Moshe was commanded to build the walls of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) from “acacia wood,” as it says in our Torah portion: “And you shall make the planks for the Mishkan of acacia wood, upright.”
The word shitīm (acacia) is also related to the root shtut (folly). From this we learn that the construction of the Mishkan through “acacia wood” carries the intention of transforming folly.
What is folly? It is a deviation from the straight path. There is a middle path—the path of intellect and reason—and deviating from it is called folly.
Deviation Upward
However, there are two kinds of folly. There is folly in its usual sense, which means a deviation below the middle line, a descent beneath intellect.
And there is “holy folly” (shtut d’kedushah), which is also a deviation from the ordinary, accepted rational path—but here the deviation is upward, above the middle line.
“Holy folly” means that a person breaks through the normal, accepted conventions and rises to a higher spiritual level that transcends ordinary intellect and logic. He does not suffice with serving G-d only as required by reason, but acts from deep attachment to the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond logic and convention.
A Counterweight
This is the idea of the Mishkan—to transform the folly of this physical world into “holy folly.”
One cannot suffice with the middle path, the path of intellect and logic. Perhaps if there was no reality of ordinary folly in our world, it would be possible to suffice with the middle path.
But since there exists in the world the reality of sin, whose essence is literal folly, it is necessary to use “holy folly” as a counterweight.
Thus the Rambam rules that generally one should follow the middle path; however, if someone has deviated from the path and leaned too far to one side, it is not enough for him to return merely to the middle path. Rather, he must correct the deviation by moving to the opposite extreme.
Charity Without Limits
The practical meaning of this: those who dwell in the tent of Torah, such as yeshiva students or those who engage exclusively in Torah study, should not suffice with the fixed times established for Torah learning. Rather, they are required to break beyond the fixed time frameworks, in the manner of “holy folly,” above and beyond set schedules.
Businesspeople, whose primary service of G-d is through observing mitzvot and giving charity, must break through the fixed boundaries of charitable giving. Even if they already fulfill the mitzvah of charity in the finest manner—charity of the highest standard—nevertheless they must go beyond these limits and give charity in a way of “holy folly.”
Breaking through frameworks and limitations will bring the coming of Moshiach, who is also called “Poretz” (breaking through) and we will merit that “the Poretz shall go up before us,” very soon.
(the Rebbe, Likkutei Sichot, vol. 1)
