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February 6, 1954

How Many Does It Take to Build a Tabernacle in a Desert (1954)

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People often say of human affairs, “it’s a matter of timing,” implying that given the same talent, will, and drive, success or failure often depend upon the time that they are applied rather than upon innate qualities. Whether it is a matter of being a prospective marriage partner, or running for office, or seeking a job, or undertaking a new venture, whether we succeed or not may often depend on whether we have chosen the right time for our efforts.I agree to this. But I would add that it is as much a matter of “spacing” as timing. It is important to be in the right place as well as at the right time. It’s “where you’re at” that counts.Of course, I have reference to the importance of environment. כי האדם עץ השדה – Man is like a plant, and just as a plant will grow and flourish in certain climates and wither in others, so the human personality develops in different directions depending on where it is placed. We are, to a large extent, the product of our environments. Our freedom consists of this, that we can choose in advance what our environments will be. We can determine the milieu in which we will develop, and thus direct our own growth and development.We read in our Sidra this morning how to construct the furnishings of the mishkan or sanctuary in the desert. We are told that on the golden כפרת (ark-cover) ועשית שני כרבים זהב, “You shall make two golden cherubim.” The only previous mention of these “cherubim” comes at the beginning of Genesis: ויגרש את האדם וישכן מקדם לגן עדן את הכרבים ואת להט החרב המתהפכת לשמור את דרך עץ החיים. “And He drove out the man; and He settled, at the east of the garden of Eden, the cherubim and the flame of the sword which turns every way, to keep the way to the tree of life” (Gen. 3:24).A distinguished Orthodox preacher of a couple of generations ago, Rabbi Fortman, pointed out that in both cases, that of the winged guards over the ark and the beings who blocked the way to the Tree of Life, we find cherubim. The difference is this: …
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Our Sidra and Haftorah of this morning deal essentially with the same theme: the building of a central place of worship for the people of Israel. The Sidra tells us of the commandment to construct the Tabernacle or Mishkan. The Haftorah relates the building of the Mikdash, the Temple. Yet, despite the similarity of subject matter, there are remarkable differences between the Mishkan of Moses described in the Sidra and the Mikdash of Solomon described in the Haftorah. It seems as if the arrangement of this Haftorah to follow this Sidra was intended to teach us a study in contrast; there is a clear message in the juxtaposition of these two different stories of the sanctuaries of Israel. The Mishkan, as our Sidra describes its construction by Israel under Moses, was a highly popular project, although it was a relatively plain structure, for it had to be portable in order to accompany the Israelites during their long travels in the wilderness. Its construction was a cooperative venture by all strata of society. The men worked, the women weaved, the laborers labored, in a folk project, a community undertaking. The Mikdash, however, despite its architectural grandeur, was not something built by the entire community. It was not the people who erected the Mikdash; it was foreign skilled labor. Professional artisans were imported from Tyre, whose King was Hiram, a friend of Solomon. The contract was sub-let; it was not a do-it-yourself project. The Mishkan and its construction was something which captured the fancy of the people. It fired their imagination. They gladly volunteered to serve as the builders of the Tabernacle, and they contributed its furnishings. There was an overflow of enthusiasm, an unparalleled and unsurpassed outpouring of love for this sacred project. Such was the plan at the very inception of the project: מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו תקחו את תרומתי, “of every man whose heart maketh him willing ye shall take My offering.” So successful was this element of נ…
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