Parshat Vayakhel - Pekudei
By: Moshe Goodman, Kollel Or Shlomo, Hebron בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Seeking the Shechina in Our Holy Land
"ויכס הענן את אהל מועד וכבוד ה' מלא את המשכן"
"Please, Merciful One! With Your great mercy, return Your Presence to Zion and the order of the Service to Jerusalem" (Musaf prayer for holidays).
A common theme of both this week's parsha and the special reading for parshat Hahodesh (Nisan) is the inauguration of the Mishkan which occurred on Rosh Hodesh Nissan. Just as we see in this week's parsha in our title quote that it is not to be taken for granted that the Shechina, "the Honor of HaShem", rests in the Mishkan, as only after the Mishkan was already standing did the Shechina enter it.
So too we cannot take it for granted that the Shechina rests on the Temple Mount or the Land of Israel in general without studying if and what type or level of Divine Presence is involved.
One of the fascinating sources for the study of this matter is the concept of consecrating (added) land to have the holiness of the Temple Mount or the holiness of Jerusalem. This consecration ceremony is only possible by "a king, a prophet, urim vetumim, and a Sanhedrin of 71 elders" (Rambam Beit Habehira 6, 11). After explaining this consecration process, explaining also that the consecration of the Bais Hamikdash rendered the Temple Mount consecrated forever, the Rambam (ibid) asks a question: "Why do I say that the original consecration sanctified the Temple and Jerusalem for eternity, while in regard to the consecration of the remainder of Eretz Yisrael, in the context of the Sabbatical year, tithes, and other similar [agricultural] laws, [the original consecration] did not sanctify it for eternity?"
What the Rambam means in this question is that while with regard to mitzvoth of the Land we require every time a new "consecration", i.e the settlement or conquest of the Land of Israel (with regard to today's settlement and conquest there are differences of opinion - see "Eretz Hemda p. 135 and more), with regard to the Temple Mount, its consecration stays constant even when there is no Temple there and even when there is no new consecration ceremony. Rambam then answers this question: "Because the sanctity of the Temple and Jerusalem stems from the Shechinah, and the Shechinah can never be nullified. Therefore, [Leviticus 26:31] states: 'I will lay waste to your Sanctuaries.' The Sages declared: 'Even though they have been devastated, their sanctity remains.'
In contrast, the [original] obligation to keep the laws of the Sabbatical year and tithes on the Land stemmed from the fact that it was conquered by the [Jewish people, as a] community. Therefore, when the land was taken from their hands [by the Babylonians,] their [original] conquest was nullified. Thus, according to Torah law, the land was freed from the obligations of the Sabbatical year and of tithes because it was no longer in the hands of Israel. When Ezra returned [to Eretz Yisrael] and consecrated it, it was not sanctified by means of conquest, but rather through Chazzakah (peaceful settlement). Therefore, every place which was repossessed by the [exiles returning from] Babylon and consecrated when Ezra consecrated [the land] the second time, is sacred today.
Thus, as explained in Hilchot Terumah, it is necessary to keep the laws of the Sabbatical years and the tithes [on this land] even though it was taken from [the Jewish people in later years]." However, it is to be noted that the Raavad differs with the Rambam on this issue, saying that also the Temple Mount was not sanctified for eternity. In any case, it should be clear that these rulings do not contradict the many sources quoted in previous weeks stating that the Holy Presence rests even when the Land and the Temple Mount are not halachically consecrated.
The key in understanding this differentiation is that these halachic rulings are referring to certain levels of Divine Presence that require and allow certain halachic opportunities. Therefore, as the Rambam stated, the level of Divine Presence on the Holy Mount is greater than the Land in general. That said, it is true that when these halachic criteria are met, then definitely that is a sign of a greater level of Divine Presence in the Land of Israel and the Temple Mount. Indeed, the great goal of the majority of worldwide Jewry settling in the Land is closer than ever, and with that the return of the Shechina to our midst. Just as Kaleb connected to our Land via Hebron (parshat Shlah), thereby delivering the message of the Land of Israel to the masses, it is by Hebron that we may connect (lehaber) our People to the Land of Israel.
Real-life Hashgaha Story #8: "This past week my wife went to megila reading for women and met there a woman she had last met about 10 years ago. In a short conversation this woman "happened" to ask about a certain person from my in-laws' town. I should mention too that all the years we have been married I never heard of this person except for this week. It turns out that this person had suddenly passed away just about two days before."
