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“You shall make the planks of the Mishkan of shittim/acacia wood, standing erect.” (26:15)

Rashi tells us that the shittim wood had been set aside for quite awhile for this unique purpose. Yaakov Avinu planted these cedar trees  in  Egypt  because  he  anticipated  that  the  wood eventually would be needed. Prior to his death, he instructed his children to take them along with them when they left the Egyptian exile. Hashem would one day command Klal Yisrael to erect a Mishkan, Tabernacle, in the desert – specifically from shittim wood, and these would serve that purpose. These shittim trees had a history. They were originally planted by Avraham Avinu  in Be’er Sheva. When Yaakov left…

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“They shall make an Ark.” (25:10)

The use of the plural “they” implies that Hashem’s command to make an Aron is directed towards the entire nation. Notably, this is the only instance where we find the command given in the plural; the rest of the chapter is in the singular. Chazal derive from here that everyone should be involved and, therefore, deserves a share in the Aron HaKodesh, Holy Ark, the symbol of Torah. The other vessels can be made by individuals. In order to bequeath Torah to the entire nation, it is incumbent that everybody be involved in the making of the Aron. What about the…

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“They shall make an Ark of shittim/acacia wood.” (25:10)

The commentators note the Torah’s emphasis on the “they,” plural form of “v’asu” – “They shall make.” This implies that the  building of the Aron HaKodesh, the symbol of Torah among the Jewish People, is a collective, general command. Everybody is to be included. Horav Tzvi Hirsh Ferber, z.l., explains this idea further. We find paradoxical statements made by Chazal in regard to the relationship of full time Torah study vis-à-vis earning a livelihood. On the one hand, we are instructed to study Torah “always”: V’hagisa bo yomam va’laila, “Rather you should contemplate it day and night” (Yehoshua 1:8) is the…

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“They shall make a Sanctuary for Me – so that I may dwell among them.” (25:8)

The kedushah, sanctity, of the Mikdash, Sanctuary, is commensurate with the amount of “li,” for Me, that one puts into it. When we  refer  to  kedushah,  invariably  we  tend  to  think  of  something spiritual, surreal, with no tangibility. Consequently, it cannot have any effect on us. This is where we are wrong. That something is intangible does not preclude its ability to suffuse us with its properties and values. Let me take the liberty to illustrate this idea. The Midrash in Parashas Toldos relates an incident that took place during the Roman destruction of the Bais HaMikdash. The Romans knew  that…

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