YOU SHOULD MAKE A MENORAH OF PURE GOLD; THE MENORAH SHALL BE MADE OF HAMMERED WORK; ITS BASE AND IS SHAFT, ITS CUPS, CALAYXES, AND PETALS SHALL BE OF ONE PIECE. SIX BRANCHES SHALL ISSUE FROM ITS SIDES; THREE BRANCHES FROM ONE OF ITS SIDES AND THREE BRANCHES FROM ITS OTHER SIDE.

 (Shemot 25:31-2)

 

 

The Golden Menorah - was there Significance to its Details?

Thereupon a menorah was placed in front of it in order to glorify and honor the Temple. For the Temple, which was always illumined by lamps and separated by means of a veil [from the Holy of Holies], made a great impression upon the soul. You know to what extent the Law fortifies the belief in the greatness of the Sanctuary and the awe felt for it, so that on seeing it, man should be affected by a sentiment of submission and servitude.

(RaMBaM, Guide of the Perplexed III:45, following the Pines translation)

 

...the Menorah alluded to this second kind of reward, i.e., spiritual reward, for man's soul is God's lamp (Proverbs 20:27). The seven lamps allude to the seven sciences, which may all be found in God's Torah. All of the lamps faced the center lamp, which faced the Holy of Holies, to imply that the true wisdom agrees with the roots of the Torah, which rested in the Ark. The Menorah was all pure gold, to show the degrees of wisdom and its eternal persistence, and that strange opinions will not be found in it, which do not agree with the Torah, for it is all pure gold. And it had cups, calayxes, and petals, to hint at the subdivisions of the sciences and opinions each from each other, one serving as a preparation for the next. And it was all hammered work and made from a single mass of gold, since the sciences are in some way related to each other... for wisdom is all one, just as a house is a single building, but it is divided into seven parts - the number of varied topics called the "seven sciences." And that is the point of the Menorah itself which was all one piece of hammered work that was divided of into seven branches...

(Abrabanel's Commentary on the Torah, as brought in N. Leibowitz's Iyyunim Hadashim BeSefer Shemot, pg. 366)

 

 

This article is dedicated to my father and teacher,

Prof. Eliyahu Rosenheim upon the publication of his book,

Siyah Metupalim

So that the Tabernacle becomes one whole

Uriel Rosenheim

"God is in the details" - so says the architect Mies Van Der Rohe. This statement was intended to emphasize the role of details in architectural design, and it is uniquely illuminated in our parasha, which lays out the specifics of the divine blueprint for the construction of the Tabernacle.

After listing the vessels, Scripture turns to describing the Tabernacle. This passage opens with the words, And make the Tabernacle of ten strips of cloth... (Shemot 26:1) and ends with so that the Tabernacle becomes one whole (26:6). The strips of cloth that are mentioned before the boards of the Tabernacle merited having the whole Tabernacle named after them, and their unification expresses the Tabernacle's unity.

How do the two sections of cloth, connected one to one another with loops and clasps, represent the Tabernacle's essence? How do they join them together into one?

It is possible to offer a plain reading (following the RaShBaM) that the connection of two strips to each other unites them, and since they cover the Tabernacle and its vessels, they lend their name to the whole of it. Ibn Ezra, however, is not satisfied with this explanation, and so he writes:

The tabernacle was called one which included all, for no object is really one thing, but rather it is composed of parts. And such is the Honored Name; it is one and includes all, and is called one, and so it is with the microcosm (man) and the macrocosm (Creation).

Ibn Ezra implies that in order to understand the Tabernacle's unity, we must reach a deeper understanding of the word "one."

Or Sages taught us that in order to understand the essence of a word, we should look at the first place it appears in Scripture. In our case, we must check the first three times the word appears, since the book of Bereishit offers us something of a surprise: The first time the word "one" appears, it is in reference to the unity of time: And God called the light day and the darkness He called night, and it was evening and it was morning, one day (Bereishit 1:5). The second instance deals with the unity of space: And God said, "Let the waters gather below heaven in one place, revealing dry land," and it was so (1:9). The third refers to humanity: That is why a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and become one flesh (2:24).

