Parshas Vayikra - The Art of Listening

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~

Parshas Vayikra

The Art of Listening

By: Daniel Listhaus

וַיִּקְרָא אֶל משֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר: דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם אָדָם כִּי יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קָרְבָּן לַה' מִן הַבְּהֵמָה מִן הַבָּקָר וּמִן הַצֹּאן תַּקְרִיבוּ אֶת קָרְבַּנְכֶם

“He [Hashem] called to Moshe and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying: Speak to the B'nei Yisroel and say to them: When a person from among you will bring an offering to Hashem: from the animals – from the cattle and from the flocks you shall bring your offering.”

-Vayikra 1:1-2

Rashi¹ on this passuk (verse) comments that throughout the Torah there are many breaks.² The purpose of these breaks was to give Moshe time to digest and understand what he had been taught by Hashem. Rashi then ends by saying a kal v'chomer: If Moshe, who learned from Hashem, needed breaks for contemplation, then certainly ordinary people such as ourselves who learn from ordinary people must stop to take breaks in order to properly understand what the other is teaching.

The Sifsei Chachomim³ explains that the kal v'chomer that Rashi is saying is quite clear: If Moshe, an incredible student, was learning from Hashem, Who is certainly the best teacher available, still required breaks in order to try to understand what was being taught. How much more so must we take many breaks to digest what is being taught to us from ordinary people.

Let us zoom out a little in order to appreciate what is being said here. There are two main reasons why a person would need to take breaks during a learning session. One is because it is hard for some people to sit for long periods of time. It is therefore wise and healthy to take breaks and recesses to clear one's mind to be able to be more productive. The other reason a person may need a break is because one might simply not understand the material being taught, and therefore require extra time in order for him to think about what is being said. It sounds from Rashi and the Sifsei Chachomim that this latter type of break is what is being referred to. For some reason, Moshe actually needed breaks in order to understand what Hashem was teaching him.

The Nachalas Yaakov⁴ is very bothered by this Rashi and asks the following two questions. First of all, surely there is no better teacher than Hashem. The Creator, with infinite wisdom and Who knows His creations the best, certainly has the ability to convey any message or teaching to man in the clearest of ways. If so, how could it be that Moshe needed breaks in order to understand what was being taught to him? Why did Moshe experience confusion if he had the best teacher possible?

Second of all, what is the kal v'chomer that Rashi is trying to present? It would make sense if Moshe really was able to understand it himself but Hashem gave him the breaks to teach him not to rely on his sharpness, so then there would be a kal v'chomer to us that certainly we should not rely on our own sharpness. However, it seems from Rashi that Moshe really did need the breaks; but if so, why is a kal v'chomer necessary? Even without a kal v'chomer it should be obvious that we need breaks to understand things when learning from ordinary people, simply because we would not understand it otherwise. If we are dealing with someone who wants to understand but is just having trouble understanding, why do we need a kal v’chomeir to tell us to take a break and process the material? It is obvious that one would have to pause and process the information before continuing!

The Nachalas Yaakov ends without an answer to his problems with this Rashi. However, perhaps we could explain as follows. If one stops to think about the process that everyone goes through when communicating, one will realize how complicated simple-communication really is. When two people are having a conversation, what is being said is really going through a five step process. The idea trying to be conveyed begins its journey in one person's head. The person decides what he wants, or more precisely, what he means to say. Then, he must choose the words he will use to express his idea. This is followed by the time and space the words travel between the ones having the conversation. Then, the listener hears what is being said to him, followed by the last step in the process which is digesting the information and interpreting what he heard.

This last step in the process is the hardest of them all. It is easy to hear what someone else has said and it is also generally easy to interpret what one has heard, but that is not enough. In order to fully understand and appreciate a message trying to be conveyed, one must remove the built-in filter which shapes the way one hears things and instead focus on what the communicator was trying to relate.

The Mishna in Pirkei Avos⁵ says that Antignos from Socho used to teach, “Do not be like servants who serve their master on the condition of receiving a reward; instead be like servants who serve their master not on the condition of receiving a reward; and let the fear of Heaven be upon you.” Antignos was teaching that although the reward in Olam Habbah (the World to Come) which awaits those who follow the ways of Hashem is endless and greater than anything imaginable, when we serve Hashem it should be out of complete love and fear of Him, and not just because we will receive reward for doing the right thing.

