Shavuos 5779 / Bamidbar: Mishkan and Sinai

As you will soon see, this post did NOT come together in the end as I had hoped. I debated whether to share it publicly at all and decided that I might as well post it, in hopes that it might one day lead to the next step in the inquiry. I hope you find some value in it.  

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Artwork: Mountain (M10), by Nils Hamm

Shavuos 5779 / Bamidbar: Mishkan and Sinai

Ramban's Theory

In his introduction to Sefer Bamidbar the Ramban presents a theory about the relationship between the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and Har Sinai (Mt. Sinai). Here is the first paragraph of the Ramban's introduction, with my own paragraph breaks for clarity:

After explaining the system of korbanos (sacrifices) in the third book (i.e. Sefer Vayikra), He now begins, in this book, to arrange the mitzvos that were commanded in the matter of the Tent of Meeting. He has already warned for all generations against defiling the Mikdash (Sanctuary) and its sanctified objects, and now: 

He set boundaries around the Mishkan while it is in the Wilderness just as He set boundaries around Har Sinai when the kavod Hashem (Glory of Hashem) was there. 

He commanded [regarding the Mishkan]: "and any stranger who approaches shall die" (Bamidbar 3:38) just as He said there [regarding Sinai]: "[a hand shall not touch it] for he shall surely be stoned" (Shemos 19:13). 

He commanded [regarding the Mishkan]: "but they shall not come and look as the holy is inserted, lest they die" (Bamidbar 4:20) just as He warned there [regarding Sinai]: "lest they break through to Hashem to see, and a multitude of them will fall" (Shemos 19:21). 

He commanded [regarding the Mishkan]: "You shall safeguard the charge of the holy and the charge of the altar" (Bamidbar 19:21) just as He said [regarding Sinai]: "even the Kohanim who approach Hashem should be prepared ... but the Kohanim and the people - they shall not break through [to ascend]" (Shemos 19:22-24). 

Behold, He commanded further how the safeguarding of the Mishkan and its vessels shall be and how they shall encamp around [the Mishkan] and [how] "the people shall stand from afar" (cf. Shemos 20:18) and how "the Kohanim who approach Hashem" (cf. Shemos 19:22) shall conduct themselves when [the Mishkan] is at rest and being transported, and what they shall do for its safeguarding. All of this is a distinction and an honor for the Mishkan, as [Chazal] said: "a king's palace that has guards is incomparable to a palace without guards" (Sifrei Zuta, Korach 18:4).

The Ramban also introduces Sefer Vayikra with a summary of this theory:

This book is the law for the Kohanim and the Leviim. In it He clarifies the matters regarding all the sacrifices and the safeguarding of the Mishkan, for as the other book (i.e. Sefer Shemos) was concerning the [Egyptian] exile and the redemption from it and He completed it with the matter of the Tent of Meeting and the kavod Hashem that filled the Mishkan, [now] He commanded regarding the korbanos and the safeguarding of the Mishkan, so that the sacrifices should be an atonement for them so that their sins should not cause the departure of the shechinah. And He commanded regarding "the Kohanim who approach Hashem," that "they should be sanctified" (cf. Shemos 19:22) for He warned [them] against the defiling of the Mikdash and its sacrificial foods. And also that they should "not break through to ascend to Hashem" (cf. Shemos 19:24) as He said: "Speak to Aharon, your brother - [he shall not come at all times into the Sanctuary, within the Curtain, in front of the Cover that is upon the Ark, so that he should not die]" (Vayikra 16:2), which is comparable to the warning given [at Sinai]: "lest they break through to Hashem to see, and a multitude of them will fall" (Shemos 19:21). And He set boundaries around the Mishkan like the boundaries set for Har Sinai at the time that the kavod of the God of Israel was there.

The Ramban's theory is clear: the setup of the Mishkan (and the surrounding Camp) is designed to reflect and recall the setup of Har Sinai. Both the Mishkan and Sinai have boundaries. Breaching the boundaries results in death. In both scenarios the people are warned not to look at holy phenomena. The need for safeguarding applied to both the Mishkan and Sinai. The spacing in the Camp of the Kohanim and the Israelites parallels their spacing during the event at Sinai.