These three passages deal with time, space, and humanity, summarizing God's revelation in Creation. Each involves two opposing elements that join together to create a one: evening and day, water and dry land, man and woman.

The word one in this sense refers not to uniqueness, but rather to a unity built of opposites which complement and define each other. The Sages often cited these pairs of opposites as offering a basis for understanding all of Creation:

The Holy One blessed be He created everything in His world as male and female. (Sanhedrin 100a)          

And in Bereishit Rabbah, 2:22:

The Holy One blessed be He told Israel: My son, everything I created, I created in pairs: heaven and earth are a pair, the sun and moon are a pair, Adam and Eve were a pair, this world and the next world are a pair - but my glory is one and unique in the world. How do we know this? From that which we have recited regarding this matter: Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.

While man is composed of opposites which seem to him to be opposed to each other, in God these elements exist in the harmony which constitutes His wondrous unity.

The MaHaRaL writes of this in his book, Netivot Olam:

And the blessed Lord... makes peace between them (between the waters of the depths)... until one does not enter the other's borders, and every one stands alone, and all must accept the peace, even the exalted ones, God Himself being Peace.

Rabbi Alexander Y. Shafran, in his book Hukat Olam ve'Razei Olam, relates to this discussion from several angles, including his attitude towards disagreements, through Jewish history, and finally in regard to the human/divine relationship:

This active conflict which occurs in nature and within man is conceived by human thought as involving a contradiction... it can only grasp unity as it relates to division... reciprocal complementariness is only oppression of one part by the other...

He continues, describing the relationship between science and Kabbalah:

And so every variable regarding life and the cosmos - both physical and spiritual - within the Kabbalah is based on the principle of bi-sexuality, bi-polarity, and the mutual complementariness of opposites.

RaShBI's attempt to resolve the argument between the House of Hillel and the House of Shamai regarding the question of whether heaven or earth was created first offers a fascinating outlook upon the phenomenon of mutually complementary opposites:

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai said: I wonder how they disagreed... but I think that they (heaven and earth) were created like a pot and its lid (the potter makes them together as one, first making a closed roll, like an empty ball, then he bakes it in the kiln to harden it, then he separates it into halves - a pan and a cover) for it says, [My own hand founded the earth, My right hand spread out the skies] I call unto them, let them stand up together (Isaiah 48:13). (Bereishit Rabbah 1:15)

Back to the Tabernacle:

The Tabernacle's frame was built of acacia-wood posts, connected to each other with bars (exposed and hidden). The clothes were then stretched upon this static frame.

The two great sections of cloth were composed each of five identical strips of cloth, sewn to each other. Five azure loops were sewn along a narrow edge of each section, placed parallel to those in the section to which it was to be attached. A golden clasp was placed through each pairs of loops, connecting the strips to each other. The cloths themselves were embroidered with figures of cherubim, cherubim, thoughtful work, you shall make them (26:1).

The relationship between the stretched clothe sections takes on an interesting dual nature: They were spread out so that their longer dimension is oriented with the width of the Tabernacle, limiting their inter-connection, and preserving each's independent existence. On the other hand, they pulled on each other, the seam of their connection lying just over the line of division set up by the curtain which separated the Holy from the Holy of Holies. The balance between them was maintained by opposing forces; the equilibrium between them was dynamic, a balance of power established through constant motion.

In this way, they are similar to night/day, water/land, male and female. Each of these elements enjoys an independent existence, while simultaneously remaining dependent. Each member of a pair defines the boundaries and identity of its companion by exerting force against it. One might say that this balance, expressed by the strips of cloth, between the Tabernacle's inner and outer parts made it possible for it to be called by the name of the God who caused His essence to dwell within it: Peace.

So wrote HaRAYaH Kook in Orot Hakodesh, volume 2, pg. 393:

The wisdom of truth teaches us the world's unity, the aspect of balance to be found in all of experience, rising up higher and higher, making creation similar to Creator.

