וַהֲקֵמֹתָ֖ אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּ֑ן כְּמִ֨שְׁפָּט֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָרְאֵ֖יתָ בָּהָֽר׃ (ס)
Levantarás o Mishcan conforme o seu modelo que te foi mostrado no monte. {ס}
Kedushat Levi
Getting back to the candlestick, the symbol of light in the universe and how it is to be utilized, the author explains that the reason why this “candlestick” had to be shown to Moses in the form of a menorah of fire suspended in the atmosphere, was that this mystical aspect of the menorah Moses could not have figured out for himself by merely following the instructions of constructing a physical menorah. This was the only furnishing of the Tabernacle which alluded to the possibility of a path to G’d in His essence without looking at the many protective mantles with which He shields Himself, i.e. His creatures, from coming to harm when they may be taken unaware by a manifestation of His glory. As indicated by the name of the month in which the festival of Purim occurs, on that occasion G’d was especially careful to ensure that none of the Jews would come to harm through His intervention against the evil decree of Haman being a manifestation through overt miracles.
The author now draws attention to another anomaly in the text describing how the Tabernacle was to be constructed. We have already heard that the Torah emphasized how everything was to conform strictly to the pattern G’d had outlined for Moses. He wonders therefore why in connection with the reference to the blueprint G’d had shown to Moses, we once or twice find the expression בתבניתם אשר אתה מראה בהר, “as in their patterns that has been shown to you on the Mountain,” (25,40) whereas when speaking of the boards forming the walls of the Tabernacle there is a change in wording, and we read in 26,30: כמשפטו אשר הראית בהר “according to its rules as shown to you on the Mountain.” He explains this as follows: The former formulation, i.e. בתבניתם, was parallel to the Ten commandments the people had heard while at the foot of the Mountain, whereas the word כמשפטו, refers to the appurtenances that were housed (in the main) within the walls of the Tabernacle. This also explains why Moses listed the individual parts of the Tabernacle in the Torah first, and only after these have been constructed was work on the actual structure, the boards, mentioned. Betzalel did not follow Moses’ example and proceeded with building the walls, קרשים, first, saying to Moses that it did not make sense to build furniture before one has a house to put it in. In order to understand why Moses has listed the appurtenances first, seeing that surely he was aware that furniture without a building within which to place it was not the way to proceed, we must remember that Moses was aware that the nation Israel had been “born” i.e. emerged only after possessing numerous negative virtues, and that thanks to the awe of the Lord they had experienced during these years, they had now become virtuous, in the positive sense.
Betzalel, however, as his name already indicates, had been born with positive virtues, and did not have to undergo the refinement process that the average Israelite had experienced. He could therefore proceed with the building of the structure first, the building that was to house the Sh’chinah, the proof that the people enjoyed G’d’s countenance being turned to them lovingly.
In connection with the altar (27,8) on which the animal offerings were offered, the “copper” altar located in the courtyard in front of the Tabernacle, we encounter the unusual instruction נבוב לוחות תעשה, usually translated as “make it hollow, of boards.” The reason the Torah gives for this instruction is again similar but not identical to the reason given for the making of the boards, or the making of the furnishings, the Torah writing: כאשר הראה אותך בהר כן יעשו “as He has shown you on the Mountain, so they shall construct it.” The Torah indicates the location of Moses when he received these instructions as being within the domain of the עולם הבריאה, the world of the first stage of creation, a stage before G’d had needed to shield His essence from creatures that could be hurt by that brilliance. This is also the reason why this altar has always been described as מזבח החיצון, usually translated as “the altar situated outside,” as opposed to the golden altar which was located within the Tabernacle itself. Our author sees in the expression מזבח החיצון, an allusion to an altar from which the עולם הבריאה, the world closest to the essence of the Creator, could be accessed by means of the fragrant aroma of the offerings burned up on it. It could access a world beyond one which could not be accessed by the lighting of the menorah, inside the Tabernacle.
The author now draws attention to another anomaly in the text describing how the Tabernacle was to be constructed. We have already heard that the Torah emphasized how everything was to conform strictly to the pattern G’d had outlined for Moses. He wonders therefore why in connection with the reference to the blueprint G’d had shown to Moses, we once or twice find the expression בתבניתם אשר אתה מראה בהר, “as in their patterns that has been shown to you on the Mountain,” (25,40) whereas when speaking of the boards forming the walls of the Tabernacle there is a change in wording, and we read in 26,30: כמשפטו אשר הראית בהר “according to its rules as shown to you on the Mountain.” He explains this as follows: The former formulation, i.e. בתבניתם, was parallel to the Ten commandments the people had heard while at the foot of the Mountain, whereas the word כמשפטו, refers to the appurtenances that were housed (in the main) within the walls of the Tabernacle. This also explains why Moses listed the individual parts of the Tabernacle in the Torah first, and only after these have been constructed was work on the actual structure, the boards, mentioned. Betzalel did not follow Moses’ example and proceeded with building the walls, קרשים, first, saying to Moses that it did not make sense to build furniture before one has a house to put it in. In order to understand why Moses has listed the appurtenances first, seeing that surely he was aware that furniture without a building within which to place it was not the way to proceed, we must remember that Moses was aware that the nation Israel had been “born” i.e. emerged only after possessing numerous negative virtues, and that thanks to the awe of the Lord they had experienced during these years, they had now become virtuous, in the positive sense.
Betzalel, however, as his name already indicates, had been born with positive virtues, and did not have to undergo the refinement process that the average Israelite had experienced. He could therefore proceed with the building of the structure first, the building that was to house the Sh’chinah, the proof that the people enjoyed G’d’s countenance being turned to them lovingly.
In connection with the altar (27,8) on which the animal offerings were offered, the “copper” altar located in the courtyard in front of the Tabernacle, we encounter the unusual instruction נבוב לוחות תעשה, usually translated as “make it hollow, of boards.” The reason the Torah gives for this instruction is again similar but not identical to the reason given for the making of the boards, or the making of the furnishings, the Torah writing: כאשר הראה אותך בהר כן יעשו “as He has shown you on the Mountain, so they shall construct it.” The Torah indicates the location of Moses when he received these instructions as being within the domain of the עולם הבריאה, the world of the first stage of creation, a stage before G’d had needed to shield His essence from creatures that could be hurt by that brilliance. This is also the reason why this altar has always been described as מזבח החיצון, usually translated as “the altar situated outside,” as opposed to the golden altar which was located within the Tabernacle itself. Our author sees in the expression מזבח החיצון, an allusion to an altar from which the עולם הבריאה, the world closest to the essence of the Creator, could be accessed by means of the fragrant aroma of the offerings burned up on it. It could access a world beyond one which could not be accessed by the lighting of the menorah, inside the Tabernacle.