Kaisipang Hudyo sa Ezekiel 36:25: Akeidat Yitzchak & Drashot Maharal

Exodus Rabbah 50, writes "G-d said to Israel: you have made for Me a tabernacle of goats' curtains, so I will protect you in the future, as it says in Isaiah 4,5, "and the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion and upon the assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and a shining flame of fire by night, for on all the glory shall be a Divine cover. Indeed, over all the glory shall hang a canopy which will serve as a pavilion for shade from heat by day and as a shelter for protection from drenching rain." The Midrash continues in this vein, promising the Jewish people rewards corresponding to the holy ark, the menorah etc.

The second bird, before being released, must be dipped in the blood of the bird that had been killed, to teach that the lesson how to employ speech has been learned. Unrestricted use of the power of speech is apt to kill, causes one to bloody oneself. The waiting period necessary after offering the sacrifice, before the victim may rejoin society, is to effect the moral and intellectual rehabilitation which follows physical rehabilitation. The latter was symbolised by the washing of the victim's clothing. The victim cannot appear before G'd at the entrance to the sanctuary until three more sacrifices, asham, chatat, and olah and the accompanying menachot have been offered. Sprinkling of the blood on the thumb and large toe, is symbolic of purifying the most mobile parts of the body. Hands symbolise action, feet symbolise motion. Both are usually involved in any sinful behaviour. The recipe presented by the spice merchant extends until the end of the quotation from Psalms 34, namely "keep away from evil, do good, seek peace and pursue it actively!" The latter advice is difficult to follow unless both hands and feet are involved. The reason that the Torah insists that blood be sprinkled on the right toe and right thumb, may be to remind us that until now the conduct of the metzora, had been foolish, like the people whom Solomon describes as having the seat of their intellect on their left side. (Kohelet 10,2) "The seat of a wise man's intellect is on his right side." Pouring oil on the toes, fingers, earlobe and head of the metzora, is symbolic of the imperative of our sages as expressesd in Kohelet 9,8, "at all times your clothing should be white, and oil should not be lacking on your head." A person's covering is symbolic of his good traits. After the atonement, donning clean garments and being anointed with oil on crucial parts of his body, demonstrates that from here on in, he is in possession of good character traits. The ear, i.e. the organ that receives the spoken word of the mouth that can cause tzora-at, must also undergo rehabilitation. The asham sacrifice removes the corrosive effect of the sin on the body; after that, when sin has been removed and atoned for,- as per chapter 14,18-19,- the olah sacrifice can bring the true purification, the positive finale of the atonement procedure.

The reason may be closely linked to what is referred to in our opening Midrash. Since both the Sabbath and the tabernacle are microcosms of the total Jewish world philosophy, the fact that the tabernacle was constructed first, is cited by the Midrash also. It is a reminder that our philosophy is based on what the Psalmist has described "He stretches the heavens like a carpet," (Psalms 104,2) meaning G-d created the universe out of nothing and only subsequently supplied the matter in it. This is something which needed to be acknowledged by kol chacham lev, every wise hearted man who was employed in the construction of the tabernacle. Preoccupation with the donations for and building of the tabernacle, were strong antibodies against the natural difficulties encountered by man in rising to his full potential. Therefore, the Midrash lists the furnishings as well, since the construction of each was a way of overcoming natural obstacles to becoming a servant of the Lord in the full sense of the word. If the Midrash quotes the verse from Isaiah "and the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold the strength of what it was during the seven days of creation," (Isaiah 30,26) this is a hint that in the future we will merit enlightnement from G-d directly, our spiritual capacities will have been expanded so that no intermediaries will be needed any longer. The holy ark in the tabernacle is the symbol then of the third dimension of the Sabbath, discussed earlier in this chapter.