The Rashbam in Bava Basra⁶ brings from the Avos D'rebbe Nosson⁷ that Tzadok and Beisus were talmidim (students) of Antignos. One time they were teaching this mantra of their rebbe, Antignos, but their students confused what they said and took the message of to not be like workers who work in order to get paid, to mean that people who do mitzvos and “work for Hashem” do not get rewarded.

The students of Tzadok and Beisus did not take the time to listen to the message that their rabbeim were trying to convey. They simply allowed their default hearing skills to kick in. Tzadok and Beisus knew what they themselves wanted to say, they said it, it reached the ears of their talmidim, but the talmidim just did not stop to think what their rabbeim meant, rather they merely depended on what they thought they heard – or perhaps what they wanted to hear.

With this in mind, perhaps we could now answer the questions of the Nachalas Yaakov and better understand the Rashi in this week's parsha. Of course Hashem is the best teacher in the world and could convey any message as clear as crystal. However, even a talmid as great as Moshe rabbeinu needs time to understand the underlying reasoning and message of what is trying to be conveyed.

We say in Shema, “Im shamoa tishm'u” - you shall surely listen. The Gemara in Berachos⁸ makes a drasha from here: If you listen, then you will listen. But if you will not listen, then you will not understand. Only if one listens to what the Torah and the chochamim (sages) are trying to tell us, will one gain a true understanding of what was said.

Often times, misunderstandings and arguments stem not from disagreement, but rather from miscommunication. It is not easy to put our our own thoughts and opinions on pause in order to realize the idea that someone else is trying to convey. Unless we consciously decide to listen the right way, we will not even notice that what we are hearing is going through our own heads without taking account what was meant to be said.

This is exactly what Rashi is teaching us. Even Moshe Rabbeinu needed to take breaks to put himself in Hashem's head – so to speak – in order to comprehend what was being taught to him. So certainly we, who are normal people learning from ordinary people, must take breaks in order to be able to put ourselves in others' minds. This is true not only during times when we are having trouble understanding what is being taught or communicated but even at times when we feel we fully understand. Pauses of one’s own biases and opinions are absolutely necessary in order to fully appreciate what another is trying to say. Only in this way could the communication process be complete and allow for the possibility of im shamoa tishm'u. This is the real art of listening.

1Vayikra 1:1

2These breaks in the Torah could take one of two forms – either pesucha (literally: open) or s'tumah (literally closed). Pesucha is when the spaces go to the end of the line,

whereas s'tumah is when the space is a break in a line but the text continues further on in the same line.

3Vayikra 1:1

4Ibid.

5Avos 1:3

6Bava Basra 115b

7Avos D'rebbe Nosson 5:2

8Berachos 40a

Parshas Ki Sisa - The Power of Potential

~Thoughts on The Parsha~

Parshas Ki Sisa

The Power of Potential

By: Daniel Listhaus

וַיַּרְא הָעָם כִּי בשֵׁשׁ משֶׁה לָרֶדֶת מִן הָהָר וַיִּקָּהֵל הָעָם עַל אַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו קוּם עֲשֵׂה לָנוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר יֵלְכוּ לְפָנֵינוּ כִּי זֶה משֶׁה הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלָנוּ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לֹא יָדַעְנוּ מֶה הָיָה לוֹ: וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם אַהֲרֹן פָּרְקוּ נִזְמֵי הַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר בְּאָזְנֵי נְשֵׁיכֶם בְּנֵיכֶם וּבְנֹתֵיכֶם וְהָבִיאוּ אֵלָי: וַיִּתְפָּרְקוּ כָּל הָעָם אֶת נִזְמֵי הַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר בְּאָזְנֵיהֶם וַיָּבִיאוּ אֶל אַהֲרֹן: וַיִּקַּח מִיָּדָם וַיָּצַר אֹתוֹ בַּחֶרֶט וַיַּעֲשֵׂהוּ עֵגֶל מַסֵּכָה וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלֶּה אֱלֹהֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלוּךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם: וַיַּרְא אַהֲרֹן וַיִּבֶן מִזְבֵּחַ לְפָנָיו וַיִּקְרָא אַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמַר חַג לַה' מָחָר: וַיַּשְׁכִּימוּ מִמָּחֳרָת וַיַּעֲלוּ עֹלֹת וַיַּגִּשׁוּ שְׁלָמִים וַיֵּשֶׁב הָעָם לֶאֱכֹל וְשָׁתוֹ וַיָּקֻמוּ לְצַחֵק

