This week’s parshah, Parshas Pekudei,
brings Sefer Shemos and the story of the Mishkan to a close. The Mishkan was
used throughout Bnei Yisrael’s journey to Eretz Yisrael. Once they arrived in Eretz
Yisrael, the Mishkan was used for another several hundred years before the Beis
Hamikdash was built in the times of Shlomo HaMelech. Even though it lasted
nearly as long as both Batei Mikdash and served the spiritual needs of the
nation for centuries, its’ legacy is overshadowed by the two Batei Mikdash.
What exactly is the legacy of the Mishkan?
The parshah begins, “אלה פקודי המשכן משכן העדת אשר
פקד על פי משה עבדת הלוים ביד איתמר בן אהרן הכהן . ובצלאל בן אורי
בן חור למטה יהודה עשה את כל אשר צוה יהוה את משה “ “These are the
numbers of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the Testimony, which were counted at Moshe’s
command; the work of the Levites, under the direction of Itamar, the son of
Aharon the Kohen. Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of
Yehuda, had made all that Hashem commanded Moshe.” (Shemos 38:21-22) The
Seforno explains that these pesukim are listing a number of properties that the
Mishkan possessed which the Beis Hamikdash did not.
The pasuk begins by calling the Mishkan,
“the Mishkan of the Testimony”. This refers to the original set of Luchos that
Moshe broke that were stored in the Ark while in the Mishkan. These Luchos were
not present in the second Beis Hamikdash. The pesukim continue that the construction
of the Mishkan was under the leadership of Moshe, the Levi’im acted as
caretakers under the leadership of Aharon’s son, Itamar, and Betzalel was in
charge of the construction. All facets of the Mishkan, its design, construction,
and caretakers were all under the leadership of these great people, and therefore,
the Shechinah was present in every move made by it.
Such standards were not always true in
the Beis Hamikdash. Neither the first nor second Beis Hamikdash was built and maintained
entirely by Jews. The first Beis Hamikdash used workers from Tzur in its
construction and the construction of the Second Beis Hamikdash was undertaken almost
entirely by non-Jews. Additionally, in the Second Beis Hamikdash, there were no
Levi’im (See Ezra 8:15). The holy connection through leadership was missing
in all aspects.
For these reasons, both Batei Mikdash
were lacking the influence of the Shechinah (in a certain sense) and were able
to fall into the hands of non-Jews and be destroyed. However, the Mishkan did
possess all these properties, and therefore, could never be destroyed. Because of
these amazing properties, which even the Beis Hamikdash could not claim, the Mishkan
never fell into enemy hands. It was
merely “retired” when the Beis Hamikdash was built and it was no longer needed.
This is not to say that the Mishkan was
a more important structure than the Beis Hamikdash was. The Beis Hamikdash was
greater than it in many ways. It was a more beautiful structure, containing
more utensils and overall beauty, items which made it a higher honor to Hashem.
It was bigger and therefore contained more opportunities for people to perform
acts of service to Hashem. And most importantly, it was permanent; a fact which
made it so much more valuable than the Mishkan. So the point here is not to say
what was better or holier, the point is to realize that beauty and spirituality
can come in many shapes and sizes. We may not even realize that something that
seems insignificant in comparison, may possess the most special piece of all.
Shabbat Shalom!
Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Pekudei
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