The Sages used the acronym AShaN to abbreviate the terms Olam (world), Shanah (year), Nefesh (soul), which express the entire creation in which God reveals Himself:

Time: Also expresses technological knowledge and temporalized, designed, conceptualization = symbols.

Place: Defines the site to which the plan relates=portability in the desert.

Man: Expressing the specific needs of the client=the human/divine connection, priests.

Uriel Rosenheim is an architect

 

 

On Amalek and the war on terror (responses to Rafi Lederman's article, which appeared in the Beshalah edition)

 

The War of Light Against Darkness

The issue of Amalek has vexed me for years. Why are we commanded to destroy this particular nation, including its women, children, and animals? Why must we remember Amalek each day, and strive to blot out its memory? Is hatred for another people ethical and appropriate for a holy nation such as Israel?

Amalek was the only people which hurried forth to attack and do battle against Israel without any provocation on our part. It saw us as posing a genuine threat and danger. Little cocky Amalek did what the great Egyptian Empire feared to do - they fought Israel, which was still in its swaddling-cloths, tired and weary, as the Torah puts it - they fought us to no purpose, merely to kill. They wanted to kill us while we were still small in order to get rid of us as quickly as possible.

Sefer Devarim describes Amalek as not fearing God. It lacked guidance; no one held sway over it. It was a nation that chose the sword for its inheritance, a nation whose sole goal was, in Rabbi S.R. Hirsch's words, "the destruction of the well-being of nations and human happiness." Pharaoh expected to derive some benefit from Israel, exploiting us as slaves. Amalek, however, set up for itself the aim of never resting as long as there remained a free nation or individual who possesing happiness, peace, and dignity. Those who seek peace are Amalek's eternal enemies. They include the activists for human dignity, working across the world. They include those who love life and hate death. They take pride in education, love, brotherhood and solidarity, and not in the values of death: conquest, genocide, and warrior heroism. Amalek was beaten by Moses hands. This was not a matter of magic, but rather the power of faith and trust in God and His Torah - they cast down Amalek, saving the Jewish People. They saved the world.

Rabbi S.H. Hirsch reads the verse closely: I will surely blot out the memory of Amalek from beneath the heavens - its memory, but not Amalek itself. We are commanded to blot-out Amalek's memory. Amalek, he explains, is the cause of human moral evil. We are commanded to blot out the memory of death, of hatred for man and ethics - these we shall always be commanded to blot-out, and to look forward with hope and true faith towards peace.

Yonatan Orich

 

Amalek and Terror - Comparison and Contrast

The editor rightfully took note of "the danger of blurring the boundaries and contrasts between different situations," and I agree that if we remain vigilant to this danger, there is nothing wrong with the kind of comparisons made by Rafi Lederman.

I would like to mention one great difference between Israel's war with Amalek and our war against Palestinian terror. Amalek attacked Israel suddenly; no previous conflict existed between them. Israel had done nothing wrong to the Amalekites, and Amalek never makes any such claim (and, in contrast to Lederman's statement that "the Amalekite attack caught the Israelites in a strong and powerful condition," the verse says that you were tired and weary).

In contrast, Palestinian terror derives from a drawn-out territorial dispute between two nations. The Palestinians feel that their land was robbed from them and conquered by another nation, much stronger than them. Of course, such feelings do not justify disgusting acts of terror. However, anyone who wants to put an end to this terror cannot be satisfied by merely fighting active and potential terrorists - Lederman and his comrades are engaged in that fight, and many of us owe them our lives. Yet, with all of the anguish involved in saying it, they merely treat the symptoms. As long as there are sixteen year old youths whose despair with their situation and lack of hope for a better future motivate them to kill and be killed, we will remain far from our goal of ending terror. In contrast to the war with Amalek, this terror can only be eradicated with an arranged division of the contested land - a land which is viewed by each party to the conflict as its own. Only when the great majority of people in both peoples feel that the land was fairly divided - even if it is painful - will terror be ended or greatly reduced.

Dr. Gavriel Birenbaum

 

Additional responses to Rafi Lederman's article, and comments by the author and editor will appear in the next edition.

 

 

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