“The people saw that Moshe delayed in descending the mountain, and the people gathered around Aharon and said to him, 'Rise up, make for us gods who will go before us, for this Moshe, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt – we do not know what became of him!' Aharon said to them, 'Remove the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.' The entire people unburdened themselves of the golden rings that were in their ears, and brought them to Aharon. He took it from their hands and he bound it in a scarf, and made it into a molten calf; then they said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.' Aharon saw and built an alter before him; Aharon called out and said, 'A festival to Hashem tomorrow!' They arose early the next day and offered up olah-offerings and brought peace offerings; the people sat to eat and drink, and they got up to sport.”

-Ki Sisa 32:1-6

            The cheit (sin) that we performed as a nation by the episode of the eigel ha'zahav (golden calf) was without a question the most catastrophic event in all of history. The ramifications of our huge mistake then by cheit ha'eigel is something we still must deal with on a daily basis; death, sickness, and galus (exile) are all part of the punishment, which we still obviously suffer from. As a matter of fact, Rashi[1] writes this based on a Gemara[2]: there is no punishment that comes upon B'nei Yisroel which does not have in it some retribution for the sin of the golden calf.

            Not only was the aveirah (sin) itself so horrible – avodah zarrah (idol worship) at its worst – but so was the timing. The passuk (verse)[3] tells us that when B'nei Yisroel saw that Moshe had delayed in his coming, they decided to worship avodah zarrah. Rashi[4] paints the following picture: Moshe had announced that at the end of forty days, he will come back within the first six hours of the day. However, the issue was that there was a slight miscommunication. Moshe meant forty full days – meaning days complete with their nights preceding them. Therefore, since the day Moshe went up on Har Sinai was after its night had already passed, it was not part of Moshe's calculation. B'nei Yisroel though did count it as the first day. This was why, forty days later, as the people crossed off the last box on their calenders and realized that Moshe had not returned yet, they became very nervous and confused. The Satan took immediate advantage of the and added to the tumult by introducing an aura of darkness and gloom, as well as an image of Moshe rabbeinu being carried away,  in order to give off the impression that Moshe had died.[5] The Satan's idea worked and indeed at the foot of Har Sinai the Jews assumed Moshe had died and went on to serve avodah zarrah.

            This whole event is more than absolutely abominable and disturbing, it is senseless! If they would have done this after Amalek came to attack them or when they were out of food or water, then at least we would be able to slightly understand the rational behind such a rash action; for at a time of real distress and discomfort it could perhaps be tempting to rebel and switch religions looking for new hope and purpose. However, at this point there urge for avodah zarrah was instigated by nothing of the sort. Everyone was happy, they had gotten past some hardships in the midbar (desert) through the leadership of Moshe, and they had heard Hashem Himself declare His Oneness. Now, they were a day away from receiving the physical luchos and Torah – the pinnacle of their time in the midbar which would prepare them to enter Eretz Yisroel. Yet, within the window of one day, they totally did an 'about-face'.

            Furthermore, it is not even like it was a process which took a long time of waiting around and arguing over what should be done in Moshe's unexpected absence. Rather, they were able to quickly work together and gather everything needed to build the eigel ha'zahav and put it together. This is also despite the fact that Aharon tried very hard to stall time until Moshe would come back. For example he said that the men should bring the jewelry of their wives and children.[6] After all, imagine trying to demand your wife to give up all her jewelry and asking your children to hand in their ipods and cell phones. It will most definitely not happen. Yet, within hours, they came up with all the resources needed to mold the avodah zarrah.

            How could it be that while the entire B'nei Yisroel was on such a spiritual high – only a day away from receiving the luchos, that they could rush to do avodah zarrah from a mere suggestion from the Satan that Moshe had died? It should have been news they did not want to hear and would have been in a state of shock unable to believe it. Yet that was not the case. They fell for it immediately and hit rock bottom. How could we understand all this?

