Bostoner Torah Insights: Bostoner ‘Chassidus’ in Hebrew and English Parshas Terumah – 4 Adar 5783
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Bostoner Torah Insights
Bostoner ‘Chassidus’ in English
Parshas Terumah – 4 Adar 5783
Bostoner Rebbe shlit”a – Yerushalayim
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When the Aron is first mentioned, the plural language is used ועשו ארון , make an Ark, whereas by the other כלים the singular is used ועשית. The Alshich (25:10) explains that the crown of Torah is not limited to intellectuals or scholars, rather everyone has a share in Torah. On the other hand, the crown of Kehunah is limited to the family of Aharon and the crown of Malchus is limited to the family of Dovid. This is why the Shulchan and the Mizbayach, which represent the Kehuna and Malchus, are written in the singular, whereas the Torah is written in the plural because it is accessible to all.
The Midrash (Shemos Raba 34:3) explains that the plural is used to teach that everyone should come and be involved with the Aron so that everyone should merit Torah. Rabbeinu Bachaye teaches that the word Aron ארון has the same root as the word אור ‘light’, and that the Torah housed inside the Aron is referred to אור תורה or תורה אור so that everyone can benefit from its light. As the Torah is ‘the primary’ ראשית and Bnei Yisroel is ‘the primary’ ראשית (see Rashi to Beraishis 1:1) it is listed first among the other Kaylim.
The height of the Aron was 1.5 Amah or 9 Tefachim, and with an additional Tefach for the Kapores Cover, the Aron was a total of 10 Tefachim. It is from here the Gemara (See Sukkah 4b-5a) learns that 10 Tefachim is the minimum requirement to create a partition.
The Panim Yafos asks from the Gemara (Shabbos 8a) that Hotza’ah is only applicable to Kaylim and not to something that is considered a domain all by itself, such as something that is more than 10x4x4 Tefachim. This is because Reshus HaRabim, the public domain only goes up to 10 Tefachim off the ground. Anything above that is considered Makom Patur or a domain that is neither a public domain or a private domain. It still may be Rabbinically forbidden to carry from a public domain to a private domain through a Makom Patur, but one is not liable to the death penalty for desecrating the Shabbos. The opinion of Rava is that even if something is only partially in the Makom Patur area one will not be subject to punishment for violating the Shabbos. It would seem then that if the Shittim Wood of the Aron was 1.5 Amos or 9 Tefachim and the Kapores cover was one Tefach then with the gold coverings of both the Kaporet and the wooden boxes of the Aron that the Aron would be more than 10 Tefachim.
One approach might be that the Aron was only covered in gold on the sides which would add to the width of the Aron, but not the height. We see similarly by the Golden Mizbayach that it talks about being covered with gold on the walls and on the roof of the Mizbayach, but it would seem there was no gold on the bottom of the Mizbayach, the side that touches the floor. However, Rashi clearly says that the Aron was three separate boxes, one inside the other, and that the outermost and innermost boxes were plated with gold all around, which would include the bottom. Therefore, it would seem the measurement of 1.5 Amot must also include within it the thickness of the gold plating. However, another solution comes from Rashi himself who says that the Kaporet cover was made in such a way that it was slightly smaller in length than the frame of the outer box of the Aron so that the Kaporet could sink slightly into the Aron and only rest on the inner box of the frame, which was slightly less than 9 Tefachim in height, similar to how a lid might sit on top of a pot.
We also find that the Shulchan was 10 Tefachim, nine plus one for the Misgeret frame that was also a Tefach. The Menorah is also connected to the number 10 as there were seven branches and three designs – an orb, a cup, and a flower. The Mishkan covering was made up of 10 cloth units as well. Two tapestries of 5 were brought together, similar to the two tablets that Moshe received on Har Sinai, to make one complete whole. The Kerashim planks that held up the tapestries and housed the Kaylim were also 10 Tefachim tall. The Copper Mizbayach or the Olah Mizbayach had a five Amah by five Amah base, once again adding up to the number 10.
This number 10 has the attribute
of being complete, just as we need a quorum of 10 men to complete the minyan
and recite Dvrei Kedusha in our Tefillot. May our prayers in our Mikdash Mi’at
bring about the rebuilding of the central Beis HaMikdash, with the coming of
the Go’el Tzedek, speedily in our days.
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