"Please, Merciful One! With Your great mercy, return Your Presence to Zion and the order of the Service to Jerusalem" (Musaf prayer for holidays).
A common theme of both this week's parsha and the special reading for parshat Hahodesh (Nisan) is the inauguration of the Mishkan which occurred on Rosh Hodesh Nissan. Just as we see in this week's parsha in our title quote that it is not to be taken for granted that the Shechina, "the Honor of HaShem", rests in the Mishkan, as only after the Mishkan was already standing did the Shechina enter it.
So too we cannot take it for granted that the Shechina rests on the Temple Mount or the Land of Israel in general without studying if and what type or level of Divine Presence is involved.
One of the fascinating sources for the study of this matter is the concept of consecrating (added) land to have the holiness of the Temple Mount or the holiness of Jerusalem. This consecration ceremony is only possible by "a king, a prophet, urim vetumim, and a Sanhedrin of 71 elders" (Rambam Beit Habehira 6, 11). After explaining this consecration process, explaining also that the consecration of the Bais Hamikdash rendered the Temple Mount consecrated forever, the Rambam (ibid) asks a question: "Why do I say that the original consecration sanctified the Temple and Jerusalem for eternity, while in regard to the consecration of the remainder of Eretz Yisrael, in the context of the Sabbatical year, tithes, and other similar [agricultural] laws, [the original consecration] did not sanctify it for eternity?"
What the Rambam means in this question is that while with regard to mitzvoth of the Land we require every time a new "consecration", i.e the settlement or conquest of the Land of Israel (with regard to today's settlement and conquest there are differences of opinion - see "Eretz Hemda p. 135 and more), with regard to the Temple Mount, its consecration stays constant even when there is no Temple there and even when there is no new consecration ceremony. Rambam then answers this question: "Because the sanctity of the Temple and Jerusalem stems from the Shechinah, and the Shechinah can never be nullified. Therefore, [Leviticus 26:31] states: 'I will lay waste to your Sanctuaries.' The Sages declared: 'Even though they have been devastated, their sanctity remains.'
In contrast, the [original] obligation to keep the laws of the Sabbatical year and tithes on the Land stemmed from the fact that it was conquered by the [Jewish people, as a] community. Therefore, when the land was taken from their hands [by the Babylonians,] their [original] conquest was nullified. Thus, according to Torah law, the land was freed from the obligations of the Sabbatical year and of tithes because it was no longer in the hands of Israel. When Ezra returned [to Eretz Yisrael] and consecrated it, it was not sanctified by means of conquest, but rather through Chazzakah (peaceful settlement). Therefore, every place which was repossessed by the [exiles returning from] Babylon and consecrated when Ezra consecrated [the land] the second time, is sacred today.
Thus, as explained in Hilchot Terumah, it is necessary to keep the laws of the Sabbatical years and the tithes [on this land] even though it was taken from [the Jewish people in later years]." However, it is to be noted that the Raavad differs with the Rambam on this issue, saying that also the Temple Mount was not sanctified for eternity. In any case, it should be clear that these rulings do not contradict the many sources quoted in previous weeks stating that the Holy Presence rests even when the Land and the Temple Mount are not halachically consecrated.
The key in understanding this differentiation is that these halachic rulings are referring to certain levels of Divine Presence that require and allow certain halachic opportunities. Therefore, as the Rambam stated, the level of Divine Presence on the Holy Mount is greater than the Land in general. That said, it is true that when these halachic criteria are met, then definitely that is a sign of a greater level of Divine Presence in the Land of Israel and the Temple Mount. Indeed, the great goal of the majority of worldwide Jewry settling in the Land is closer than ever, and with that the return of the Shechina to our midst. Just as Kaleb connected to our Land via Hebron (parshat Shlah), thereby delivering the message of the Land of Israel to the masses, it is by Hebron that we may connect (lehaber) our People to the Land of Israel.
Real-life Hashgaha Story #8: "This past week my wife went to megila reading for women and met there a woman she had last met about 10 years ago. In a short conversation this woman "happened" to ask about a certain person from my in-laws' town. I should mention too that all the years we have been married I never heard of this person except for this week. It turns out that this person had suddenly passed away just about two days before."
