Strength of Clasps - Even When They Are Hardly Seen

Parshat Terumah

by Rabbi Avi Billet

We typically imagine that the “Mishkan” is defined by the beams that stood together to become its walls. After all, without walls, there is no building.

While a simple view of the Torah’s depiction of the Mishkan certainly refers to the overall structure – walls, contents, etc – as “The Mishkan” many times, there are times when the Mishkan itself is specifically described as being either the tapestries that covered the building or the result of the linking of the blue loops and the golden clasps. In 26:1 “make the Mishkan out of ten tapestries.” Several verses later - “And you’ll make fifty golden clasps, and you will combine the tapestries – one side to the other, at the clasps, and then the Mishkan will be one.” (26:6)

 A building has walls and partitions and rooms, without which calls its value into question. But does the roof really hold so much sway that it can be “the” definition of the Mishkan – especially in a wilderness which is protected from the elements by the Pillars of Cloud and Fire?

 These instructions are incredible because they essentially tell us that it is not walls which make a building, but tapestries which unite a Mishkan. For the Mishkan to be considered complete, 50 barely visible clasps need to hold together two large pieces of cloth. Why could they not just sew everything together – after all, each tapestry was made of five pieces that were sewn together?

Perhaps the clasps are very symbolic. It can’t just be invisible thread which unites the two sides of the Mishkan. There needs to be something of value – even if it is small and hardly visible – which unites the two sides, creating a whole.

If we think about it, it is amazing what the unity of fifty clasps can accomplish. Their union defines a structure that is so much bigger than the sum of its parts.

 Which leads us to wonder, as we read this highly symbolic parsha, what elements of our lives share this quality.

 For some people it is a profound respect they have for one another, as learning partners, as business partners, as teammates.

 For others it might be their marriage commitment, or their dedication to family members even through all kinds of adversity.

While the people are represented by the tapestries, what parallels the clasps, and what parallels the oneness? The clasps are valuable because they are made of gold, but once the Mishkan is put together, due to the height of the walls of the Mishkan structure, the clasps are not very noticeable. They are also not meant to fall apart unless they are actively taken apart by human hands.

This becomes the challenge we all face in using the Mishkan as a model for us. The relationships we build and aim to maintain in our lives are precious. What unites us with others is far more precious than anything money can buy. Trust, honesty, love, family, commitment, belief in an idea… these are things we cannot assign value to, nor can we always see them. But we know they are there. And we know that while they sometimes seem so easily put together, human hands can just as easily pull them apart.

If we are to create oneness and unity with our loved ones and cherished friends, we must always bear in mind how priceless these relationships are. Some people are blessed that a clasp can hold them together through thick and thin, because the clasp doesn’t let go. Others need to always make sure that the clasp is still there keeping everything together. And the double check might come with a need to remeasure, readjust, retighten, to make sure all is in order. More maintenance may be required at constant intervals.

But hopefully the goal of the Mishkan can be our goal as well: that the combination of the tapestries through the unifying force of the clasps can create an entity that defines itself as a united whole forever. Amen.