We read in Parshas Pekudei of Hashem’s command to Moshe Rabbeinu to set up the Mishkan.
The Medrash Tanchuma cites R’ Chiya bar Yosi that Moshe Rabbeinu erected and dismantled the Tabernacle two times each day throughout the Seven Days of Inauguration for the Mishkan. R’ Chiya HaGadol says Moshe Rabbeinu did this three times a day, totaling twenty-one incidents of building and taking apart this structure. What was the reason for this exercise?
The renowned Nesivos Shalom explains that the Mishkan was defined as the place where Hashem’s Shechina would dwell among the Jewish people (Shemos 25:8). In fact, though, it is the personal task of each Jew to prepare his own person so that the Shechina can dwell within him. It is related that when R’ Menachem Mendel of Kotzk was a young boy he asked his father where Hashem is found. His father answered, “Wherever He is invited to come in.” Our mission in this world is to “invite Hashem” into every facet and aspect of our lives.
The Zohar elaborates on a deeper connection between the Mishkan and man. The Mishkan consisted of three different areas. The holiest was the Kodesh HaKadoshim, which contained the aron and the keruvim. The second area was the heichal, which contained the menorah, the shulchan and the mizbei’ach haketores (incense altar). The third area was the azarah, the courtyard, with the altar for korbanos.
Man, too, is structured with three essential components, consisting of the brain, the heart, and the limbs. The Kodesh HaKadoshim with the aron corresponds to the brain, for man must refine his thoughts and ideas to be pure and holy in accordance with Torah. The menorah and the shulchan within the heichal symbolize the light that dispels the darkness and the chesed and tzedakah fulfilled at one’s table – impacting on the heart’s ambitions and inclinations. The outer courtyard had the mizbei’ach where physical korbanos were offered to the Heavens, symbolizing the sanctification of man’s limbs to good deeds that will elevate his spiritual level.
Just as the structure of the Mishkan was only finished when all three areas were intact, so too the perfection of man is only achieved when all three of his components are ready for the presence of the Shechina.
The Imrei Emes states that the act of building and disassembling the Mishkan every day is intended to inspire future generations of the Jewish nation that even at the darkest moments in exile, when the Jewish people are down and out, we are empowered with the strength of Torah to recover and rebuild and to keep the Shechina within our midst.
The Nesivos Shalom adds that even if one has exerted tremendous effort to improve himself, and then he falters and backslides, he should never despair. Just as the Mishkan was taken apart completely and then fully rebuilt again, we too can revitalize and rejuvenate ourselves.
The Birchas Avraham notes the significance of the number twenty-one, and cites the reference to Hashem’s Name (Shemos 3:14) Eheyeh – Shall Be – which has a numerical value of twenty-one. Hashem says, “I will be your G-d no matter how many times you fall.” It is a message of hope to never despair, no matter how dark the days may seem.
The Mishna in Avos (2:15) teaches, “Rabbi Tarfon says: The day is short, the task is abundant ….”
The great rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Ohr, R’ Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, was well-known for never wasting one moment and utilizing every second for Torah study and the performance of mitzvos. He wore shoes without laces so he would not have to spend a minute tying them. Once, when someone mistakenly bought him a pair with laces, he suggested that they be pre-tied, and his family members had to explain that was not practical because the shoes would then be too loose. Although the rosh yeshiva was meticulous in his dress and personal conduct, he would not button the left sleeve of his shirt. When he was asked about this, he said that since he wore tefillin the entire day, and at times it was necessary to remove the tefillin, opening and closing his shirt sleeve button would detract from his time learning Torah. When he would put away his tefillin for the night, he would not wind the retzuos (straps) around the boxes. Instead he would cover the tefillin boxes with a special cover. Again, this was in order to avoid wasting precious moments winding and unwinding the retzuos in the morning and at night. He would make sure to drink enough water at one time so that he would not have to take time from his Torah study to rehydrate.
In the early days when travel to Israel was not so common, when R’ Scheinberg would hear of someone coming from America he would ask if he could bring him bars of soap. People were surprised at his request since he was not especially fastidious about such mundane items. R’ Scheinberg explained, though, that American soap was much softer and therefore easier to wash off. The soap available in Israel was much rougher and took a longer time to wash off.
It would seem that all these time-saving strategies could not possibly save that much time. However, from the perspective of the rosh yeshiva, who treasured every precious moment that was not spent in the pursuit of Torah study and mitzvos, one can certainly understand his fervor and commitment to use every moment for the perfection of his soul.