            Within the realm of physics, there are many types of energy. Among the more commonly discussed types of energy are kinetic and potential. Kinetic energy is simply the energy something possesses due to its motion. One could imagine a roller coaster at the bottom of a steep drop where it is speeding from all the motion gathered as it charged down the track.

            Potential energy, on the other hand is a little harder to visualize, for it is merely energy stored in a system ready to be unleashed. The classic example of this is a clock pendulum swinging. If one were to pause time as the pendulum reaches the highest point of its swing on either side, one could imagine the potential energy contained as it is on the verge of heading back down. In order to make it feel more real, we will once again go with the roller coaster example. Imagine yourself on a roller coaster. It has just slowly chugged its way up the track for quite some time and all you have been thinking is “what goes up must come down”. As the sound of the air-brake being released reaches your ears and the coaster begins to inch ahead, you peer over from your front row seat and notice the steep decline of the track in front of you. At that point, immediately before zooming forward, you and the coaster are full of potential energy. However, imagine for a second that as your body prepares itself and that sensation has permeated every part of your body, the roller coaster breaks down and never goes down the track, but rather gets stuck on top and everyone is escorted down an emergency staircase on the side. What would happen to that bottled up sensation? Some may have the urge to jump down the last few stairs, while some may need to release their energy by heading straight over to another thrill ride, and while others my need to punch something hard, but one thing is for certain – it just does not feel right letting that potential energy dwindle away slowly. In some way or another we look for ways to re-channel it on another route.

            When it comes to our personal levels of potential as individuals, the more kochos (abilities) we have, the greater the impact we are capable of making in the world. However, having more kochos comes with a tremendous risk, that they could be used for bad as well

            Perhaps this is how we could understand what happened by the cheit ha'eigel. B'nei Yisroel were indeed super charged with ruchniyus (spirituality) prepared to receive the luchos. However, when the moment came and passed and all their bottled up potential and energy had nowhere to escape, the weak ones among them who were unable to control the direction of their potential, let it all rush forward to the point where it was very possible to have the eigel ha'zahav up and running in only a matter of hours. The rubber band had been pulled back and held in position for too long. So when Moshe did not come down with the clear direction to head in, they just had to let it fly in an area which could hold their massive potential energy that had been reserved to serve Hashem on a spiritual high upon receiving the luchos. This is perhaps why the event was so catastrophic and was able to be so easily misled with a mere single implication from the Satan to plant a new idea in their heads during a time of confusion.

            Each and every person has his or her own kochos and incredible levels of potential that are able and meant to be utilized to achieve tremendous heights. However, along with these kochos come an equal risk of taking that energy and running with it in the wrong direction.

            With this in mind, let us try to adopt two behaviors. The first is to work on setting our directions correctly so that the potential energy we have is not set in motion the wrong way. We must realize what our strengths are and what we are capable of and then think about how to use them to further our own growth, and that of K'lal Yisroel as a whole.

            The second thing to keep in mind as an inferred lesson, is to not get let down when we do things that are wrong. Rather we should do teshuva (repent) and gain chizuk (strength and confidence) from the realization that the magnitude of the aveirah we did is an indicator of what we are really capable of on the other side of the spectrum.

            May Hashem help us realize our kochos and how to utilize them effectively in order that we be able to direct them in the right way.

---

[1]    Shemos 32:34

[2]    Sanhedrin 102a

[3]    Shemos 32:1

[4]    Rashi ibid.

[5]    See Rashi 32:1

[6]    See Rashi 32:2

Parshas Tetzaveh - Pur Sight

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~

Parshas Tetzaveh

Pur Sight

By: Daniel Listhaus

וְנָתַתָּ אֶל חשֶׁן הַמִּשְׁפָּט אֶת הָאוּרִים וְאֶת הַתֻּמִּים וְהָיוּ עַל לֵב אַהֲרֹן בְּבֹאוֹ לִפְנֵי ה' וְנָשָׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת מִשְׁפַּט בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל לִבּוֹ לִפְנֵי ה' תָּמִיד

“Into the Choshen of Judgment shall you place the Urim and the Tumim, and they shall be on Aharon's heart when he comes before Hashem; and Aharon's shall bear the judgment of the Children of Yisroel on his heart before Hashem, constantly.”

