The aron should
really have been made of solid gold. However, that would mean that for those first
few seconds when the Levi’im would stand around the aron before
lifting it for the first time there would be too much a feeling of doubting of
Hashem’s care for them, or perhaps they would realize that it was a task
impossible for them to accomplish – and they would be hypothetically right even
though they ultimately wouldn’t feel the burden at all. Still, giving the B’nei
Kehas that level of feeling of doubt was something that Hashem felt was inappropriate
to expect of them either from the perspective of that it would become
impossible to carry, or from the perspective that Hashem wanted to show His
love that He was willing to “sacrifice” having an aron of solid gold for
one which was one-third wood in order to show His love for the Levi’im who
for a few seconds would think that they would actually have to carry it.
May Hashem
help us pass our personal nisyonos that we face and provide us with the
love and chizuk (emotional strength) that He demonstrated with
the Levi’im in order to help us internalize that every hardship in life
that we face is not just one that we in some sense deserve, but indeed one that
we by definition are capable of bearing and overcoming. “Ashrei ha’am she’Hashem
elokuv” – Praiseworthy is the nation that has Hashem as its G-d!
[1]
Shemos 25:11
[2]
Rashi ibid.
[3]
Ibid.
[4]
Bamidbar 7:9
[5]
See Bamidbar 3:31which states that B’nei Kehas were responsible
for transporting the Holiest of the keilim: the aron, shulchan,
menorah, mizbe’achs, etc.
[6]
See Gemara Sotah 35a. The aron even carried those who carried it!
[7]
See for example Gemara Pesachim 64b and Kiddushin 39b
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