In chapter 132 of Tehillim, King David looks forward to the building of the Beis Hamikdash and the installment of the Ark in its place in the Holy of Holies. The Zohar records three interpretations of who the speaker is in the following verse, “This is My resting place to the end of time. Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.” (Tehillim 132:14)
The first opinion states that the Ark spoke this verse, when it came to its resting place in the Holy of Holies. Rabbi Yossi said that the Jewish people said this verse, when the Beis Hamikdash was built and the Ark came to its resting place. Rabbi Chezkia said that “G-d says this verse when the Jewish people fulfill G-d’s will; He sits on His chair of glory and has compassion on the world.” (Zohar I:222b)
The Question:
What is the substantive difference between these opinions? What is the thematic significance to who said this verse, and when?
The Explanation:
There are three perspectives on what the ultimate objective of the Mishkan is: 1) to be a resting place for the Divine presence which takes place within the Ark; 2) to be a place where the Jewish people can serve G-d with the sacrificial rites and other Temple services; 3) to facilitate the resting of the Divine presence within the Jewish people.
The first opinion in the Zohar, that the Ark says “this is My resting place to the end of time,” corresponds to the perspective that sees the Mishkan as primarily a home for the Ark. Rabbi Yossi, who says the Jewish people said this verse, maintains that the Mishkan was primarily an arena where the people fulfilled G-d’s will. Rabbi Chezkia, who maintains that G-d says this verse when the Jewish people fulfill His will and there is peace in the world, sees the Mishkan as the vehicle for the resting of G-d’s presence within the souls of the people.
Continuum of Revelation:
These three opinions are not in dispute, but, rather, represent three distinct stages in the gradual fulfillment of the mitzvah to invite G-d’s presence to “dwell within them.”
The Ark’s resting place was primarily the Mishkan—for the Ark was removed and hidden toward the end of the first Beis Hamikdash era, and was entirely absent throughout the duration of the second. But the Mishkan was not a permanent structure, readily available for the Jewish people’s service, that was realized in the first and second Beis Hamikdash. Yet those were subject to destruction, and the eternal communion between G-d and the Jewish people will be actualized in the third and final Beis Hamikdash.
Thus, each opinion in the Zohar is speaking about a different stage in the resting of G-d’s presence amongst the Jewish people. Just as the Mishkan, the two Batei Mikdashos, and the future Beis Hamikdash, are three stages in the eventual complete resting of G-d’s presence, so too the elements in the Zohar’s passage—the ark, the Beis Hamikdash, the Jewish people, and G-d, are a continuum.
First, there is the actualization of Torah, the Ark; authentic Torah study leads to the performance of active mitzvos which culminates in the resting of G-d’s presence within the Beis Hamikdash. Eventually the Jewish people’s Divine service leads to perfection and peace within the world, which culminates with the fulfillment of G-d’s desire to be one with the Jewish people in this material world.
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