-Tetzaveh 28:30

Rashi¹ explains that the Urim V'tumim was in fact a script of Hashem's Explicit Name, which was placed inside the folds of the Choshen. The Choshen was the special breastplate that the Kohen Gadol alone would wear securely on top of his Eiphod (apron). The Gemara² describes that on the face of the Choshen were twelve precious stones with words on them aligned in four rows of three and when the Kohen Gadol would consult the Urim V'tumim, it would light up certain letters on the Choshen with an answer. The Urim V'tumim, reflecting a direct message from Hashem Himself, is also referred to as the K'reisi U'pleisi – alluding to the fact that its message was clear and perfect.³

Despite the incredible potential of the Urim V'tumim to communicate Hashem's ratzon (will), there were times in our history when the Kohen Gadol has misread the message. For example, the Gemara⁴ states that there are many halachos (laws) regarding tefillah (davening) that we learn from the story of Channah davening in the Beis Hamikdash for a son. The passukim⁵ in Navi describe that while Channah was davening only her lips moved but her voice could not be heard. Eili, who was the Kohen Gadol at the time, witnessed this and asked the Urim V'tumim if Channah was drunk and needed to be removed from the Mishkan. After all she was certainly acting like a drunkard moving her lips randomly without speaking. With no surprise, the Urim V'tumim returned with a message containing the letters shin, kaf, reish, and hey. Which Eili read simply as “שכרה” - meaning that she was indeed drunk. However, in reality the Urim V'tumim was trying to communicate “כשרה” - that she was “kosher”, so to speak. Eili was so sure, though, that he was seeing a drunken woman that he failed to consider the other possibilities that the Urim V'tumim may have been trying to communicate.

This is something that we do all the time. We often push our viewpoints and perceptions into scenarios or others' thoughts and intentions, and allow what is really uncertain to become factual in our own eyes. Like Eili, we permit the maybe's in our heads to become definitely's and become closed minded to the bigger picture.

After Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim, it was clear to the world that Hashem was, is, and always will be the only borei (Creator) and manhig (Controller) of the world. However, right after Kriyas Yam Suf (splitting of the Red Sea) – the pinnacle of Hashem's miracles for us – Amalek came and attacked us. At a time of perfect clarity in the world, Amalek challenged B'nei Yisroel and forced a sliver of doubt into the rest of the world. After all, if it was possible to attack the B'nei Yisroel then maybe what they understood to be reality was in fact not. This is the core of Amalek – doubt.⁶ Amalek lives to bring doubt into the world and challenge the belief of Hashem's day to day involvement in even the most mundane matters.

This idea that Amalek represents is so false and is exactly the opposite of everything we as Jews stand for. This is the reason why each year we are commanded to recall the event that occurred when we were leaving Mitzrayim and Amalek attacked us, as well as remember that it is our duty to wipe out every remnant of Amalek.

It is of course no coincidence that we read Parshas Zachor immediately before Purim, nor is it a coincidence that the arch-enemy of the Jews during the Purim story was Haman, who was a direct descendent of Amalek.

The Megillah⁷ tells us that the Holiday is called Purim because of the “pur” (lottery). The pur being referred to is the one mentioned earlier in the Megillah,⁸ which Haman made in order to determine a day on which to kill Mordechai and wipe out the Jewish people. It is hard to imagine the discussion that took place when Mordechai and Esther were thinking of a name for the Holiday. One would think that they would have named it “Day of Miracle” or “Opposite Day” - something to capture the eternal lesson of Purim. The role of the lottery in the Purim story is so small and seemingly unimportant. Why name the Holiday Purim because of the pur? Additionally, why do we not recite Hallel on Purim? Certainly a day which was sealed by the king as a day designated to kill all the Jews but turned out to be one which the king gave us permission to wipe out our enemies, deserves the highest of singing praised to Hashem. So why is Hallel not recited?

In order to answer these questions, we must ask ourselves what the purpose is of reading the Megillah on Puirm. Such a big deal is made over hearing every single word from beginning to end. Why is it that this obligation was instituted – something which we do not have to the same degree on any other Holiday?

