Carrying Curtains: Easiest Job, Or Most Significant?

Parshat Naso

by Rabbi Avi Billet

The jobs of the Levitic families were spelled out in last week’s Torah portion, and the expanded version of their designated assignments began in Chapter 4, giving us the jobs of the Kehat family, moving into our parsha, with the depictions of the jobs of the Gershon and Merari families.

                

It seems to be undisputed that the Gershon family had the easiest job, because all they really needed to carry were curtains and similarly fabric-style materials, along with the tools used to hang them up. The “parochet,” (curtain for the Holy of Holies) the various “masakh”s (entrance to the courtyard and the Mishkan), and the covers (roof) of the Mishkan all fit into this category.

                

Compare this to the job of Merari – who carried the beams and all of the copper – and this job is a walk in the park. Even the Kehatites, who perhaps didn’t carry the heaviest items (though the gold is measured by length, and not weight), had to carry the most “important” items, especially the Aron (Ark), all of which carry with them a much deeper sense of responsibility (and expense) than the curtains and the goat-skin roof cover.

                               

Ibn Ezra and Rabbenu Bachaye note that the verse simply says “tapestries, the Communion Tent, the roof, the over-roof of processed skins that is above it, the drape at the Communion Tent entrance, the enclosure's hangings, the drape at the entrance to the enclosure around the Tabernacle and altar” (4:25-26) leaving out any reference to the red-colored ram skin cover (Shmot 25:5, 26:14)

                

Rashi notes that the phrase “the roof” refers to the ram-skin cover, but obviously it is not spelled out in the text.

                

Why would this be left out? Ibn Ezra and Rabbenu Bachaye suggest that the Torah is speaking in a summary-language, perhaps leaving out non-essential (or obvious) details. On the other hand, they suggest, maybe the beautiful red-skinned cover was attached to the goat-skin cover.

                

Were one to walk inside the Mishkan and look up, the beautiful woven cover, a tapestry made of fine and colorful threads, would be visible. (Here this related "shmooze" by Rabbi Marc Penner) Above it – covering its appearance from the outside – was a dark, unbeautiful goat-skin cover. Above the goat skins was the red ram-skin cover.

                

There are debates as to whether the red ram-skin cover paralleled the two covers beneath it like an over-flowing table cloth, or whether it just lined the top of the Mishkan. The distinction between the two options is whether the goat skin cover could be seen at all.

                

There is surely symbolism embedded in the need for a goat-skin cover to hide the beauty of the Mishkan. But what are we to make of the possibility that the ram cover and the goat cover may have been attached to one another? Why could they not be separated as different layers?

                

Look at any artistic rendition of the Mishkan, and the most striking element of the edifice, from the outsider’s view, is the red, ram-skin cover. Whether it only lines the roof, and especially if it drapes over the sides, it is attached to something which is on the one hand gray and dull, but on the other hand strong, durable and rugged.

                

Perhaps this takes the expressions “beauty is only skin deep” to a whole new level – a goat-skin level!

                

In all seriousness, maybe the lesson we can take from Ibn Ezra and Rabbenu Bachaye’s possibility is that the animal skin covers were attached to one another to unify goat and ram.

                

Aside from the animal sacrifices on various holidays that include goat and ram, we specifically recall the goat and the ram on our High Holidays. On Rosh Hashana we utilize the ram’s horn for the shofar-sounding, and on Yom Kippur we recall the fascinating role of the “Se’ir La’azazel,” the goat that carried the burden of the sins of Israel that was thrown over a cliff on the Day of Atonement.

                

These animals were meant, on those days, to be symbols of repentance and of returning to God. Perhaps the Mishkan, whose ultimate purpose was to be a place where atonement could be achieved, symbolically modeled the union of the two animals of atonement through the attachment of the ram and goat skins.

                

Maybe we had it wrong. Maybe the family of Gershon had the most significant job, that of carrying the symbol of atonement that the people could see on a daily basis, through a mere glance at the Mishkan.

Proper Role Playing

Parshat Bamidbar

by Rabbi Avi Billet

The beginning of our new book informs us of the order of travels, and how the people encamped around the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Those most immediately around the Mishkan were the Levite families, whose jobs consisted of carrying the different parts of the Mishkan. The specific assignments given to the families are enumerated at the end of the Torah portion, and spill over into next week’s parsha.

 We are told at the end of the opening chapter that when they would travel and when they would rest the Levites would disassemble and reassemble the Mishkan, with the warning that “the stranger who came close would die.” (1:51) And, as Rashi notes, this death punishment was to be carried out by God, not by Man.

 If only it were so simple.

Value of Our "Seed"

Parshat Bechukotai

by Rabbi Avi Billet

The final chapter of the book of Vayikra delves into the topic of Endowments and Valuations, essentially answering the question of what value humans, animals and properties have if a person makes a pledge to the Mishkan based on the value of another human being, etc. It is not to suggest that a direct monetary value can be assigned to any person, because human beings are priceless, but that a donation based on such a declaration carries with it a measurable value.

              
“If a man consecrates a field from his hereditary property to God, its endowment value shall be calculated according to the amounts of seed [required to sow it], 50 silver shekels for each chomer of barley seed.” Chomer is a measurement of seed that might cover or plant close to 4 acres of farmland. (See the Living Torah)

              
Rabbi Akiva Sofer asks a very simple question, and gives a very Hassidic-style answer. “Do you want to know the value of the person who sanctifies his property to God? Do you want to know if he is complete in his heart, in his fear and reverence of God? Then ‘his value should be calculated based on his seed.’”

              
Rabbi Sofer takes the literal meaning of the text and takes a very simple alternative twist, utilizing another important translation of the word “Zera” -

Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land

Parshat B'har

by Rabbi Avi Billet

It is worthy to note that one of the most famous quotations from the Torah that has been adopted as part of American history was actually originally used, in a sense, in a proper context.

“As the Bell was created to commemorate the golden anniversary of Penn's Charter, the quotation "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof," from Leviticus 25:10, was particularly apt. For the line in the Bible immediately preceding "proclaim liberty" is, "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year." What better way to pay homage to Penn and hallow the 50th year than with a bell proclaiming liberty?" -  http://www.ushistory.org/libertybell/

            

The proclamation of Liberty (in Hebrew “Dror”) was specifically during the Yovel (Jubilee) year, once every 50 years, when slaves went free and property was returned to original owners (for a fair market price). The Talmud (Rosh Hashana 9b) notes that the word “Dror” refers to freedom,

Priestly Holiness and its Strange Ingredients

Parshat Emor

by Rabbi Avi Billet

At the beginning of Parshat Emor, Moshe is instructed to inform the Kohanim a few important rules for them to follow in order to maintain their “taharah” – their purity that allows them to serve the general Jewish society’s spiritual needs.

                

They may not come in contact or within a certain distance of a corpse, unless it is one of his close relatives – mother, father, son, daughter, brother, and never-married sister. The status of his wife makes for an interesting halakhic discussion (based on how 21:4 is to be understood), but certainly in the absence of a Temple a Kohen will typically participate in such a funeral.