But there's more to the Ramban's theory than that. The crux of his theory was stated much earlier, in his introduction to Parashas Terumah (Shemos 25:1), where he explains the purpose of the Mishkan. He writes:

When Hashem spoke with Israel "face to face" (Devarim 5:4) [telling them] the Decalogue and commanding them through Moshe in some mitzvos as universal categories for the [rest of] the Torah's mitzvos - just as our Sages of blessed memory enacted as a practice with converts who seek to become Jewish - and Israel accepted upon themselves to do whatever He would command them through Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, He [consequently] made a covenant with them regarding all this. Now they had become a people unto Him and He had become their God, as He stipulated with them at first: "and now, if you hearken well to Me and you will observe My covenant, you shall be to Me the most beloved treasure of all peoples, for Mine is the entire world" (Shemos 19:5) and He said: "You shall be to Me a kingdom of kohanim and a holy nation" (ibid. 19:6). Thus, they were holy and worthy for there to be a Mikdash in their midst, [a place for Hashem] to rest His shechinah (indwelling) among them. Therefore, He first commanded regarding the matter of the Mishkan, so that He would have an abode among them sanctified to His Name, and there He would speak with Moshe and command Bnei Yisrael.

Behold! The main objective of the Mishkan is as a place for the resting of the shechinah, which was [atop] the Ark, as He said: "it is there that I will meet with you, and I shall speak with you from atop the cover [... on the Ark]" (ibid. 25:22) ... 

The esoteric significance of the Mishkan is that the kavod that rested upon Har Sinai [when the Torah was given] should rest upon [the Mishkan] in a concealed manner. And just as it was stated there [regarding Sinai:] "the kavod Hashem rested upon Har Sinai" (ibid. 24:16) and it is written: "Behold! Hashem, our God, has shown us His kavod and His greatness" (Devarim 5:21), and He mentioned twice regarding the Mishkan: "the kavod of Hashem filled the Mishkan" (ibid. and in 25:35), parallel to "His kavod" and "His greatness" [mentioned at Sinai]. And the kavod that was seen at Sinai remained constantly with Israel in the Mishkan, and whenever Moshe entered [the Mishkan] he would receive the same [type of] communication that was spoken to him at Sinai. 

And just as it was said regarding the Giving of the Torah: "from heaven He caused you to hear His voice in order to teach you, and on earth He showed you His great fire" (Devarim 4:36), so too regarding the Mishkan it is written: "he heard the voice speaking to him from atop the cover [that was upon the Ark of the Testimony] from between the two Keruvim (Cherubim), and He spoke to him" (Bamidbar 7:89). The words "and He spoke to him" are repeated [at the end of that pasuk] in order to convey what [the Sages] said by way of tradition that the voice would come from heaven to above the Ark-cover and speak to Moshe from there. For every communication with Moshe originated in heaven during the day and was heard from between the Keruvim in a manner similar to [the Giving of the Torah, of which it is written:] "and you heard His words from the midst of the fire" (Devarim 4:36). This is why [the Keruvim] were both made of gold. Likewise, Scripture stated: "[at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, before Hashem,] where I shall meet with you to speak to you there ... and it will be sanctified with My glory" (Shemos 29:42-43) for that was to be the meeting place for communication, and it would be "sanctified with My glory."

There are many subtle points being made here, but the main idea is clear: the purpose of the Mishkan is to house the Ark, which is a resting place for the kavod - or shechinah - that descended upon Sinai; this kavod is also the place from where Hashem would speak to Moshe in the Wilderness, as it spoke to Bnei Yisrael at Sinai.

That, in a nutshell, is the Ramban's theory. Now we need to understand it.

[My Failure in] Understanding the Meaning of the Ramban's Theory

The Ramban's theory is adequately supported by the pshat (straightforward reading) of the pesukim he cited. The question is: What does he mean? What is his understanding of the kavod Hashem that descended on Sinai and filled the Mishkan? What is the relationship between the singular Divine communication at Sinai and the day-to-day communication with Moshe at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting during the 40 years in the Wilderness? What is the purpose of this parallel setup of Sinai and the Mishkan in the Camp?

