This week’s Torah portion concludes with the final descent of G-d’s glory upon the Mishkan, after its erection. However, amidst this record of events, we find a seemingly disconnected interlude of the Jewish people’s travel routine. This Sicha explores the depth behind this narrative, and reveals the procedure of bringing about G-d’s dwelling in this world.
At the conclusion of Parshas Pekudei, after enumerating the details of the Mishkan’s (Tabernacle) erection and the climactic moment of G-d’s Shechina (Divine Presence) finally dwelling within its physical structure—a revelation so great, that even Moshe was unable to enter the Mishkan due to the intensity of G-d’s glory that was present—it then relates the manner in which the Jewish people traveled. The Torah narrates the above events as follows:
Text 1
And the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan. Moshe could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud rested upon it and the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan. When the cloud rose up from over the Mishkan, the children of Israel set out in all their journeys. But if the cloud did not rise up, they did not set out until the day that it rose. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the Mishkan by day, and there was fire within it at night, before the eyes of the entire house of Israel in all their journeys.
Shemos 40:36-38
The Torah relates how the Jewish people knew the times of travel to their next destination, based on when the cloud of Glory rose from the Mishkan. However, the Torah’s account of this phenomenon requires further understanding. Why is the description of this occurrence situated in Parshas Pekudei?
Seemingly, the two verses describing the circumstance in which the Jewish people were able to travel, and the dependency on the cloud of G-d’s glory indicating the instruction to do so, do not seem to fit into the context of the parsha (Torah portion). These verses should have been situated further on in the Torah, in the section that discusses the details of the Jewish people’s travels in the desert. Indeed, there—in Parshas Beha-aloscha—these journeys are described at great length and this process of travel is repeated there as well. It would seem appropriate therefore, to speak of the manner in which each travel was instigated—i.e. through the indication of the cloud of G-d’s glory—only in that section, where the Torah’s objective is to record the travels of the Israelites in the desert. In our parsha, this seems to be out of place.
All that is in the Torah is exact and intentional. Although this passage deals with the intensity of the revelation of G-dliness in the Mishkan, it must somehow be pertinent to the mention of the Israelites’ travels as well. It must therefore be understood: what is the connection between the travels of the Jewish people and the occurrence of the cloud rising, with the content of Parshas Pekudei, which speaks of the Shechina residing in the Mishkan?
An Explanation
There are commentators who explain the connection of the travels to Parshas Pekudei as follows: The fact that the Jewish people were unable to travel until the Shechina was lifted from upon the Mishkan, demonstrates the degree that the Shechina dwelt upon the Mishkan. The narrative relating that the Shechina never left the Mishkan unless the Israelites needed to travel was not repeated for the purpose of explaining the travels of the Jewish people. It was explained in order to emphasize that not only did the Shechina reside upon the Mishkan with great intensity, but it was there in a constant manner as well. G-d’s abiding was so permanent in the Tabernacle to the point that it was always there, unless the Jewish people needed to travel.
An account of the travels
However, this explanation does not satisfy our questions: From the syntax of the verse, it does not seem that the intent of the section is to illustrate this idea—that of the Shechina constantly resting amongst the Jewish people. Rather, the purpose of the verse is simply to relate the process by which the Israelites traveled in the desert. This is in fact clearly expressed in the Medrash:
Text 2
When the cloud rose up: this is the account of the travels. Upon the word of G-d they camped and upon the word of G-d they traveled.
Medrash Lekach Tov, Shemos 40:36
Contrary to the suggested explanation, that the purpose of these verses is to point out the manner in which the Shechina resided in the Mishkan, it is explained in the Medrash that the intent of these verses was indeed to explain the routine by which the Israelites traveled.
This question is amplified when considering the following: Parshas Pekudei is followed by Parshas Vayikra, which begins with the Almighty summoning Moshe to the Tent of Meeting:
Text 3
And He called to Moshe, and the Lord spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying:
Vayikra 1:1
The Sages explain that this verse is a continuation of the previous parsha. Since the previous Torah portion concludes with mentioning that “Moshe could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud rested upon it and the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan,” the Torah therefore recounts that when G-d wished to speak to Moshe, He would specifically call him and thus enable him to enter.