The Megillah⁹ tells us that Esther commanded the order of events to be written down into the Megillah for it to be commemorated each year. The Gemara¹⁰ asks why is it that we do not recite Hallel on Purim? Rav Nachman answers that the reading of the Megillah itself is the Hallel. The point of the Megillah is to reflect on the whole story of Purim and realize that there is no such thing as coincidence. As Rashi¹¹ points out – the fact that Achashveirosh happened to have made a party using the keilim (vessels) of the Beis HaMikdash, that Vashti ended up being killed, and that Esther ended up queen while Mordechai irritated Haman to the point that Haman had the gallows prepared. All these events seemed normal and a logical series of causes and effects which fate had decided. However, upon looking back and stringing together the whole story, it becomes evident that the events were really very much organized and were running on track with the plan Hashem had in mind the whole time. Haman, representing Amalek, tried to prove to the world that there is no Hashem and that everything that happens is in the hands of man or merely a coincidence like a pur. The Megillah, however, is our Hallel that we recite because it is megaleh (reveals) the big picture and declares that there is no such thing as coincidence, rather everything that happens is a part of Hashem's intricate plan for each individual.

Perhaps this is the reason that Purim was given its name – to remember each year the difference between our mentality and that of Amalek. Amalek tries to put doubt in everyone's minds and convince people that there is no intelligent Being running the world, but rather everything that happens is just mere coincidence. This is what they did when we left Mitzrayim and this is the perspective that Haman tried to push through during the time of the Purim. Our job, however, is to counter this belief and spend the time noticing how Hashem interacts with each and every one of us on a personal level with a hashgacha p'ratis and guides, changes, and causes events to occur in order that we are each delivered the perfect scenario which is meant for us.

There is no doubt that even now we are constantly being challenged with the mentality of Amalek. There could be asteroids hitting earth which were somehow unnoticed by all the satellites, there could be snowstorms where it is usually hot, there could be earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and droughts, and yet it is easy to write off each event as a mere coincidence or sensible effect of some cause. However, by doing so we fall into the trap of Amalek where we allow the constant attack of maybe's become the definitely's in our minds, and in turn we fail to be the proper receivers of the true message that Hashem is trying to communicate to us.

Our challenge is to walk away from Purim with this recognition and to spend the time realizing that we each have our own Megillah. The random sequence of events which often seem coincidental – the places we happen to find ourselves in, the people we accidentally meet, and the situations we by chance end up in – are all part of our own Purim story. It is our job to zoom out and realize with a clarity the hashgacha p'ratis that Hashem provides each of us.

May Hashem help us fight against the doubt of Amalek so that we could read His messages clearly and recognize His role as borei and manhig.

1Shemos 28:30

2Yoma 73b

3Berachos 4a

4Berachos 31a-31b

5See Shmuel Aleph 1:13-14 Channah was the wife of Elkana and after being childless for many years she went to the Mishkan to daven for a son who she would be willing to give over completely to work in the Mishkan. Hashem answered her tefillah and she became the proud mother of Shmuel HaNavi.

6It is also pointed out that the gematriya (numerical value) of Amalek is 240, which is the same as the numerical value of Safek, which means doubt.

7Esther 9:26

8Esther 3:7

9Esther 9:29, 0:32

10Megillah 14a

11Esther 9:26

Parshas Terumah - Halfway There, Outside In, and Everywhere You Go

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~

Parshas Terumah

Halfway There, Outside In, and Everywhere You Go

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: וְיָצַקְתָּ לּוֹ אַרְבַּע טַבְּעֹת זָהָב וְנָתַתָּה עַל אַרְבַּע פַּעֲמֹתָיו וּשְׁתֵּי טַבָּעֹת עַל צַלְעוֹ הָאֶחָת וּשְׁתֵּי טַבָּעֹת עַל צַלְעוֹ הַשֵּׁנִית: וְעָשִׂיתָ בַדֵּי עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים וְצִפִּיתָ אֹתָם זָהָב: וְהֵבֵאתָ אֶת הַבַּדִּים בַּטַּבָּעֹת עַל צַלְעֹת הָאָרֹן לָשֵׂאת אֶת הָאָרֹן בָּהֶם: בְּטַבְּעֹת הָאָרֹן יִהְיוּ הַבַּדִּים לֹא יָסֻרוּ מִמֶּנּוּ

“They shall make an Aron of shittim wood, two and a half amos its 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 all around. And you shall pour for it four rings of gold and place them on its four corners, two rings on its one side and two rings on its second side. You shall make staves of shittim wood and cover them with gold; and insert the staves into the rings on the sides of the Aron, with which to carry the Aron. The staves shall remain in the rings of the Aron; they shall not be removed from it.

