Is the Talmud destroying us today, the way the Beit Hamikdash destroyed us twice?

The creation of the Mishkan/Tabernacle was meant to be a project in which every single Israelite, male and female, high born and low, priest and pedestrian, were meant to have a part. The obsessive use of the inclusive word כל – “every” –  in Shemot/Exodus 35 underscores and reinforces  the all-embracing nature of the Mishkan project:|

וכל אשר נמצא אתו עצי שטים

וכל הנשים אשר נשא לבן

כל איש ואשה אשר נדב לבם

(Shemot/Exodus 35: 1-29)

The Mishkan (Tabernacle) was an intense, even frenzied labor of love shared by the entirety of the Bnei Israel. Every bit of wood, precious metals, fabrics, gemstones, was donated – most of it voluntarily. Likewise the actual labor – from the design and craftsmanship to the actual erection of God’s earthly dwelling – was a unified and, indeed, unifying project that excluded no one.

The Mishkan project – which took approximately one year of feverish activity to complete – predates the Meraglim, the episode of the spies. It took place at a time when the Bnei Israel were heading, more or less directly, to the Promised Land. Hence, the Mishkan was clearly not intended as a temporary sanctuary that would become obsolete within a short time, only to be replaced by a grandiloquent, permanent, fixed-base temple. It was a major project in anticipation of settling in Israel.

Indeed there is no hint whatsoever in the Torah that the Mishkan was destined for mothballs at any time in the future. And judging by the costly materials  involved, the emphasis on esthetics, and the fact that, according to Torah, every last detail was dictated to Moshe by the Almighty, the Mishkan was clearly intended to serve the spiritual needs of the Jewish People in the Land of Israel for the duration. It had no expiration date.

The beauty of the Mishkan concept was twofold. On the one had it was manifestly gorgeous. No expense was spared in order to bring it to life. On the other hand it was modest. It was a tent, not an edifice. An itinerant sanctuary that would literally fulfill the words of God:

וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָֽׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם

And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst (Shemot 26:8 Parshat Terumah)

Taken literally, “to dwell in their midst” would mean that the Mishkan – once Eretz Israel had been conquered and settled – would travel from tribe to tribe, from community to community .This would provide every Jew an opportunity to, at regular intervals, engage with God through its activities and rituals. No part of Eretz Israel would be more important than any other part. No single tribe would lay claim to owning God’s earthly dwelling.

The very idea of royalty is anathema to the Torah. It grudgingly allows, but hardly encourages, the Israelites to choose a king. By its very nature, monarchy – claims of  “divine right” notwithstanding – displaces God’s primacy with a ruler of flesh and blood.

Inevitably, such a........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)