Page 271 - 24107

24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Cyan
24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Black
#24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Yellow
24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Magenta
Orchard of Delights # Terumah

#
thirteen types of materials. Thirteen is the numerical value of the The description of the ark and the cherubim concludes with an
Hebrew words for “one” (echad) and “love” (ahavah). The Tabernacle important declaration: “It is there that I will set My meetings with
was meant to be the place where love and unity would draw down you, and I shall speak with you from atop the cover, from between
God’s Presence and oneness upon Israel, so that it could suffuse the the two cherubim that are on the ark of the Testimonial-tablets,
entire world. everything that I shall command you to the children of Israel”
(Exodus 25:22). The two cherubim represent God and Israel; that
This understanding also sheds light on the classic question raised
by the verse, “They will make for Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell God’s voice reaches Israel from between the cherubim on the ark
in their midst” (Exodus 25:8). Logically the verse should have read teaches us that Torah is the means of communication between God
“They will make for Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell in its [the and Israel. This interpretation is also reflected in the letter alef’s (א)
Sanctuary’s] midst.” By concluding with the phrase “in their [the graphical form, which is actually a construct of three distinct letters:
children of Israel’s] midst,” the verse emphasizes that the goal of a yud (י) above – on the upper right-hand side – representing God; a
building the Sanctuary was so that God could dwell within each yud (י) below – on the lower left-hand side – representing humanity;
and every Jew and ultimately all mankind. The study of Torah, and a diagonal vav (ו) – in the middle – symbolizing the Torah, which
in general, and Kabbalah and Chassidut, in particular, assists the unites God and humanity.
24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Magenta
diligent student in building a mind, body, and soul fit to house God’s The Slonimer Rebbe explains that since the destruction of the
#24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Yellow
24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Black
24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Cyan
Presence. Temple – the holy space where God conversed with the Jewish people
(and by extension all humanity) – God now speaks to us through
holiness in time, the Shabbat. The scriptural basis for this insight is
the use of the Hebrew word for “between” in “from between the two
cherubim” and in the oftentimes recited biblical verses describing
£A Whole and a HalfA Whole and a HalfA Whole and a Half
££A Whole and a HalfA Whole and a Half the role of the Shabbat:
A Whole and a Half
££
The children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath. To make
Rabbi Abraham Abulafia, an influential mid-twelfth century the Sabbath an eternal covenant for their generations.
Kabbalist, taught a concept he termed shalem vachetzi, “a whole Between Me and the children of Israel it is a sign forever
and a half.” This idea, given mathematical form, demonstrates that in a six day period God made heaven and earth, and
the relationship between words or concepts and their underlying on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed. (Exodus
correspondence in a 1:1/2 (whole–half) or 2:1 ratio. 31:16-17)

Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh explains that many of the Tabernacle’s When we sanctify the Shabbat by reciting the Kiddush or repeat this
dimensions allude to this concept. The Tabernacle’s construction passage in the Amidah, this is a very powerful image to remember:
and ongoing maintenance was underwritten by a series of three God is still speaking to us through the closeness that we feel to the
contributions. The first, after which this portion is named, was Divine on the holy Shabbat.
the people’s voluntary contribution of the thirteen different
materials needed to build the Tabernacle. The second was a onetime The deep spirituality and intimate closeness to God that we
contribution of half a shekel to underwrite the cost of the silver for experience on Shabbat is expressed by two texts traditionally recited
the wall sockets. The third was an annual contribution of half a before the opening Shabbat prayers: the Song of Songs, which
allegorically depicts the archetypal love between God and Israel,

274 271