-Terumah 25:10-15

            There is no question that the Aron was the center point of the entire Mishkan and all its keilim (vessels); not in terms of location, but in terms of focus. Placed in the Kodesh Ha’kedoshim (Holy of Holies), and housing the luchos (tablets with the Ten Commandments),[1] the Aron was the porthole connecting the Shechina to this world. One who even quickly reads through the details of the Aron, will most likely notice three interesting points. The first is its measurements. The dimensions of the Aron were two and a half amos by one and a half amos by one and a half amos.[2] Interestingly, each of the three dimensions of the Aron, as well as its lid, did not contain whole numbers but rather half-measurements. What is the reason for this?

            The second unique thing that stands out regarding the Aron is its construction. The Aron itself was actually made of three separate Arons: A gold one, a wooden one, and another gold one.[3] The gold ones were on the outside and inside while the wooden one separated them in between. No other keili was made in such an interesting way. What was the reason for such a unique design? Why were three Arons necessary to be placed within each other? And why was there a wooden Aron separating the two main Arons? What does the pattern symbolize?

            The third fascinating thing that stands out about the Aron is the fact that Hashem commanded that the badim (poles) never be removed from the Aron.[4] In general one could split the mitzvos into two categories: ones within our understanding which we could reason and accept easily as logical, and those mitzvos which are beyond us but we are commanded to keep and trust Hashem’s infinite wisdom. However, the commandments having to do with the Aron’s poles elicit mixed feelings. On the one hand, having a set of poles was necessary for the Aron as it was for every large keili in the Mishkan. After all, the B’nei Yisroel travelled in the midbar (desert) for forty years. The Mishkan had to be constructed with flexibility for mobility. The keilim all had to be carried and therefore all required poles. When B’nei Yisroel would travel and arrive at the next destination, they would reconstruct the MIshkan and set up the keilim. Setting up the keilim meant “unpacking” them from their poles and setting them in their proper place in the mishkan. However, the Aron was different. Hashem commanded that the poles must never leave the Aron. What was different about the poles of the Aron from all the other keilim that they were not allowed to be removed?

            In order to approach these questions, we must first come to the realization that each person is a microcosm of the Mishkan itself. As the Kuzari explains, the various keilim of the mishkan represent the different vitals of one's body. The Aron – the life force of the mishkan and the world, is our heart which is needed to pump life to our entire bodies. On another level, each of us as a whole represents an Aron in the sense that we have Torah within us. That being said, perhaps we could extract from the laws of the construction of the Aron three guidelines which we must adhere to in order to build a proper relationship with the Torah.

The first lesson of the Aron is that no measurement is complete. As we know, no matter how much a person learns it is but a drop in the sea of what there is to learn. One could learn Torah from birth to death and will not come close to covering all the information contained in the Torah. After all, it is impossible to accomplish an infinite number of things in a finite amount of time.

This idea is reminiscent to what Zeno, an Ancient Greek philosopher best known for his series of paradoxes, painted as a slightly different version of the “tortoise and the hare” story to ponder. The paradox is as follows. Imagine that a tortoise and a hare are about to have a one mile race. The hare allows the tortoise a head start to be fair because the hare can run much faster than the tortoise can even dream. However, immediately after letting the tortoise go, the hare realizes that it is now impossible for him to overcome his opponent. After all, in order to overcome the tortoise, it must first catch up to the point that the tortoise is at. The problem is that every time the hare catches up to where the tortoise was last, the tortoise will be more ahead. Granted, the space between the tortoise and the hare will get smaller and smaller between intervals, however they will never meet. It is impossible for the hare to win!

