English translation — ויק"פ

Vayakhel — Pekudei<pg>192</pg>

A.

The Ramban wrote in his commentary on the Torah

(beginning of Parshat Terumah)

: "The main desire in the Mishkan is the place of rest of the Shechinah, which is the Ark<sup>1</sup>

as it says<sup>2</sup>

And I will meet with you there and I will speak with you from above the covering, therefore the Ark and the covering are placed first here

(in Parshat Terumah)

because it is first in importance etc.,

but Moshe placed first in Parshat Vayakhel<sup>3</sup>

the Mishkan and its tent and its covering, and so did Betzalel<sup>4</sup>

because it is fitting to be first in the work."

And seemingly, one must say in explanation of his words: according to the opinion of the Ramban<sup>5</sup>

the command of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moshe regarding the making of the Mishkan

(in Parshat Terumah)

was before the sin of the Golden Calf, and the command of Moshe to Israel

(in Parshat Vayakhel)

was after the sin and its forgiveness on the morrow of Yom Kippur<sup>6</sup>,

and since this was so, there was room to explain that in the command of G-d to Moshe, He gave precedence to the Ark and the Cover, because before the sin of the Golden Calf the primary intention in the building of the Mishkan was for the purpose of the indwelling of the Shechinah,

and this is the matter of the Ark and the Cover,

but afterwards, when they sinned with the [Golden] Calf<sup>7</sup>

the content of the Mishkan was for the sake of atonement for the sin of the Calf,

which is primarily through the service in the Mishkan,

the offering of the sacrifices<sup>8</sup>,

and therefore it is possible to say that therefore in Parshat Vayakhel Moshe did not give precedence to the Ark and the Cover,

to indicate that from now on the primary desire in the Mishkan is not the indwelling of the Shechinah but rather atonement for sins etc.;

And in order to negate this reasoning, he explains,

that the reason for the change that "Moshe gave precedence in Parshat Vayakhel to the Mishkan etc., and so did Betzalel" is "because it is fitting to precede in the actual making",

from which it is understood,

that also after the sin of the Golden Calf, the essential matter of the Mishkan remained its being "a place of rest for the Shechinah, which is the Ark".

And so it is understood from the words of the Ramban at the beginning of our parshah

(Parshas Vayakhel),

that this command "it could be that this was on the day after his descent and he said to all of them the matter of the Mishkan which he was commanded about initially before the breaking of the tablets,

since the Holy One, blessed be He, was appeased to them and gave him the second tablets etc., behold they returned to their original state and to the love of their union, and it is known that His Shechinah will be in their midst as the matter that He commanded him initially, as it says<sup>9</sup>

And they shall make for Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst, and therefore Moshe commanded them now according to all that he was commanded from the beginning."

However, according to the Rambam, the essence of the matter of the Mishkan and the essence of its commandment is as he writes at the beginning of the Laws of the Chosen House<sup>10</sup>

"It is a positive commandment to make a house for Hashem, prepared to offer in it the sacrifices and to celebrate there<pg>193</pg>

to Him three times a year, as it is said, "And they shall make Me a sanctuary"¹¹.

2.

And behold, in his continuation of his words in the beginning of Parshat Terumah, the Ramban explains the matter of the indwelling of the Shechinah in the Mishkan: "And the secret of the Mishkan is that the glory which dwelt on Mount Sinai should dwell upon it in concealment, and as it is said there¹²

and the glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and it is written¹³

"Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness," and so it is written regarding the Mishkan¹⁴

and the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan, and he mentioned in the Mishkan twice¹⁴

and the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan, corresponding to "His glory and His greatness."

And at the end of our parshah

(Pekudei)

he wrote: "And the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan, for its interior was filled with the glory, for the glory dwells within the cloud within the Mishkan, like the matter that is said at Mount Sinai¹⁵

to the thick cloud where God is."

