Parashas Trumah
Searching For Rest on Zion
Rabbi David Katz
In
Parashas Trumah we are introduced to the first order of the Mishkan
[Tabernacle] following the Sinai revelation, and soon we shall learn of the
apparent core reason; that being the fall and sin of the infamous Golden Calf
incident. Yet according to Kabbalah the most paramount aspect of creation is
knowledge of Hashem [as the Zohar claims this is our whole existence in this
World], and as it turns out, we know with whole and complete faith that God is
truly and absolutely Good. With that said, the Golden Calf perforce must
produce a positive outcome, and it does, for the Ramban reveals that it is the
platform to take on board the Gerim. In essence, the Mishkan contains sacred
knowledge not only as a dwelling for God below, but the actual blueprint of
Creation [through God's Creating process towards Olam HaBah]. The Zohar says
that this blueprint extends as the basis of the First and Third Temples; the
first having been constructed by King Solomon and his wisdom taken from the
Mishkan's design, and is fully expressed in Song of Songs, King Solomon's
"Holy of Holies." It is said that the Moshiach will build the Third
Temple, and that it will be inspired by the Mishkan as well, producing similar
Torah to Song of Songs. This level of Revelation hints at the essential Divine
Story being told in the Temple [and Mishkan, Creation, etc.], expressed through
a heartfelt account of the Love affair with God that takes place between Jews
and Gerim.
The
Ramban opens the gateway to the discovery of the relationship that exists
between Jews and Gerim, by revealing the inner elements of the Mishkan. The
Ramban says the following: "Just as Hashem spoke with Israel face to face
through Ten Statements [10 Commandments] and commanded them through the hand of
Moses as 'some of the commandments' functioning as a primary system [avot] to
the commandments of the Torah. In a similar way the rabbis guide the Gerim that
come to become friendly with Judaism, and Israel accepted upon themselves to do…as
you shall be a Nation of Priests….and Israel is fit to be soaked with the
Shechinah among them. And thus the first command is to have a Mishkan among
them where Moses could command them…And behold the main desire of the Mishkan
is a place for the Shechinah to rest, and this is the Ark." To generalize
the Ramban, as explained in Kabbalistic works, and in absolute parallel within
kabbalah, the Ark contains two Cherubim [angelic entities] on the lid of the
Ark; for all intents and purposes, and within an ever micro – macro level, the
two Cherubim represent this desire of God, characterized as Jews and Gerim, as
evidenced by two partial systems of Law [Noahide – 7 and the 10 Commandments;
Noahides were given (devoid of command) a unique three in Marah to make an
equal measure; Shabbat, Red Heifer, and Statutes]. The Mishkan then came into
being through the Golden Calf, yet we see its very essence represents the Jews
and the Gerim working together in a perfect male-female [and thus Kabbalistic/micro-macro]
relationship and position.
If
the Mishkan indeed does represent the two peoples in our World, and provided
for a place of Service up and into the Land, it is only fitting to illuminate
the inherent pipeline that exists in the Mishkan, reaching as far as the
highest spiritual worlds. In kabbalah there are four practical and tangible
worlds that are related to the Mishkan[/Temple – for the Mishkan is a pre-Temple
infrastructure], and are the arena of Divine Service of God. The main service
is ultimately become righteous, gain pure faith, and know God; this is
epitomized as the defeat of one's personal evil inclination, a divine reality
that all of mankind partakes in. The evil inclination is the necessary evil
that God sends into the soul, inspiring one to achieve in this World, and thus
giving Creation substance, all as a disguise to the hand of God in His Creating
process. The ultimate goal then is to defeat evil, recognize God, and enter
inherit the Land of the Humble. That Land is inhabited by Jews and Gerim, and
they are working to build and serve the Third and final Temple for God to dwell
below. It is this Temple that will innately express the story of Creation,
while highlighting the Jewish/Ger "code" of Torah. Many are sure to
be surprised that this is essentially the story of the
final redemption and the ultimate Torah of the King Messiah. As Ezekiel the
prophet says, by learning "it" we merit the inspiration, like King
Solomon [in Song of Songs] to build the House of Prayer.
Thus
as a perfected service of God, we find two key issues to secure the Will of
God: the defeat of the evil inclination and revelation of Torah; coincidentally
enough they go hand and glove. The defeat of one's evil happens simultaneously
with one's ability to reveal the Godliness of this World. As we grow in Torah
revelation and gain an ability to grasp absolute Truth and Faith, the evil
inclination loses its ability to deceive, and upon identification, one is ready
to take his part in the eternal Jewish – Ger saga that exists for all of time.
