The Midrash Rabba, Parshas Terumah states: "`And they shall
take unto Me an offering' -- this is what is referred to by, `For
a goodly counsel (lekach tov) have I given you; do not abandon
My Torah/teaching.' Do not forsake the bargain, mekach, I have
given you . . . A man sometimes makes a purchase, the worth of which
is yet unknown to others. But the brokerage fee can give us an idea
of the value of the merchandise. Thus it was with the Torah: people
did not know the nature or value of Torah when it was first given.
But from the reward given to Moshe, the fact that his face radiated
brightly with a holy light, its value became apparent to all."
How, we cannot help wondering, was the fact of Moshe's shining face
an expression of the great acquisition which the Jews had made?
The Midrash continues:
"Here was a sale in which the seller was sold together with the
goods. Hashem said to Yisroel: `I sold you My Torah, it is as if I
sold Myself along with it, as it were, as it is written, "And
you shall take unto Me an offering."' This can be likened to a king
who had an only daughter. One day, a foreign king came and married
her and sought to take her back home with him to his country. Said
the father: `My daughter is my only child! I cannot bear to be separated
from her; however, I cannot stand in the way since she is your wife.
Do me, then, this one favor. Wherever you go, set aside a small cubicle
for me, so that I can come and dwell near you, since I cannot part
with her.' Said Hashem to Yisroel: `I have given you My Torah. To
part with it, I cannot. To tell you to return it, I cannot. Rather,
set aside for Me a small place for Me to dwell, wherever you go, so
that I can be near it, as it is written, `And they shall make for
Me a sanctuary.'"
We must better understand the words of the Midrash. Why is
the giving of the Torah considered a purchase, a transfer? And why
to such a degree that Hashem declares that He cannot be parted from
it? The Torah belongs and will always belong to the One Who gave it!
How can it be otherwise? The parable of the king and the daughter
does not seem appropriate at all!
*
Let us dwell for a moment on the rays of glory which emanated from
Moshe Rabbenu in an effort to better understand the words of the Midrash.
"From where did Moshe Rabbenu `take' these rays of glory?"
ask Chazal. R' Yehuda bar Nachman says in the name of R' Shimon ben
Lokish: "When Moshe transcribed the Torah [as dictated from Hashem]
onto the parchment, a bit of ink remained. He passed it across his
forehead and this produced the beams of glory" (Midrash Rabba).
These words can be explained as follows: In addition to the written
Torah and the Oral Tradition which was transmitted in a chain from
master to disciple -- there is yet another part, an element so
delicate that it cannot even be transmitted from mouth to mouth. It
is an intangible sixth sense, a very delicate degree of understanding
that is so fine as to defy explanation or definition. It can only
be seen by a facial expression, by a radiance emanating from master
to disciple.
R' Acho bar Chanina said in Maseches Eruvin, 12: "It is
revealed and known to the One Who spoke and created the world that
R' Meir has no parallel in his generation. Why then, was the halocho
not determined according to him? Because his contemporaries could
not fully understand his way of thinking, so profound was his Torah
teaching."
Was someone able to understand its depth? Said Rebbi, "I am more
astute than my peers because I saw R' Meir from behind. Had I seen
him from the front, I would be ever so much more brilliant."
While others could not fathom the Torah teaching of R' Meir because
of its fine distinctions, Rebbi could, because he beheld his master.
Had he seen his master face to face, and the aura that rested upon
it, he would have comprehended far more.
When Moshe Rabbeinu spoke to the Jews and taught them what he had
heard and been commanded by Hashem, he removed the veil. The reason
for this is in keeping with the teaching, "And your eyes should
behold your masters" (Sforno). The act of seeing the aura
suffusing the face of one's master is, in itself, an additional lesson
in Torah that goes beyond any intellectual verbal transmission. It
is a distinct dimension.
*
This brokerage fee granted to the `agent' teaches us much about the
essence of the merchandise, that is, the Torah. If the very skin of
a mortal, physical physiognomy can be clothed with spirituality in
such measure that the aura emanating therefrom can, alone, convey
ineffable wisdom, we must conclude that the Torah is ingrained in
the natural makeup of the world. The physicality bows out and makes
way for the spirituality and actually becomes a tool of its expression.
This, then, is what Chazal termed, "I was sold along with it."
They are certainly not talking about the essential sale of Hashem
-- a ridiculous notion -- but of the influence, the impact of
His holiness in this mundane world. This impression is determined
by our very actions in the physical world. All of the worlds and spheres
are conducted according to our deeds here.
The Torah was not given to the angels, for they have no evil inclinations.
They nurse no jealousies. The very place where Hashem's glory is revealed
is here on earth, among creatures prone to sin, subject to human frailty
of character, and in the midst of those who can rise about their pettiness
and failings and choose to do His will above their own. Thus do all
of our actions become an expression of His will, as in the example
of the aura beamed by Moshe's face in which the very skin of his corporal
body was transformed into a spiritual tool of expression of his soul.
*
If this is so, how great is the responsibility! The power lies in
our hands; we are dependent upon our own deeds, and upon our deeds
entire worlds are dependent.
If we do not attempt continually to direct our actions to conform
to the will of Hashem, our physical body can modulate and dictate
the results it wishes to impose.
This is why Hashem begs, as it were, "Make for Me a small compartment
where I can dwell," a portable cabin, not a palace. Hashem forgoes
a cumbersome palace so long as He can accompany us everywhere in this
physical world. He has transmitted the power to our hands but registers
a small request: Make for Me a small compartment where My presence
will constantly be felt.
Since the Beis Hamikdosh was destroyed, where is this compartment?
"The fear of Hashem is his treasure." Yiras Hashem
-- that is the cubicle!