When I set out to an answer to this question, I figured that the best way to find answers would be to look up the Ramban's commentary on the pesukim he cited. Much to my dismay, the vast majority of these pesukim contain scant commentary from the Ramban. The few pesukim on which he elaborated only added to my confusion. For example, on the pasuk: "The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and kavod Hashem filled the Mishkan" (Shemos 40:34) the Ramban explains:

"the kavod Hashem filled the Mishkan" - because the inside of it was filled with the kavod, because the kavod dwelled inside the cloud which was inside the Mishkan, as it was stated in regards to Har Sinai: "[Moshe approached] the thick cloud, where God was" (Shemos 20:18).

Similarly, when I looked up the Ramban's comments on the first pasuk of Sefer Vayikra in hopes that he'd clarify how Hashem spoke to Moshe from the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, this is what I found:

The pasuk here says: "He called to Moshe and Hashem spoke to him" but doesn't say this in other places, because [here] "Moshe was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting" (cf. Shemos 40:35) to approach the place "where God was" (cf. Shemos 20:18) except by means of a summons that [Hashem] called out to him, for it had already been said to Moshe: "[It is there that I will meet with you,] and I shall speak with you from atop the Cover, from between the two Keruvim [that are on the Ark]" (ibid. 25:22) "where I will meet with you" (ibid. 30:6). And since he knew that God is "enthroned upon the Keruvim" (cf. I Divrei ha'Yamim 13:6), he was fearful of entering the Tent of Meeting at all, until He would call to him, just as [He had done] at Har Sinai, where it says: "He called to Moshe on the seventh day form the midst of the cloud" (ibid. 24:16). 

The Ramban's cryptic comments like these only added to my confusion, while simultaneously reinforcing the prominence of his theory. The more I looked for explanations, the more questions and problems I encountered. 

These difficulties are due in large part to obscure and esoteric nature of subject matter here. The kavod Hashem at Sinai and over the Ark, the nature of the revelation at Sinai and Moshe's prophecy, the purpose of the Mishkan and its vessels - each of these topics is a metaphysical rabbit hole unto itself, and the Ramban's theory deals with ALL of them in conjunction! 

The Success of Failing to Understand

Just as I was ready to give up on this topic, it suddenly dawned on me: "I don't understand these topics ... but that's kind of the point here, isn't it?" All of these topics have one thing in common: they all reside at the outermost boundaries of human understanding, and force us to confront the limitations of our own mind.

This point is the most obvious with regards to the kavod Hashem at Sinai. The whole point of setting boundaries around Har Sinai was to prevent people from drawing near, "lest they break through to Hashem to see" (Shemos 19:21) - that is, to intellectually apprehend Hashem's kavod. The Rambam devotes an entire chapter of the Moreh ha'Nevuchim (1:5) to lauding the virtue of restraint in man's attempt to apprehend the Divine, as exemplified by the proper conduct of Moshe Rabbeinu at the Burning Bush, and condemning the improper conduct of the Atzilei Bnei Yisrael (Nobles of the Children of Israel) at Sinai: 

When the chief of the philosophers began to investigate very obscure matters and to attempt a proof concerning them, he excused himself by making a statement of the meaning of which was as follows. A student of his books should not, because of the subject of these researches, ascribe to him effrontery, temerity, and an excess of haste to speak of matters of which he had no knowledge; but rather he should ascribe to him the desire and the endeavor to acquire and achieve true beliefs to the extent to which this is in the power of man. In the same way we say that man should not hasten too much to accede to this great and sublime matter at the first try, without having made his soul undergo training in the sciences and the different kinds of knowledge, having truly improved his character, and having extinguished the desires and cravings engendered in him by his imagination. When, however, he has achieved and acquired knowledge of true and certain premises and has achieved knowledge of the rules of logic and interference and of the various ways of preserving himself from errors of the mind, he then should engage in the investigation of this subject. When doing this he should not make categorical affirmations in favor of the first opinion that occurs to him and should not, from the outset, strain and impel his thoughts toward the apprehension of the Creator; he rather should feel awe and refrain and hold back until he gradually elevates himself.  

