Page 280 - 24107

9
Orchard of Delights
#
and this light is most accessible to those experiencing Shabbat. By
connecting to Shabbat’s spiritual dimension, we are able to bask
in God’s infinite light, which is constantly accessible, but is most
accessible on the holy Shabbat.
Significantly, the connection between light and Shabbat is
symbolized by the Jewish people lighting Shabbat candles to
ceremonially usher in the day of rest. Both light and Shabbat awaken
the same associations of holiness, purity, spirituality, and joy. Just
as God’s infinite presence was concentrated within the Tabernacle’s
finite structure, so too God’s infinite light is highly-concentrated in
the Shabbat’s finite and detailed laws. As we learned in the previous
portion (“The Cherubim”), Shabbat functions as an everlasting sign
of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. Shabbat is the
vehicle God uses to communicate with Israel by shining His infinite
24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Magenta
light in an accessible manner.
#24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Yellow
24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Black
24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Cyan
£The Secret of EnclothmentThe Secret of Enclothment
££The Secret of Enclothment
Following Tetzaveh’s opening commandment regarding the menorah’s
lighting, the Torah continues with a detailed description of the unique
garments worn by the ordinary cohanim and the additional special
garments worn only by the high priest. These sanctified garments,
the Torah informs us, were made for “glory and splendor” (Exodus
28:2). The cohanim, who served simultaneously as the people’s
representatives to God and as God’s representatives to the people,
were commanded to dress in a manner worthy of their position and
spiritual task.
The Torah spends so much time describing every detail of the
sacred vestments because garments, in general signify a much deeper
level of meaning: garments are but a manifestation of the Kabbalistic
and Chassidic concept known as “enclothment.” The ultimate level
of enclothment is manifest in God enclothing His infinite being in
280
# 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Black 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Magenta 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 9 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 |
terumah ה ָמּור ְּ ת
££The Tabernacle, the Temple,
£The Tabernacle, the Temple, The Tabernacle, the Temple,
and the Synagogue
and the Synagogue
and the Synagogue
With the portion of Terumah, the Torah begins discussing a topic
that will occupy nearly all of the five remaining portions in Shemot,
practically the entire book of Vayikra, and the first few portions of
Bamidbar: the Tabernacle and the service performed there. Except
for the incident of the Golden Calf, the rest of Shemot is exclusively
dedicated to God’s commandment to build the Tabernacle and
the Jews’ response to this challenge. Vayikra and the beginning of
Bamidbar are almost entirely devoted to describing the worship that
took place in the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was the prototype for
the Temples later to be erected in Jerusalem; the first, erected by
King Solomon, stood for 420 years, and the second, erected in the
period of Ezra and Nehemiah, stood for 410 years.
For most non-observant Jews these portions are not only hard
to relate to but are a total turn off. The Torah’s obsessive concern
with detailing the structure of the Tabernacle and its furnishings,
explaining how and when the ancient animal sacrifices were to be
offered, and carefully delineating the clothes worn and the roles played
by the cohanim (the priests) and the levi’im (the Levites) appear to
even many observant Jews as overly pedantic and ultimately boring,
matters to be skipped over or read superficially. For non-observant
Jews, who usually view the very need for a Temple, not to mention
animal sacrifice as at best outdated, a superficial understanding of
them is truly disastrous.
Yet, this is a real shame. Most Jews do not understand the extent
to which both the physical layout of the traditional synagogue
265