״ ְבַּטְבּעֹת֙ ָהאָרֹ֔ן יְִהי֖וּ ַהַבִּדּ֑ים ֥לא יָֻס֖רוּ ממנו״ 15:25
The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark: they shall not be removed from it.
Why is this pasuk so repetitive? The point would have been made clear if the pasuk just said
“they shall not be removed”?
Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky says in Parsha Parables 3 that by emphasizing that the poles
should never be removed it is a prediction. The poles not only are carrying the Torah and its
message, but are in fact much more than gold plated sticks. They may not be as holy as the Ark
but they will always be right by its side. They will be there forever and hopefully will be there
when the handles poke out from the ground and the Torah is raised with them
Where else in the Torah do we see something that is seemingly insignificant but in reality is
much more? Is there anything else in the Mishkan or is Judaism that is emphasized like the
poles? How is it possible to keep these poles in the rings and not ever be worried that they
might fall out?
The Daat Zkenim answers on why the rings should not be removed. He says that the miskan is so holy that you had to be extremely careful about it. The people who held the Mishkan picked it up and placed it and quickly stepped away from it just in case they do something impure. Moshe was the one who placed the poles in because it was something so sacred only he can do it. I think this is really important that they don’t remove it because it shows that the mishkan could be taken apart which I think would’ve taken away from its holyness so by not being allowed to remove it it shows that the mishkan is unbreakable which makes its holiness greater
ReplyDeleteThe talmud teaches that even though the people carrying the Ark seemed to be carrying the Ark on their own, in reality the Ark carried them. In Sota 3A it says that when it moved, they were lifted with it. This because the torah is ultimate and it is the thing that 'carries' the jewish people. Rabbi Hirsch comments that the fact that the staves were eternal symbolizes that the torah cannot be tied down to one place or time . He says that wherever the jews go the torah will follow them (even if they are forced somewhere). This because the torah carried bni wherever they go just like it carried the people who seemed to be carrying the ark. I think this a beautiful answer and sort of reacts to that saying ' as the jews have kept the shabbas the shakos keeps them. similarly just as the jews keep the torah the torah is always there as a source of protection etc.
ReplyDeleteSomething seemingly insignificant: Teh Mishkan is made up many different parts. Parts like the poles, the kodesh, or the tapestries on the walls. Each little piece and detail makes up the entire mishkan. Thus, the mishkan is the ultimate symbol of unity or achdut, Our color war theme. For the mishkan was made up many parts. Parts that may seem insignificant but in reality are important for the collective. During color war all the little “pieces” come together. Everyone in our grade is unique and special and we come together as one united front. I’m judasim we are care deeply about all the details. This can represent our value of each member of our community
ReplyDeleteA time when many seemingly insignificant things happen that turn out to be extremely significant is the Purim story. On aish.com Sara Yocheved Rigler writes that part of the challenge of living in a time after the destruction of the second Beit Hamikdash is seeing Hashem even in the hidden miracles. Even when something seems small and easily attributable to a coincidence we can notice Hashem’s role in it.
ReplyDeleteI like this because it’s clearly something we talked a lot about during color war. But also, it gives meaning to life to be able to thank Hashem for something “small” or something that we can attribute to a coincidence.
http://www.aish.com/h/pur/t/har/48965501.html
Where is another place in the Torah where something seems insignificant but in reality is significant? In shemot perek bet pasuk כא it says how יתרו gave Tziporah to marry Moshe. Chizkuni comments on the deeper significance of Tziporahs name which seems insignificant in the psukim. Chizkuni says that the significance of the name Tziporah is that she was the one who had ran to Moshe like a “bird” - צפור. Another answer that he gives is that Tziporah was as beautiful as a sunrise and she lit up the morning and in Aramaic the word for morning is צפרע. I really liked learning about this because we just learnt this in class and it was interesting to read about what Tziporahs name means and how it connects to why she was the one who married Moshe. Also, I think its important to not just look at things and think that they have no meaning just like in this weeks parsha with the poles in the mishkan - a lot of things in the Torah have meaning and a deeper message so we shouldn’t just look at things as insignificant.
ReplyDelete