the Den Parashah Torah Study + Discussion Parashat Terumah: The Divinity of Relationships Exodus 25:1-27:19 2.12.24 - ג׳ אַדָר א׳

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

(1) When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who shall go before us, for that fellow Moses—the man who brought us from the land of Egypt—we do not know what has happened to him.”(2) Aaron said to them, “[You men,] take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”(3) And all the people took off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.(4)This he took from them and cast in a mold, and made it into a molten calf. And they exclaimed, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

(1)And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them (Exod. 25:8). On which day did He relate to Moses the portion relating to the Temple? It was on the Day of Atonement. That was so despite the fact that the Torah portion describing the Sanctuary precedes the incident of the golden calf. R. Judah the son of R. Shalum said: There is actually no such thing as preceding or following in the Torah, as is said: Lest she should walk the even path of life, her ways wander, but she knoweth it not (Prov. 5:6). This verse refers to the arrangement of the Torah and its sections. Hence, it was on the Day of Atonement that He told Moses: Make Me a Sanctuary.

(2) Whence do we know this to be so? Moses went up Mount Sinai on the sixth day of Sivan, and remained there for forty days and forty nights. He stayed there another forty days, and then a final forty days, totaling one hundred and twenty days in all. Thus you find that it must have been on the Day of Atonement that he told Moses about the Temple, for it was on that day that they were forgiven. And on that day the Holy One, blessed be He, told them: Make Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell therein, so that the nations might know that He had forgiven them for the episode of the golden calf. It was called the Sanctuary of the Testimony, for it bore witness to the nations of the world that the Holy One, blessed be He, dwelt within their Sanctuary.

(3) The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: Let gold be placed within the Sanctuary to atone for the gold with which the golden calf was fashioned...

(18) 18 (Numb. 11:16) “Gather for Me [70 elders to help you]”: This text is related (to Amos. 9:6), “Who builds His upper chambers in the heavens and founds His celestial vault (aguddah) upon earth.” To what is the matter comparable? 37Sifre to Deut. 33:5 (346). To a palace 38 that was built upon boat[s]. For as long a time that the boats are connected, the palace that is upon them will stand. Hence, it is stated (in Amos 9:6), “Who builds His upper chambers in the heavens.” When is His throne, as it were, established39Cf. the Gk. noun basis which means “ground” or “pedestal.” above?40See M. Sam. 5. When Israel becomes one society (aguddah). It is therefore stated (ibid.), “Who builds His upper chambers in the heavens.” When? When (ibid. cont.) “He founds His celestial vault (aguddah, which also means society) upon earth.”41Men. 27a. And so it says (in Deut. 33:5), “Then He became King in Jeshurun [when the heads of the people assembled, the tribes of Israel together].” Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses (in Numb. 11:16), “Gather Me seventy men.” Why? Because a gathering of righteous people is enjoyment for them and enjoyment for the world, but a gathering of wicked people is an offense to them and an offense to the world.

(6) Who built the chambers in heaven
And founded the vault on the earth,
Who summons the waters of the sea
And pours them over the land—
Whose name is GOD.