Trumah: Chapter 27

"That they bring Me an offering"

Synopsis

Rabbi Aba explains that before Moses constructed the tabernacle, the people were afraid that the Holy One would not stay with them, even though He had performed for them, through Moses, miracles and wonders. This is because if a king is among his people but without his queen, it is not certain that he will remain. But on the day that Moses completed the tabernacle, the Shechinah descended to the earth. Yet before the Shechinah descended, an accuser appeared, and she became covered with darkness to prevent her from descending. We read that fifteen hundred myriads of accusing angels gathered against her, because all their glow and all their light was concentrated in her, and if she descended her light would become darkened. Yet at that moment she broke the darkness and the demons, descended to the earth and ruled over all. The hosts and camps of angels suffered great pain on the day that Moses' bride descended to the earth. The text goes on to explain that here in the world the work of the tabernacle is like the work of the body, that it should be suitable to include the spirit within it. The comparison is made of the Shechinah to the brain in the body. The Holy Spirit, the Shechinah, is fashioned in the body so that it should include within itself another high, delicate spirit that illuminates, which is Zeir Anpin attired in the Shechinah. Lastly the text speaks of the outer shell of the world and the inner shell of the skull, within which are impurities.

Relevance

Often, when we begin the spiritual path, miracles and wonders appear before our eyes. But, in truth, miracles cannot support us, long term, in our spiritual work and journey. Miracles do provide an intense flash of Light, for a moment, for a particular situation, but this Light does not continue to glow enduringly. Consequently, we now tie ourselves to the Shechinah and our connection to the Light becomes constant. This is what the Tabernacle achieved for the Israelites in the desert. And this is precisely what we accomplish here.