And it is explained in the books<sup>16</sup>,

that his intention in this is to explain the nature of the indwelling of the Shechinah in the Mishkan and likewise in the Beis HaMikdash

(and as he also brought there several verses regarding the Beis HaMikdash)

— that there are two opinions about this:

According to the opinion of the Rambam<sup>17</sup>

one cannot say that the indwelling of the Shechinah was in the place of the Mikdash itself,

for the Holy One, blessed be He, is not within the category of place,

but rather that the place of the Mikdash is prepared that through it the revelation of the Holy One, blessed be He, should pass

[By way of analogy<sup>18</sup>

that prophecy rests only in Eretz Yisrael,

for prophecy is a perception in the manner of spiritual sight, that the thing seen is not within the category of place,

and nevertheless this sight is not revealed to the prophet except in Eretz Yisrael alone],

And it is similar to the writing of intellect by means of the fingers of the hand, that the intellect does not shine and rest in the hand — for the fingers of the hand have no connection to intellect,

but rather the hand is only a medium through which the intellect passes and is drawn.

And even though it is possible to transmit the intellect only by means of the fingers of the hand and not by means of the fingers of the foot,

for only the hand is prepared for this,

nevertheless,

the hand itself does not comprehend the intellect.

And the opinion of the Ramban¹⁹

is that the indwelling of the Shechinah in the Beis HaMikdash was in a manner of enclothing,

that the revelation was in the place of the Mikdash itself,

and analogous to the dwelling of the intellect in the brain,

that the intellect is enclothed in the brain and the brain comprehends the intellect.

That is, according to the Rambam, the indwelling of the Shechinah in the Beis HaMikdash was in a manner of passing through²⁰

and is not connected to the place of the Mikdash itself,

and according to the Ramban — it was in a manner of enclothing²⁰

in the place of the Mikdash.

<pg>194</pg>

3.

And behold, from this that the Ramban explains the matter of the indwelling of the Shechinah

(the glory of G-d)

in a manner of enclothing, in continuation of his words that the main desire in the Mishkan is a place of rest for the Shechinah, which is the Ark,

it is logical,

that his view regarding the definition of the purpose of the Mishkan and his view regarding the manner of the indwelling of the Shechinah in it are dependent on each other.

And also the Rambam who disagrees with him in these two matters,

it is logical that his view in both is founded on the same thing.

And one must explain the connection of the matters,

and simply:

The Ramban writes that "the main desire in the Mishkan is the place of rest of the Shechinah

(which is the Ark)

",

because he holds that the indwelling of the Shechinah in the Temple is not in a transitory manner,

but rather in a manner of enclothing in the place of the Temple itself,

therefore it is appropriate to say that the main desire is the place of rest of the Shechinah,

because this pertains to the body of the place of the Temple;

In contrast to the Rambam who writes that the main commandment of making the Mishkan is for the offering of sacrifices and to it shall be the pilgrimage,

he follows his own system,

that the indwelling of the Shechinah in the Temple is only in a transitory manner,

that it does not dwell in the place of the Temple itself,

and only that the place of the Temple is prepared that through it there will be a revelation of the Shechinah to Israel²¹

who come there,

and through it passes the speech and prophecy to Moshe, as it is said "And I will meet with you there and I will speak with you from above the ark-cover."

But this is not a sufficient explanation,

for even according to the Ramban the indwelling of the Shechinah in the Temple is not due to the place of the Temple itself,

but rather it is for the sake of Israel,

and as the Ramban elaborated&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;,

that after the Giving of the Torah "and Israel accepted upon themselves to do all that He commands them etc. from now they are to Him a people etc. a holy nation and behold they are holy, worthy that there be among them a Sanctuary to cause His Shechinah to dwell among them, and therefore He first commanded about the matter of the Mishkan that there be for Him a house among them sanctified to His name, and there He will speak with Moshe and command the Children of Israel"

(and he continues "and behold the main desire in the Mishkan is the place of rest of the Shechinah, which is the Ark etc.").

And it emerges that also according to the Ramban the main indwelling of the Shechinah in the Temple is only for the sake of Israel&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;,

except that their dispute is,

that according to the Rambam the main aspect of the Temple is for the sake of the service of Bnei Yisrael

(the offering of sacrifices etc.),

while according to the Ramban,

its main purpose is for the sake of the indwelling of the Shechinah in Israel.