Text 4
...And he (Moshe) was standing from the outside, for he was afraid to come to the Tent of Meeting, as it says, “Moshe could not enter the Tent of Meeting.” The Holy One, Blessed be He said, “It is not fair that Moshe, who made the Mishkan, should stand from the outside and I from the inside; rather, I will call him that he should enter. Therefore, it is written, “And He called to Moshe.”
Medrash Tanchuma, Vayikra 1
Accordingly, these two verses that speak of the travels of the Jewish people seem to be an interruption to the main ideas at the end of the parsha, which are a direct segue into the following Torah portion. Seemingly, these verses do not belong in this portion of the Torah. What is the reason that they are indeed placed there?
An exact purpose
Everything in the Torah is extremely precise. Because the Medrash says that Parshas Vayikra is a continuation to our parsha’s statement of Moshe being unable to enter the Mishkan, it is understood that there must be a connection between the general content of Parshas Pekudei and Vayikra—which also includes the verses regarding the travels. Parshas Vayikra does not only follow Parshas Pekudei chronologically, but the last idea that is mentioned in Parshas Pekudei is directly linked to Parshas Vayikra. This concept indicates that Parshas Vayikra, which deals with the instruction for the korbonos (animal sacrifices), comes not only as a continuation to the building of the Mishkan (the place where the korbonos were brought), but also as a continuation to the concept of the Shechina residing in the Tabernacle, which is the concluding idea in the parsha, immediately preceding Parshas Vayikra. The same can be said regarding the fact that Parshas Vayikra immediately follows the seemingly interruptive narration of the Jewish people’s traveling routine. This is so because the concept of the sacrifices—although connected to the general residing of the Shechina in the Mishkan—is even more connected with the fact that in order for the Jewish people to travel, it required the departure of the Shechina from the Tabernacle. It is because of this connection that the Torah first recounts the travel of the Jewish people and only afterwards does the Torah explain the various sacrifices.
Counting
In order to understand the above connection, it is imperative to first explain the correlation between the beginning of the book of Shemos (Parshas Shemos) and its end (Parshas Pekudei). For, as per the Kabbalistic axiom, an entity’s beginning and end are directly related.
Text 5
The end is wedged in the beginning and the beginning in the end.
Sefer Yetzira 1:7
This connection is expressed through the names of both parshiyos, which are both indicative of the concept of counting. The beginning of Parshas Shemos begins with the tallying of the members of Yaakov’s family who entered the land of Egypt. The first verse of Shemos states the following:
Text 6
And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt; with Yaakov, each man and his household came:
Shemos 1:1
Rashi comments on the above verse:
Text 7
Although [G-d] counted them in their lifetime by their names (Bereishis 46:8-27), He counted them again after their death, to let us know how precious they are [to Him], because they were likened to the stars, which He takes out [from beyond the horizon] and brings in by number and by name, as it is said: “who takes out their host by number; all of them He calls by name.”
Rashi, ibid
Pekudei as well discusses counting, as is indicated in the opening Rashi of the portion:
Text 8
In this parsha, all the weights of the donations for the Mishkan were counted - [that] of silver, of gold, and of copper. And all its implements for all its work were [also] counted.
Rashi, Shemos 38:21
The beginning of the book of Shemos begins with counting, and its concluding parsha ends with counting.
The redemption of the Israelites
Being that counting is what connects the beginning of the book of Shemos and its end, it is understood that there is a correlation between counting and the general subject matter of the book of Shemos. The theme of the book of Shemos on a general scale is the redemption of the Israelites from Egypt. Accordingly, it is understood that the idea of counting—the connecting link between the beginning and end of the book—must be related to redemption as well. This is perplexing though: the ideas of “counting” and “redemption” are seemingly two completely opposite themes. When something is counted, it demonstrates that the entity is limited (by the total amount of the count). However, true redemption is the idea of breaking out of all limitations!
Parshas Shemos
This contradictory theme presented in the book of Shemos is also expressed immediately, at the commencement of the volume. The title of the first parsha itself (which, being the first, expresses the theme of the entire portion) is “Shemos,” meaning “names”—a term that expresses the specific (limited) number of names that came to Egypt. Yet, immediately afterwards, the portion goes on to express the tremendous, miraculous growth that the Jewish people had, which transcended all limitation. The Torah relates,
Text 9
The children of Israel were fruitful and swarmed and increased and became very, very strong, and the land became filled with them.
Shemos 1:7
