There were two altars in the Mishkan. Parshas Terumah teaches us about the Copper Altar, upon which animal sacrifices and meal offerings were brought. And Parshas Tetzaveh tells us about the Golden Altar, upon which incense was offered.
The last Mishnah of Tractate Chagiga, which is also the last Mishnah of the Order of Moed, speaks about these two altars. It says that these two altars cannot become impure. What is the reason? According to Rabbi Eliezer, it is “since they are like earth,” meaning that the Torah calls them earth, and earth cannot become impure. According to the sages, “since they are [only] coated [with gold and copper],” meaning that since the coatings of gold and copper are just that - coatings - they are secondary to what is underneath. And being that what is underneath cannot become impure, the coatings don’t become impure either.
Because Hashem is infinite, the Torah, which is His knowledge, is infinite as well. This means that it applies to us at every time and in every place. Just as when the Torah was given, it applied to every one of us, so, too, it applies to each and every one of us right now, as if it were given today. It also has an infinite number of interpretations, as every one of us has a different Neshama, and we each see the Torah through the lens of our Neshama. We also approach Torah from our own circumstances and our own paradigm.
What is the lesson that we are meant to learn from this teaching, that the two altars cannot become impure?
We are all a small Temple where the Divine Presence wants to reside. Just as the Temple had different vessels in it, so, too, we have different aspects to our makeup- our mind, our thoughts, our emotions, etc.
Sometimes, we can have a mundane or unholy thought; it is also possible to have an inappropriate or sinful thought. In other words, it is possible for one of the person’s “vessels” – their mind, thoughts, feelings, etc. – to become impure. When this happens, we have to find a way to make the vessel pure again, that it should be worthy of the status of a Temple vessel, where Hashem could reside once more. How does one go about doing this?