Furthermore: it was explained elsewhere^*23

regarding the dispute of the Rambam and the Ramban about the essential purpose of the Sanctuary,

that one says one thing and the other says another thing and they do not disagree,

for the verse states explicitly "And they shall make Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst",

except that the Rambam in his book of law

(and likewise in the Book of Commandments)

— whose definition of law is the command to man — speaks about the content of the matter of the commandments that Israel was commanded to do in the Beis HaMikdash,

and the Ramban speaks about the matter and desire of the Mishkan itself,

which is "and I will dwell",

the indwelling of the Shechinah that was in it from above,

and this was primarily through the Ark.

And based on the above that the two disputes are dependent on each other,

it is logical to say,

that also in the second dispute whether the indwelling of the Shechinah was in a transient manner or in a manner of enclothing,

that one says one thing and the other says another thing and they do not disagree.

4.

And one must say the explanation in this,

with the preface of what is explained in the Zohar²⁴

that the connection of Israel<pg>195</pg>

and the Holy One, blessed be He, is through that the revealed aspect of Israel connects to the revealed aspect of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the hidden aspect of Israel connects to the hidden aspect of the Holy One, blessed be He.

And likewise it is regarding "And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst,"

that it has these two levels: a)

"And I will dwell in their midst" — in the revealed aspect of Israel,

which is the connection between the revealed aspect of Israel and the revealed aspect of the Holy One, blessed be He,

b)

"And I will dwell in their midst" — the hidden aspect of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the hidden aspect of Israel.

And the difference between them is: the revealed connection between the revealed aspect of Israel and the revealed aspect of the Holy One, blessed be He, is a thing that is done through the action and service of Israel,

"And they shall make Me a sanctuary,"

in the language of the Rambam²⁵

"for the service in it shall be the offering and the burning of the fire continually and to it shall be the going and the pilgrimage and the assembly every year and it is His saying, blessed be He, 'And they shall make Me a sanctuary'"; whereas the hidden connection between the hidden aspect of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the hidden aspect of Israel is done through the Mishkan and the Mikdash itself,

and this means that even one who did not come to the Mikdash to offer a sacrifice and did not make a pilgrimage — behold, by the very fact that the Mishkan and the Mikdash are within the children of Israel, "And I will dwell in their midst" is effected,

within the children of Israel.

And one could say,

that they are the two definitions mentioned above regarding the resting of the Shechinah in the Mishkan: The Rambam addresses the matter of "And they shall make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them" as it is in a revealed manner,

namely the connection between Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, that comes about through their service,

the offering of sacrifices and the pilgrimage aliyah l'regel,

and the resting of the Shechinah

(and I will dwell among them)

connected with this is in the aspect of revelation, since it comes about through the deeds and actions of Israel — and it is the revealed connection of Israel with the revealed aspect of the Holy One, blessed be He;

Whereas the Ramban, who includes in his commentary "pleasant words for listeners and grace for those who know"²⁶,

who explains the secrets of the Torah,

addresses the matter of "And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them" in the aspect of the hidden — the connection between the hidden aspect of Israel and the hidden aspect of the Holy One, blessed be He,

and this connection is not made through the deeds and actions of Israel,

but rather through the very establishment of the Mishkan and the Temple within the children of Israel.

And it must be said,

that these two details are connected with two different places in the Mishkan itself: the revealed connection belongs to the revealed place in the Mikdash,

the place of service — the Azarah and the Heichal; and the hidden connection belongs to the hidden place in the Mikdash,

the Holy of Holies,

which is not a place of service and no one enters there the entire year

(only the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur alone)²⁷,

and within it itself — in the Ark,

in which there was no service²⁸,

and its entire essence is the place of the resting of the Shechinah.

5.

Based on the above, it is possible to further explain a detail according to the opinion of the Ramban regarding the Second Temple,

for at first glance it is perplexing: since there was no Ark in it,

behold, the primary object in the Mikdash is missing,

the place of the resting of the Shechinah,

which is the Ark?

