By Rabbi Moshe Pogrow
From the very beginning, we were taught that the life in the Temple and the life of the nation are not two separate spheres. The Sanhedrin is located next to the altar, and the purpose of the altar is to bring justice, peace and holiness into the life of the nation. Hence, the laws that guide the nation were set forth before the instructions for the building of the Mishkan.
In the same spirit, now that those instructions have been carried out, the mitzvah of machatzis hashekel is given so that future generations will know that nation and Mishkan are one.
Thus, a great Jewish truth is established: The Sanctuary is not something that is built and then left for the priests to manage. It cannot achieve its purpose without the participation of the nation.
By the same token, the significance of each member of the nation, and the nation as a whole, is in deeds that serve to achieve the goal of the Mishkan, a Sanctuary for the Torah.
We must not perform mitzvos as if they are a burden or an obligation. It is a great privilege to be able to speak to Hashem in prayer, study His Torah, and keep his mitzvos.
If we occasionally feel that our observance is a burden, it is because we do not have the maturity to appreciate this great kindness.
In Mizmor L’Todah, David Hamelech reminds us to “serve Hashem with happiness, and come before Him with rejoicing.”
Adapted from Emunah in the Classroom
The Sanctuary is not left to children
such that after reaching adulthood all of their energy is devoted to pursuing a livelihood, with the egoism of manhood replacing the inspiration of childhood.
The Jewish Sanctuary does not proclaim “Bring me the children”—it awaits the adults, their vitality and seriousness. The Jewish Sanctuary calls us to its service during the years when a person starts to think about himself and begins to earn a living. A Jewish man attains manhood for the sake of the Torah; likewise, his thoughts and his endeavors for himself are to be for the sake of the Torah.
The pesukim of the kiyor remind the kohanim who serve in the Sanctuary that they did not reach the honored position of their priesthood through holy conduct or a holy way of life they had already achieved. Rather, they officiate as emissaries of the nation, on the basis of qualities they represent. They represent before the nation the sanctification of life that the Torah requires of them.
Through kiddush yadayim, the kohanim acknowledge the supremacy of the Sanctuary’s ideals. Not on account of their own deeds and qualities do they merit to serve, but because of their symbolic representation of the requirements of the Sanctuary.
Based on the commentary of Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch zt”l on Chumash, with permission from the publisher.
