Terumah 5779

(15) When Moses had ascended the mountain, the cloud covered the mountain.

(16) The Presence of the LORD abode on Mount Sinai, and the cloud hid it for six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.

(17) Now the Presence of the LORD appeared in the sight of the Israelites as a consuming fire on the top of the mountain.

(18) Moses went inside the cloud and ascended the mountain; and Moses remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

(1) Moshe went up and was covered in a cloud and was made holy in a cloud in order to receive Torah from Mount Sinai, as it is said "The Presence of the LORD abode on Mount Sinai" - for Moshe in order to purify him. - This occurred after the Ten Utterances; these are the words of Rabbi Yosei The Galilian.

Rabbi Akiva says: "The Presence of the LORD abode" - from Rosh Chodesh; "and the cloud hid it for six days" - the mountain, not Moshe; "On the seventh day He called out to Moshe from the midst of the cloud" - Moshe and all Israel were standing and the verse singles out Moshe to honor him.

Rabbi Nathan said: Why was Moshe delayed for those six days and the Speech did not rest upon him? So that he may clear himself of all food and drink in his innards until he was holy and like the ministering angels.

Rabbi Mathia son of Heresh said to him (Rabbi Nathan): Master, they only told him this, threatening him to make sure he would accept the words of Torah out of trepidation, fear, out of trembling and perspiring. As it states: (Ps. 2) "Serve God out of fear and rejoice with trembling."

I.1. Labor in matters of Torah and do not occupy yourself with idle matters.

[A story:]

II.1. Once, Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai was visiting the sick.

II.2. He encountered a man [Artscroll:] bloated and bedridden with intestinal disease and uttering blasphemies against KB”H.

II.3. He said to him, “Reqah! (Fool![1]) You should have been pleading for mercy, but instead you are uttering blasphemies!”

II.4. He said to him, “KB’H should remove it from me and place it on you.”[2]

II.5. He said [to him],[3] “KB”H did well by you, for you neglected matters of Torah and occupied yourself with idle matters.” [Printed ed. & MSS.O.: “KB”H did right by me, for I neglected matters of Torah and occupied myself with idle matters.”]

[1] Goldin: Wretch!

[2] Rebuking the scholar, the sick man highlights the irony of Shimon ben Yohai calling him a fool, as is the case in the next section as well.

[3] The printed edition and MSS.O. version of the text leads to the troubling conclusion that visiting the sick, a commandment praised in rabbinic literature, is considered an “idle matter.” See Binyan Yehoshua and Cashdan’s note on this passage. Magen Avot and Ben Avraham (see Artscroll) read the dialogue as an apology from the sick man, rather than Shimon ben Yohai, it resolves this problem, but this obstructs the natural flow of the dialogue on one character to the other and ends on the words of a non-rabbi (uncommon with ARN). On this basis, Schechter rejects this version of the text, following MSS.E., reverses the pronouns to have Shimon ben Yohai chastise the sick man. See Schechter’s note on the passage. Shualy suggests that these two men seem to know each other and that Shimon ben Yohai is chastising a colleague for neglecting Torah study.

(8) And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.

(9) Exactly as I show you—the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings—so shall you make it.

(1) ... Another explanation. “We have not found the Almighty great in power…” (Iyov 37:23) At the moment when the Holy One said to Moshe ‘make me a Tabernacle’ he was dumbfounded and said ‘the glory of the Holy One fills the upper worlds and the lower, and He said to make Him a Tabernacle?’ Further, he gazed into the future and saw that Shlomo would arise and build the Holy Temple which would be greater than the Tabernacle, and he said before the Holy One “But will God indeed dwell on the earth?” (Melachim I 8:27) Moshe reasoned: if in reference to the Holy Temple, which is so much larger than the Tabernacle, Shlomo said this - then when it comes to the Tabernacle all the more so. Therefore Moshe said “He who dwells in the hidden place of the Most High…” (Tehillim 91:1)...

(1) As for the Tabernacle, make it of ten strips of cloth; make these of fine twisted linen, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, with a design of cherubim worked into them.

(18) It consisted of cherubs and palm trees, with a palm tree between every two cherubs. Each cherub had two faces:

(19) a human face turned toward the palm tree on one side and a lion’s face turned toward the palm tree on the other side. This was repeated all over the Temple;

(20) the cherubs and the palm trees were carved on the wall from the floor to above the openings. As regards the great hall,