Moreover: our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said&lt;sup&gt;29&lt;/sup&gt;

that which is written&lt;sup&gt;30&lt;/sup&gt;

"Great will be the glory of this latter house more than the first,"

its explanation is,

that the Second Temple was greater in building and in years than the First Temple.

And it is not understood,

since in the Second Temple five things were lacking&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;,

and foremost among them the Ark was missing, in which is "the essential desire" of the Temple,

how is it possible to compare the Second Temple to the First Temple in the aspect of the Temple itself, whose meaning is "and I will dwell in their midst,"

and all the more so&lt;pg&gt;196&lt;/pg&gt;

and how much more so — to say that it is greater than it in building and in years,

what value does the existence of the Temple in years and in building have compared to the essence of the Holy Temple, which is "the place of the resting of the Divine Presence, which is the Ark"?

Rather,

that the matter of "the resting of the Shechinah, which is the Ark," its primary definition is its being closed and hidden,

which indicates the hidden connection between Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He,

and not the revealed connection made through their service that is revealed,

and therefore in the Second Temple, even though there was no Ark in a revealed manner in the Holy of Holies,

nevertheless it was in a manner of concealment in the Holy of Holies itself

[and in the manner that it is stated in the Gemara³²

according to one opinion, "the Ark was hidden in its place," and as it is written³³

"and they were there until this day,"

and as the Rambam elaborated³⁴

"at the time that Solomon built the Temple and knew that it would eventually be destroyed, he built in it a place to hide the Ark below in deep and winding vaults, and King Josiah commanded and hid it in the place that Solomon built"].

And it is found that the matter of "and I will dwell in their midst,"

the indwelling of the Shechinah that pertains to the hidden aspect of Israel,

behold in the Second Temple not only was there no lack in this, but it was in a superior level,

for this very thing that the Ark was in a manner of concealment in the Holy of Holies³⁵

indicates a more hidden and concealed level in the indwelling of the Shechinah³⁶,

and consequently a more hidden and inner connection between Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He.

And this matter is connected and dependent on the level of the Children of Israel in the time of the Second Temple: since outwardly their situation was then of a lower level in the observance of the Torah and commandments and service of God in general,

and moreover not all of Israel were on their land&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;,

that there was not "the coming of all of you",

behold the connection between Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, had to be also in the level and situation of the Children of Israel in whom outwardly there is not seen in them a connection to the holiness of the Temple,

and even to those who are in the diaspora.

And this is the content of the matter of the hiding of the Ark in the Holy of Holies,

that then the connection between Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, was in a more hidden aspect on the part of Israel,

and consequently it is understood that this reaches in a more hidden aspect to above.

6.

And based on this, one must explain in greater depth the connection between the Ramban's view regarding the essence of the desire in the Temple and his view regarding the manner of the Divine Presence's indwelling,

and likewise the Rambam's view in this matter:

The difference between drawing down in a manner of passing through and drawing down in a manner of enclothing, simply, is³⁸

: The concept of enclothing means that the thing being clothed changes according to the vessel in which it is clothed,

but drawing down in a manner of passing through is more elevated,

that it does not contract according to the manner and measure<pg>197</pg>

The place,

And as in the above analogies

(ibid.),

That by the intellect clothing itself in the physical brain, there occurs in it contraction and materialization,

And in writing of intellect by means of the fingers of the hand, the intellect is not changed by the fingers.

And therefore the matter of clothing is possible only in something of relative value.

And behold, the reason that the Rambam holds that the indwelling of the Shechinah in the Temple was in a manner of passage is,

as above,

because the Holy One, blessed be He, is above the category of place,

and therefore it is not applicable to say that He contracted and changed to be in the category of physical place.

But this reason is appropriate only regarding the revealed aspect of the Holy One, blessed be He,

For since it is defined, as it were, in the category of "revelation",

therefore it is applicable to say that He was revealed only in a lofty and spiritual place, and it is not applicable that He be drawn and contract in a physical place,

But regarding the hidden aspect of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is not defined by categories,

behold, there is no difference for Him between a spiritual place

(the heavens and the heavens of heavens)

and a physical place,

and He is above a spiritual place just as He is above a physical place.

