Or Torah
"You shall command the Children of Israel to bring to you pure olive oil..."
(Ex. 27:20)
The sages taught that Bezalel, who constructed the Tabernacle, knew how to combine those letters by which heaven and earth had been created (b. Berakhot 55a).
The Tabernacle was the life of all the worlds. This can be understood by analogy to the soul. It is the life of the body, even though in itself it has no form. We name it in terms of the body, speaking of the life-energy that animates the arm or the leg. So Bezalel, in making the mishkan as the site of this universal life-force, had to understand how to bring life into the worlds, as well as the letters through which the worlds were created. Everything in the worlds was represented in the mishkan.
We are taught that "the world was created by ten divine speech-acts" (m. Avot 5:1). The Talmud notes, however, that "God said" appears only nine times in the opening chapter of Bereshit. It replies that "In the beginning..." is also a divine utterance (b. Megillah 21b). But why doesn't the text use "God said" in the first case? Because this act of divine speech is beyond our grasp; only its lower manifestations can be known...This primal utterance is the raw material out of which all further speech was to emerge.
The same has to be true with regard to the mishkan. Parallel to the primal utterance in the menorah, which even Moses had difficulty grasping; it could not be shaped by any human, but formed itself. The menorah bore witness to the fact that God's presence now dwelt in Israel's midst. This is the oil; the brightness shines right on its surface just like light reflects directly on the surface of the oil. The rest of the utterances are the olive, with the oil contained within them.
That is why this chapter does not open with "God spoke to Moses" or even "God said": this "olive oil" is beyond our grasp. Even "saying," which would imply thought, is not appropriate here.
"You shall command the Children of Israel to bring to you pure olive oil..."
(Ex. 27:20)
The sages taught that Bezalel, who constructed the Tabernacle, knew how to combine those letters by which heaven and earth had been created (b. Berakhot 55a).
The Tabernacle was the life of all the worlds. This can be understood by analogy to the soul. It is the life of the body, even though in itself it has no form. We name it in terms of the body, speaking of the life-energy that animates the arm or the leg. So Bezalel, in making the mishkan as the site of this universal life-force, had to understand how to bring life into the worlds, as well as the letters through which the worlds were created. Everything in the worlds was represented in the mishkan.
We are taught that "the world was created by ten divine speech-acts" (m. Avot 5:1). The Talmud notes, however, that "God said" appears only nine times in the opening chapter of Bereshit. It replies that "In the beginning..." is also a divine utterance (b. Megillah 21b). But why doesn't the text use "God said" in the first case? Because this act of divine speech is beyond our grasp; only its lower manifestations can be known...This primal utterance is the raw material out of which all further speech was to emerge.
The same has to be true with regard to the mishkan. Parallel to the primal utterance in the menorah, which even Moses had difficulty grasping; it could not be shaped by any human, but formed itself. The menorah bore witness to the fact that God's presence now dwelt in Israel's midst. This is the oil; the brightness shines right on its surface just like light reflects directly on the surface of the oil. The rest of the utterances are the olive, with the oil contained within them.
That is why this chapter does not open with "God spoke to Moses" or even "God said": this "olive oil" is beyond our grasp. Even "saying," which would imply thought, is not appropriate here.
Mishkan("Tabernacle") and shekhinah ("divine presence") are forms of the same Hebrew root, meaning "dwelling." The most secret aspect of the mysterious construction is that of the menorah, the form of which had to be revealed by God to Moses. The Maggid suggests that the menorah is parallel to keter, the highest among the ten sefirot and unknowable to the human mind. The divine light shines forth from it so powerfully that we, paradoxically, are not able to see it.
Orah Le-Hayyim
The leaders of Israel, those who guide and teach the people God's ways and Torah, receive even more from those they teach. ["I learned much from my teachers, more from my compatriots,] but from my students most of all" (b. Ta'anit 7a). In the outflow of mind and awareness that comes from God, they receive more so that they can pass the flow on to others. Proof of this is found in the fact that all the years that Israel were in the wilderness because of the sin of the spies, divine speech stayed away from Moses [because he was not prophesying to Israel].
This is And you, command [tetsaveh] the Children of Israel. The word may be derived from tsavta, "togetherness." Join yourself to the Children of Israel, to teach them and lead them. They will bring to you pure olive oil: it is they who will cause that pure flow of wisdom and Torah to come upon you.
The leaders of Israel, those who guide and teach the people God's ways and Torah, receive even more from those they teach. ["I learned much from my teachers, more from my compatriots,] but from my students most of all" (b. Ta'anit 7a). In the outflow of mind and awareness that comes from God, they receive more so that they can pass the flow on to others. Proof of this is found in the fact that all the years that Israel were in the wilderness because of the sin of the spies, divine speech stayed away from Moses [because he was not prophesying to Israel].
This is And you, command [tetsaveh] the Children of Israel. The word may be derived from tsavta, "togetherness." Join yourself to the Children of Israel, to teach them and lead them. They will bring to you pure olive oil: it is they who will cause that pure flow of wisdom and Torah to come upon you.
A good reminder for all of us rabbis and teachers! It is not because of our merits or our brilliance that we receive the insights that we do; it is all brought about by those we teach.