It is in this sense that it is said: "And Moshe hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God" (Shemos 3:6) - this being an additional meaning of the pasuk over and above its external meaning that indicates that he hid his face because of his being afraid to look upon the light manifesting himself - and not that Hashem, Who is greatly exalted above every deficiency, can be apprehended by the eyes. [Moshe], peace be upon him, was commended for this; and God, may He be exalted, let overflow upon him so much of His bounty and goodness that it became necessary to say of him: "And the image of Hashem shall he look upon" (Bamidbar 12:8). Chazal (Berachos 7a) have stated that this is a reward for his having at first "hidden his face" so as "not to look upon God."  

The Atzilei Bnei Yisrael, on the other hand, were overly hasty, strained their thoughts, and achieved apprehension, but only an imperfect one. Hence it is said of them: "And they saw the God of Israel, and there was under His feet [the likeness of sapphire brickwork, and it was like the essence of the heaven in purity]" (Shemos 24:10) and not merely: "And they saw the God of Israel." For these words are solely intended to present a criticism of their act of seeing, not to describe the manner of their seeing. Thus they were solely blamed for the form that their apprehension took inasmuch as corporeality entered into it to some extent - this being necessitated by their overhasty rushing forward before they had reached perfection. They deserved to perish, but [Moshe], peace be upon him, interceded for them, and they were granted a reprieve until the time they were burnt at Taveirah, whereas Nadav and Avihu were burnt at the Tent of Meeting, as is stated in a correct tradition.  

This having happened to these men, it behooves us, all the more, as being inferior to them, and it behooves those who are inferior to us, to aim at and engage in perfecting our knowledge of preparatory matters and in achieving those premises that purify apprehension of its impurity, which is error. [Only] then may one approach the divine and holy station. It is accordingly said: "And also the Kohanim who approach Hashem should be prepared, lest Hashem burst forth against them" (Shemos 19:22). Accordingly, Shlomo has bidden the man who wishes to reach this rank to be most cautious, warning by way of allegory: "guard your foot when you go to the house of God" (Koheles 4:17).  

I shall now go back in order to complete what we began to explain, and I shall say: Because of the hindrances that were a stumbling block to the Nobles of the Children of Israel  in their apprehension, their actions were also troubled; because of the corruption of their apprehension, they inclined toward matters of the body. Hence it says: "And they gazed at God, and they ate and they drank" (Shemos 24:11) ...

The need for intellectual restraint applies not only to the kavod Hashem at Sinai, but to the revelation itself, which was a one-time occurrence - "a great voice, never to be repeated" (Devarim 5:19) - and which utterly overwhelmed those who heard it, causing them to exclaim:

"Behold! Hashem, our God, has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; this day we saw that Hashem will speak to a person and he can live. But now, why should we die when this great fire consumes us? If we continue to hear the voice of Hashem, our God, any longer, we will die! For is there any human that has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?" (ibid. 5:21-23).

Regarding the unfathomable character of that revelation, the Rambam (Moreh ha'Nevuchim 2:33) writes:

It is impossible to expound on the Gathering at Mount Sinai to a greater extent than Chazal spoke about it, for it is one of the sisrei Torah (mysteries of Torah). The true reality of that apprehension and its modality are quite hidden from us, for nothing like it happened before and [nothing like it] will happen after.  

And if, as the Ramban suggests, this voice at Sinai is the same as (or related to) the voice that spoke with Moshe at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting from between the two Keruvim on top of the Ark, then that voice is also shrouded in the same type of mystery. 

The same goes for the nature of Moshe's nevuah. Not only does the Rambam repeatedly emphasize the difference between Moshe's nevuah and that of the other neviim, but he even goes so far as to write (ibid. 2:35):

I will let you know that everything I say on [the topic of] nevuah in these chapters of this treatise refers only to the form of nevuah of all the neviim who were before Moshe and who will come after him. As for the nevuah of Moshe Rabbeinu, I shall not touch upon it in these chapters with even a single word, either in an explicit fashion or in a flash. For to my mind, the term "navi" used with reference to Moshe and to the others is equivocal. The same applies, in my opinion, to his miracles and to the miracles of others, for his miracles do not belong to the class of the miracles of the other neviim. 