And from this very fact that there are no limitations in Him, behold, it is in His power, blessed be He, to clothe Himself also in a physical place, even without descent and contraction

[And as it is written³⁹

"Who dwells on high, who humbles Himself to behold in heaven and on earth",

That from this very fact that He is "Who dwells on high",

above the category of descent and abasement,

therefore "who humbles Himself to behold...

(also)

on earth",

and He can be drawn also in the aspect of place⁴⁰].

And therefore the Rambam, who speaks in his book about the revealed matters in the Beis HaMikdash,

the sacrifices and the service in it which is connected to the revealed aspect of Israel,

holds that the indwelling of the Shechinah was in a manner of passing through,

and not in a manner of enclothing,

because the revealed aspect of Israel is connected with the revealed aspect of the Holy One, blessed be He,

and in this level there is a grasping of place

(in a negative way)

for a physical place,

and therefore it is not applicable to say that He enclothes Himself in a specific place.

But the Ramban stands in the level of the hidden aspect of the Holy One, blessed be He, which dwells in the Beis HaMikdash,

connected with the hidden aspect of Israel,

that is, a connection that is not made through service but a more inner and hidden connection,

from the essence of the indwelling of the Shechinah in the Holy of Holies,

and therefore he holds that the indwelling of the Shechinah was in a manner of enclothing,

"And the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan,"

"For its interior is full of the glory, for the glory dwells within the cloud within the Mishkan,"

because the connection of the hidden aspect of Israel, which is above revelation, is with the level of the hidden aspect of the Holy One, blessed be He, in which there is no concept of enclothing, descent, and contraction,

for it is not defined even by the negation of physical place,

and on the contrary — this is the expression of His boundlessness,

that the truth of the boundless is in His ability to enclothe Himself even in a physical place.

7.

According to the above, one must explain the precise wording of the Ramban

(at the beginning of Parshat Terumah)

mentioned above in the explanation of the verses of our parshah "the secret of the Mishkan is that the glory which rested on Mount Sinai should rest upon it in concealment,"

that his intention in "rest upon it in concealment" is not only regarding the manner that it rests in the Mishkan

(which was not in a revealed manner as it was on Mount Sinai⁴¹),

but rather the level of the Shechinah,

which is the aspect of concealment of the Shechinah,

which is above the level of the Shechinah in revelation⁴²,

which was at the Giving of the Torah.

And it can be said that this is what he continues and explains that "he mentioned in the Mishkan twice 'and the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan',"

that this aspect of the Shechinah which is in the aspect of concealment, it itself was drawn into the Mishkan below,

for the glory of the Lord above is itself the glory of the Lord that fills the Mishkan — in inwardness, in the aspect of enclothing⁴³.

And this is the difference between the revelation that was at the time of the Giving of the Torah,

and the revelation of the glory of the Lord in the Mishkan and the Temple: also<pg>198</pg>

At Mount Sinai it is said&lt;sup&gt;44&lt;/sup&gt;

"Face to face the L-rd spoke with you,"

that was drawn to each one of Israel in his face — in inwardness,

from the aspect of "face" — the inwardness of the Above,

and the aspect of Havayah that is above the chain of descent becomes "your G-d," the strength and vitality of each one of Israel&lt;sup&gt;45&lt;/sup&gt;.

But at the Giving of the Torah their souls flew away&lt;sup&gt;46&lt;/sup&gt;,

that it was not in an enclothing within inwardness to such an extent&lt;sup&gt;47&lt;/sup&gt;

; whereas regarding "And I will dwell in their midst" in the Mishkan and Temple,

this was in a manner of enclothing within inwardness,

and I will dwell within each one of Israel,

and therefore this itself effected and aroused in each one that they would come to ascend and to see and to prostrate themselves before You,

in inner self-nullification,

above the vessel of his intellect and his emotions.

And this is what the Ramban precisely states,

that the reason for this is because "the glory that rested on Mount Sinai rests upon it in concealment,"

that the level of the Shechinah was in a lofty manner,

an aspect of greater concealment,

therefore it came and was drawn in a more inward enclothing.

(From sichos of Shabbos Parshas Re'eh and Shabbos Parshas Ki Savo 5723)