Of course, this is not really true and is nothing more than a fun paradox to discuss. However, to use it as a stepping stone moshol (parable), the “race to finish Torah” is even more unachievable. At least if you keep walking half way to a door you will get closer and closer even though you will never reach it; when it comes to Torah, however, the closer one gets the more depth one realizes there is and the distance becomes farther, in a sense. Our job is to do as much as we can based on what Hashem expects of us and what we should expect from ourselves. Certainly we should feel good about our accomplishments, however, feeling great about an accomplishment is very different from feeling satisfied and finished. Happiness is good, but a feeling of completion or full satisfaction is incorrect. Even when one finishes a mesechta (tractate) or even a perek (chapter), the first thing we say is “hadran alach” (we will return to you). This statement is one of realization that not only is there more to learn in upcoming perakim and mesechtos, but even in going back and learning the same exact piece over again there is another layer to uncover which could only be done once having completed a first time. This is the first lesson of the Aron. The measurement is never complete. There is an infinite amount to accomplish in a finite amount of time. As the mishna[5] says, “There is much work, so little time, the workers are lazy, and the master is insistent.”

            The Gemara[6] quotes the passuk (verse) in our parsha which describes that the Aron had to be made of wood with an outer and inner Aron around it both made of gold. The Gemara says that we learn from here that that any talmid chochum whose inside is not like his outside, is not really a talmid chochum. As the Maharsha[7] explains, a talmid chochom is compared to a tree, represented by the wood of the middle Aron; and just like the Aron had a gold inner container which matched its outer container, so too a real talmid chochom is one who has an inner self as golden as his portrayed outer self.

            The demand of a person to have a matching interior and exterior goes beyond just a requirement of “practicing what one preaches”, there could be a talmid chochom who not only teaches to keep the mitzvos and gives off the appearance of a righteous person, but even does so himself. However, even that is all still exterior.

            The Orchos Tzaddikim[8] writes that although Torah is the greatest thing on Earth, without the proper vessel to contain it in, it is worthless, or even worse – detrimental. Imagine you have delicious, expensive wine which you put into a rusty keg or a barrel. No matter how fine the wine is, if poured into a rusty keg it will change taste, and if poured into a barrel with holes – it will leak out.  The same is true when it comes to the Torah. If we learn Torah without first perfecting our middos (character traits), or at least committing to do so, then the Torah we intake will be mis-colored, off-taste, and will leak right out of the holes that form from the imperfections of our middos. The real talmid chochom is one whose inside – his middos – are pure as gold. This is the second lesson that can be learned from the construction of the Aron. In order to be a recipient of real Torah, the vessel must have an inside which is as pure and golden as its’ outside.

            The third aspect about the Aron is the fact that although it had poles on its side, the Aron had the unique associated commandment that its poles must stay in even after the Mishkan is built at a given destination. If we stop and think about this for a second it seems not only purposeless but even improper and disrespectful. First, why did the poles have to remain in the Aron if they were setting down? Why not remove them as they did with all the other keilim? Additionally, it seems disrespectful to leave the poles in the Aron situated in the Kodesh HaKedashim. It gives off the impression of “living out of your suitcase”. As mobile as the Mishkan was, would it not be more proper to take out the poles of the Aron and demonstrate our complete faith in Hashem and in His plan leading us through the midbar? Why the specific commandment to leave the poles in?

            Perhaps we could learn from here a third important lesson in building our relationship with the Torah and Hashem, and that is that the Aron is never set in one place. Even when physically placed in the Kodesh Ha’kedashim inside the Mishkan, the poles must be left in to represent that virtually, the Aron must be everywhere. The Torah is not something only learned in a Beis Medrash, nor is it merely a list of things to do in Shul depending on the season. Rather it is the true approach to life itself and must be carried by every single person every second of the day.

            The details of the construction of the Aron are vital to understand when constructing our own Arons to contain the Torah. The decimal measurements, matching interior and exterior, and the requirement to leave the poles attached teach us that when we build a relationship with the Torah we must ensure that although we should feel accomplished we should never feel fully satisfied, that our middos must be pure and reflect our exterior, and that we must take the Torah with us wherever we go.

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[1] Shemos 25:21

[2] Shemos 25:10, 17

[3] See Rashi 25:11

[4] Shemos 25:15

[5] Avos 2:20

[6] Yoma 72b

[7] Ibid.

[8] In his introduction