Rav Eliyahu Gateno is former Rosh Kollel in Montreal (2019-2022) and currently Rosh Kollel of the Straus Semicha Program
The big moment has come. The Mishkan was built precisely and perfectly just as Gd commanded Moshe, and as the Torah describes at the end of Parashat Pekudei (Shemot 40:33-34): "When Moshe had finished the work, the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Presence of Hashem filled the Tabernacle". We can imagine the excitement that was in that special moment.
But then there is a sharp turn in the plot, and the Torah says (Shemot 40:35): "Moshe could not enter the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud had settled upon it and the Presence of Hashem filled the Tabernacle". The moment of the end of the work of the Mishkan, which is supposed to be the culmination of the work, looks like a disappointment to Moshe.
Moshe who triumphed over the doers for many months, probably wants to go inside the Tabernacle to see the new house he built and enjoy his holiness and glory, he also probably wants to fulfill the mission that God has set for the Tabernacle, As the Torah says (Shemot 25:22): "There I will meet with you, and I will impart to you—from above the cover". It seems from the simplicity of the Scriptures that this right was denied, until the beginning of our Parasha where the Torah says: "Hashem called to Moshe and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting".
According to Chazal, Moshe did not enter the Mishkan in his own choice, and so says the Midrash Tanchuma (Vayikra 1:1): "Hashem said to Moshe, “Make a tabernacle”, So he hurried and made it. Then he stood alone outside, because he was afraid to enter the tent of meeting, as stated “Now Moses could not enter the tent of meeting”. Then Hashem said “It is not right for Moshe, since he made the tabernacle, to stand outside while I stand inside; so look, I am calling upon him to enter”, It is therefore written “Then [the Lord] called unto Moshe”.
Why didn't Moshe Rabbeinu enter the tent when the building was completed and the Mishkan was erected? What exactly is the meaning of the fear and awe that veered in the heart of Moshe who was waiting for God to call him in?
In Mount Sinai we find that Gd has restricted the Mountain and has repeatedly commanded Moshe to convey the message to the people of Israel. Moshe, too, did not ascend to Mount Sinai until Hashem descended upon the mountain and called him explicitly to ascend, as it is written (Shemot 19:20): "and Hashem called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up".
Moshe already knows that the ability to discover God comes only from understanding the divine limits and human limitations. Breaking those boundaries leads to the loss of the way.
So happened to Nadav and Avihu, when, at the height of the inauguration of the Tabernacle, they did not stop themselves, burst into the Holy of Holies and deprived their lives (Bamidbar 3:4): " when they offered alien fire before Hashem".
The discovery of holiness in the world has power, but also danger. If we do not know how to navigate the Revelation of holiness in the world, the enthusiasm of holiness may turn into a foreign fire.
That is why God warns us of Mount Sinai's restrictions as He gave us Torah and that is what motivates Moshe to wait for God to call him into the Tabernacle, though it is clear that God wants him to enter, and despite his strong desire to enter the Holy.
This is also why the letter א of the word ויקרא is traditionally written as a small letter, it symbolizes this understanding of Moshe, the person who received the highest virtues of all, and is precisely the one who knows how small he is before God.
For comments: gatenolux@gmail.com
The Urgency of Esther
Rabbi Mordechai Torczyneris Rabbi of Eitz Chayim Congregation, Dogwood Par and founding Rosh Beit Midrash of Zichron Dov, Toronto
Mordechai sends Esther the text of Haman’s decree to destroy the Jews, instructing her to intercede with Achashverosh. Esther replies in fear: Everyone knows that I could be killed for approaching the king! But Mordechai threatens his cousin: Do not dare to imagine that you will escape from all of the Jews to the king’s palace! If you are silent at this time, the Jews will be saved somehow, and you and your father’s house will be destroyed.
Mordechai is intense – but then he concludes much more tentatively: “Who knows whether you arrived on the throne for a time like this?” Why was Mordechai suddenly vague?
On one level, Mordechai’s uncertainty may reflect his generation. It’s the end of the era of prophecy, and we really don’t know what Hashem wants of us. But there may be a deeper message in Mordechai’s ambiguity, which echoes the ambiguity of Hashem’s message to Esther’s ancestress, Rivkah.
Plucked from her home in Aram, Rivkah is unable to conceive for twenty years. Finally, she and Yitzchak conceive - but she feels great pain. Rivkah takes her infertility and difficult pregnancy as a declaration that she is unworthy, and she cries out, “Then why did You pick me?” Why did You tell Eliezer that I was the one, why put me through all of this?
Hashem responds, “Two nations will emerge from you and separate, and one is going to be greater than the other, and the elder will serve the younger.” What is Rivkah supposed to do with this information?
Like Mordechai with Esther, Hashem doesn’t tell Rivkah what to do, or when to do it. Hashem doesn’t tell her that she will win Esav’s trust, that Yitzchak will be blind, that she is going to swap the blessings, that she is going to make sure Yaakov escapes from his murderous brother Esav. All Hashem does is imply that she has a mission involving these two nations. There will be a moment for which she ascended the throne. This sense of purpose comforts and empowers Rivkah.
For Esther, too, all Mordechai needs to say is that there is a reason she is on the throne. It might be for this moment, it might be for another moment, I don’t know the specifics – but there is a reason and purpose for being where you are.
And Esther responds, with remarkable urgency. Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik noted that for all of her fear, once she is charged with her mission, Esther does it immediately. Technically, she has nearly a year to go before Haman’s decree would be brought to fruition, but inspired by her mission, she goes to Achashverosh immediately.
We are descendants of Rivkah, who changed the history of the world. We are descendants of Esther, who saved our nation. We have a mission, too. We need to determine what that mission is – and when it comes, we must carry it out with the insight of Rivkah and the urgency of Esther.
For comments: torczyner@gmail.com