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therefore, the thirteen materials hint to God’s forgiving that sin,
while the Tabernacle serves as an ongoing sign of God’s compassion.
Parenthetically, this notion of God’s compassion is also related to
the Tabernacle because the Tabernacle is considered the microcosm of
all creation (see “The Tabernacle, the Temple, and the Synagogue”).
In the initial account of creation, in the book of Genesis, only the
Divine name Elokim appears. This name is usually associated with
God’s attribute of judgment and strength. The Tetragrammaton,
God’s four-letter name, generally associated with His compassion,
is used for the first time in the Torah’s second account of creation,
especially in the more extensive account of humanity’s creation
and the full recounting of what occurred in the Garden of Eden.
The Midrash explains that initially God wanted to create the world
exclusively with the aspect of judgment but realized that creation
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would not be able to survive with this characteristic alone; therefore,
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He added the aspect of compassion. Symbolically, the Tabernacle,
like creation, is suffused with both judgment and compassion.
On the level of derash, the Tabernacle allegorically represents God’s
compassion and the rectification of the sin of the Golden Calf as already
alluded to in the peshat and remez explanations. God had originally
decided to mete out strict judgment for this sin, but after Moses’ prayers
chose to exercise His compassion and forgive the people; in a sense this
dynamic mirrors His introducing compassion into running the world,
after His initial decision to just exercise strict judgment.
The sod, the secret meaning, stems from the connection between the
thirteen materials used in the Tabernacle and the Hebrew word for
“one” (echad), which has the numerical value of thirteen. The thirteen
materials used in the Tabernacle reflect God’s oneness in the world
and the ensuing unity and purpose of creation. This fundamental
message conveyed by the Tabernacle was gleaned above from how
hooking the curtains together united the Tabernacle and made
it “one” (“Inherent Unity”); furthermore, we learned above that
creating such oneness was the very purpose of the Tabernacle and in
fact of the entire Torah. The Jewish people, Abraham’s descendants,
are charged with realizing God’s oneness, proclaiming it to the world,
and introducing it into every aspect of life.
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parallels the three sets of forty days he spent on Mount Sinai: (1)
When he initially received the Torah; (2) When he ascended the
mountain to plead on behalf of the Jewish people after the sin of the
Golden Calf; and (3) When he received the second set of tablets. (See
Rashi on Shemot 18:13 for a complete explanation of these three
forty-day periods.)
Why does Noah’s rectification appear in the portion of Ki Tisa –
where “lifting up the heads” is an important theme (see “Recognizing
the Individual’s Worth” at the beginning of Ki Tisa)? This portion
is, indeed, a fitting one for Noah’s rectification as his soul is uplifted
– attains its true potential – in Moses’ act of genuine initiative, true
leadership, and incredible self-sacrifice. These qualities were always
present in Noah’s soul, but he used them to save himself and his
family. Moses fully actualized these qualities by saving his entire
generation.
££God’s Goodness
£God’s Goodness God’s Goodness
and the Existence of Evil
and the Existence of Evil
and the Existence of Evil
God and Moses’ protracted dialogue in the aftermath of the sin
of the Golden Calf is one of the lengthiest and most fascinating
conversations in the entire Tanach. As a result of Moses’ pleading for
his people, God rescinded His threat to wipe out the nation, revealed
the Thirteen Principles of Compassion and instructed Moses to
prepare two tablets so that the Ten Commandments could be given
to him again, as the first ones had been broken.
After God promises not to annihilate the Jewish people, Moses
asks Him to reveal His glory. The Slonimer Rebbe notes that given
the low spiritual level to which the people had fallen such a request
seems to be coming at an extremely inopportune time. He therefore
explains that Moses was actually asking God to reveal to him how
He could be honored in any way by allowing His people’s spiritual
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