26:15 “ועשית את הקרשים למשכן עצי שטים עמדים” – “You shall make the beams of the Mishkan of shitim wood, standing erect.” The Gemara in Meseches Sukkah 45b says that we learn from this Posuk regarding all Mitzvos, that one only fulfills his obligation when the objects of the Mitzvah are positioned in the manner of their growth. For example, one must take the Lulav with the top of the branch facing up, as that is the way it grows. Why is this so? The following Divrei Torah will expound on this topic, and perhaps support the P’shat offered in the closing paragraph.
הר צבי – Orech Chaim 1:84 – Parshas Terumah
26:30 “והקמות את המשכן, כמשפטו אשר הראית בהר” – “You shall erect the Mishkan according to its Mishpat, as you will have been shown on the mountain.” What does it mean “כמשפטו” – what type of Mishpat is there for wood? The Yerushalmi in Meseches Shabbos, Perek Yud Bais Halacha Gimel asks this question and answers that the Keresh, (plank) that was Zoche to be put in the north, should be put in the north. The Keresh that was in the south, should be put in the south. The Mishkan was erected and disassembled many times, and the Posuk is telling us that every time it is reassembled, the Kerashim that were on the north side the previous time, should be placed in the north side again, while those that were on the south side, should again be placed in the south side. The permanent positions of the Mishkan boards are fixed the first time the Mishkan is erected. At that point, each board permanently “acquired” the spot in which it was placed, so that each time the Mishkan was reassembled, each board was returned to its rightful place. The north wall was near the Shulchan, and the south wall was near the Menorah. We see from this Yerushalmi that within Kedusha itself, there are various degrees, and there is a difference between the Kedusha of the north side and the south side of the Mishkan. Thus, we do not take away the Zechus of the Kerashim that were Zoche to be in the north, and place them in the south, and vice versa. Although there is certainly Kedusha in both the north and the south, there may different Kedushah, and one may be greater than the other in certain aspects, and thus they cannot be switched.
Chazal tell us (Megillah 29) that when Mashiach comes, the Batei K’neisiyos and the Batei Medroshos will move to Eretz Yisroel. Chas V’sholom to say that there will be anything lacking in Eretz Yisroel, that there will be a need to bring the Batei K’neisiyos and Batei Medroshos from Chutz La’aretz to Eretz Yisroel. The reason that they will go to Eretz Yisroel is based on the Posuk in Yirmiyah 46:18 “כי כתבור בהרים וככרמל בים יבוא” – “Surely! Like the Tabor among the mountains, and like the Karmel by the sea, so shall he come.” There is a tradition that these mountains came to Sinai at the giving of the Torah and demanded that the Torah should be given upon them. Just as Tabor and Karmel, which came only momentarily to study Torah, were relocated and established in Eretz Yisroel as reward for their actions, all the more so should the Batei K’neisiyos and Batei Medroshos in Bavel, in which the Torah is read and disseminated be relocated to Eretz Yisroel.
We see clearly from the Gemara that the reason that the Batei K’neisiyos and the Batei Medroshos will move to Eretz Yisroel is because the Torah is Makpid not to withhold any Zechus from any creation in the world – and not just from man, who has a Neshama and intelligence, but even from inanimate objects. The reason for this is that anything that one of the Mitzvos of the Torah is performed with, a Ruach Kedusha hovers upon that item and gives it Chiyus. Although this is hidden from our eyes, as we do not see it, nonetheless it is certain that even inanimate objects receive enjoyment and nourishment from the Chiyus of the Nitzotzei Hakdusha that resides upon them.
Batei K’neisiyos and Batei Medroshos are called, “Mikdash Me’at” – a reduced level of an actual Mikdash, as the Gemara in Megillah 29, “ואהי להם למקדש מעט בארצות אשר באו שם – אמר רב שמואל ב"ר יצחק: אלו בתי כנסיות ובתי מדרשות שבבבל”. The Posuk in Yechezkel says, “And I shall be to them as a little Mikdash” – this refers to the Shuls and the Batei Medroshos in Bavel. Thus, when we will IYH be Zoche to the Geulah, and return to Eretz Yisroel, it wouldn’t make any sense that we should be in the Holy Land and be joyous, and the Batei K’neisiyos and the Batei Medroshos, which are filled with great Kedusha from the Tefilos, sweat and tears, and Torah, that they should be left behind in Chutz La’aretz. Certainly, Hakodosh Boruch Hu, gives Chesed to all that He created, and would not want to hold back goodness from it. Being that these buildings are filled with Kedusha, they will be Zoche to be in the Holy Land, for it too is holy. These buildings have achieved high levels of Kedusha, and their rightful place is in Eretz Yisroel, the Holy Land. If they were to remain in Chutz La’aretz, that means that they would be removed from Kedusha. All the Kedusha will be in Eretz Yisroel, and Klal Yisroel will be there as well, thus if they were not to move, it would cause them to be reduced in Kedusha, which is what we do not do – as we learn from the Kerashim of the Mishkan.
We see from this, that when we say that the Batei K’neisiyos and Batei Medroshos are going to go with us to Eretz Yisroel when Moshiach comes, it is not for our good, for certainly we will not be lacking any Batei K’neisiyos and Batei Medroshos in Eretz Yisroel when Moshiach comes. Rather, they are going to go to Eretz Yisroel for the good of the Batei K’neisiyos and Batei Medroshos themselves. They should not be far away from the Kedusha, so that they can be elevated in Kedusha, and not to have reduced Kedusha.