And even the Mishkan itself, which is in the realm of mitzvos - and, therefore, theoretically within our understanding - is treated by the Rishonim as an esoteric topic that should be approached with extreme reticence and intellectual humility. The Sefer ha'Chinuch, who provides reasons for all of the mitzvos, prefaces his explanation of Mishkan (Mitzvah #95) with the following reverent disclaimer:

What lies at the root of this mitzvah you will see [below] after these words of mine. Indeed, I have a great fear of drawing close to the Mishkan Hashem [to provide an explanation for it], for I know that "everyone who comes near, who comes near" (Bamidbar 17:28) if he has not adequately sanctified himself, will not see the house and live (cf. Shemos 33:20 regarding knowledge of Hashem's essence: "for man cannot see Me and live"). "And also the Kohanim who approach Hashem" for service "should sanctify themselves" as they come into the holiness within; and my brethren "the Leviim purified themselves ... and Aharon raised them up in an offering" (Bamidbar 8:21) before they would raise their voices in the Temple of Hashem. Yet, I said: "Let me also speak my thought and present my apology before my elders, and I will "wash my hands in innocence" (Tehilim 73:13) before I go up to the House of Hashem.

Thus it is clear that the difficulty I faced in my investigation of this topic was to be expected. All of the topics that comprise the Ramban's theory about the Mishkan and Sinai are exceedingly recondite, and it is highly unlikely for someone of my low caliber to expect to attain a fundamental comprehension of such lofty concepts. 

Upon realizing that the roadblock I encountered was an inherent part of the investigation I embarked upon - "a feature, not a bug," as they say - my central question shifted. Rather than attempting to understand the elements of the Ramban's theory, I instead began to wonder: What is the purpose of setting up the Mishkan and the Camp to reflect the most incomprehensible phenomena known to man? 

Consider the elements of the Pesach Seder, which are set up to remind us of events and concepts related to the Yetzias Mitzrayim (Exodus from Egypt). Matzah reminds us of the redemption; Maror reminds us of the bitterness; drinking four cups reminds us that we are freemen. These readily accessible elements of the Seder connect us to readily accessible ideas which benefit us by their contemplation. Compare that to the Mishkan and Camp, which is set up to remind us of concepts that are all but incomprehensible to even the most erudite individuals in the nation! What, exactly, does this accomplish? 

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Unfortunately, it appears that I'm going to run out of time before I can finish working out an answer and finishing this post. Shavuos is almost upon us, and  I want to think about this some more because I don't yet feel that I have an adequate answer. I will share one thought that occurred to me. 

Dwelling with the Unknowable

Rabbeinu Bachya ibn Paquda (Chovos ha'Levavos 1:10) writes:

The ultimate result of your knowledge of God should be the confession and conviction that of His glorious Essence you are completely ignorant. If you form in your mind or imagination a picture or representation of the Creator, strive to investigate His Being; and then you will be convinced of His existence, and all likenesses of Him will be rejected by you, so that you will find Him through reasoning alone.

We worship a Being Who is completely incomprehensible to us. This Being manifested His incomprehensible kavod to us at Sinai, spoke to us in a meaningful manner through a type of communication whose nature is completely incomprehensible to us, gave us His Torah through His prophet through a form of nevuah which is completely incomprehensible to us, then commanded us to build for Him a Mishkan, so that His incomprehensible kavod can dwell among us, speaking in its incomprehensible manner to the navi whose nevuah is absolutely incomprehensible. 

It is easy and natural for us to focus on aspects of Torah that we do know or can know, but we mustn't lose sight of that which we can't know. To be a Jew is to follow a religion entirely centered around knowledge which centers around an unknowable core. The setup of the Camp was designed as a constant reminder of these unknowable foundations: Hashem, His kavod, His navi, His voice, His indwelling in the Mishkan. 

We no longer live in the Camp in the Wilderness, but we do still dwell alongside these great unknowns. This Shavuos let us reflect on the significance of such a life - one devoted to maximizing each of our potentials as a knowledge-seeking being, with full awareness of the limits of our knowledge.