The
war with the evil inclination naturally takes place in our world, and while
unengaged in this indoctrination to evil, we appear utterly divorced from our
spiritual identity and reality that we are destined to inherit upon success
against evil. As the Zohar points out, through the struggle we endure in our
plight, God actually engineers a whirlwind for us to cling to the Divine roots
of Creation, even if unbeknownst to ourselves. By conquering the inclination,
we rise up, and go from World to World [from Asiah – to Yetzirah – to Briah –
and onwards towards a World without evil, Atzilus] by the angelic – Cherubim intervention,
occupied by the souls of Elijah and Hanoch. Together, they act as Priests whose
numerical value is the same as "voice"; it is as if they announce the
righteousness of the soul who conquers his evil, and these two priestly youths
project the soul upwards, through passage of "Heavenly tabernacles"
until the soul reaches its original home, or soul root. Along this journey,
many spiritual realities happen to the victor; from interacting with the
Archangel Michael, and gaining the most sublime Torah revelations, his life on
Earth is destined to transform itself from a dungeon of death into a Garden of Eden
flowing with fantastic and attainable true Joy of spirit.
The
nourishment of this journey [called Life] is the influx of profound Torah, and
what should not be surprising by this point, comes in the vessels of the Love
between God – Jews – and Gerim. As the revelation intensifies, our perceptions
change, and as we can begin to recognize the beauty of Humanity, God's Hand of
Providence [Mazal] becomes ever more pronounced in our lives. The Torah [even
in its original form and perception] serves as the discipline and language
[among all of its other infinite Divine cause and function] to decipher the
communion that God has with man, and with proper concentration and focus, a
harmonious language of God begins to manifest; for all intents and purposes,
one could say that the meaning and purpose of Life begins to show its colors. A
code exists on Earth, and as Kabbalah calls it, it is the "Voice of the
Turtledove" – the Torah of our Righteous Messiah. Several key themes
compose its content, and it profoundly takes up Song of Songs' cause, as the
mysterious Love affair becomes an audible display of the love between the Jew
and the Ger. This is where the Mishkan takes the stage as the sacred key to
this dynamic.
When
we look into the vernacular of the Mishkan [and all the more so Ezekiel's
temple prophecy] one need not stress his eyes too much to see that the language
is a bit peculiar in that seems as if every step is a double entendre; this
implies that multiple layers are ever present within the actual design of the
Mishkan. Indeed it is so, for from a spiritual angle, the words double as
vessels to God's Divine Code/Language. This is the same inspiration that
Betzalel [who actually constructed the Mishkan] drew in his design, followed by
King Solomon; the story of Creation and its Redemption is staring us right in
the eye, and has been for thousands of years.
The
Torah has been slightly concealed since its inception, and as the End draws
near, witnessed by unprecedented returnees to enjoy the Light of the Ger, the concealment
yields to unprecedented Light. The light is enveloped within a code that is
laced throughout the Torah that once revealed, it is the chronicles of the
episodes between Jews and Gerim. Jews are often depicted as "the Children
of Israel" while the Gerim are considered "the People." Although
not a perfect science, at least in revelation at this point, the Torah steadily
becomes a profound testimony between Jews and Gerim; this spans all of time,
and sheds particular light on the Torah's most righteous [and their saga's],
especially the exchange between Shem and Abraham. Thus when we have a mastery
of the "Entire Ger Tzedek / Messianic [Kol HaTor] Code" the Mishkan becomes
a huge magnifying glass and decoder to the ultimate revelation of God's
Blueprint to the Third Temple, and that is Ezekiel's Messianic Prophecy.
In
simple terms, the Torah has code, and the path to righteousness opens the code.
Righteousness is defined by the conquering of evil, and key to victory is held
in the unity that must exist between Jews and Gerim, thus their imprint is
stamped onto eternity's walls. Each side possesses the illumination that the
other one needs. For thousands of years each side continuously comes up short;
either too solely Jewish, or too unfamiliar with Torah discipline and Wisdom.
The Noahide Laws that can blossom into a life of a Ger, provide the bridge
between these Worlds, and contain enough firepower to vanquish evil forever,
even to the extent that King David promises that this is the way of defeat over
Gog V' Magog.
With
World-wide unity between Jews and Gerim, the Torah reveals that evil doesn't
stand a chance against the Brotherly image that is draped over the Jewish-Ger
bond. The Divine Code – Mazal is the universal language that these long lost
lovers mutually speak, for it is the language of the Torah itself. By learning in
this way, along with all types of communication [Prayer, Friendship, etc.], we
are on the way to open the treasure troves of inspiration within Ezekiel, the
Mishkan itself, and the pathways of the heavens, as all roads lead to our soul
root, in that we should better recognize our Creator. The Zohar says that this is the meaning of
Life itself, and we trust that this builds Zion soon in our day, as we pick up
where David, the King of Israel and Aravnah, the Ger Tzedek left off, and
represent so many before them – standing on Mt. Zion waiting for God's
Salvation over the Torah's secret issue. I guess it's kinda simple, Jews and
Gerim getting along, finally, and without the yetzer, standing together in the
Temple? I think someone said that that would be on Shabbos too, maybe. What do
you think?
