Shabbos Parashas Terumah - 5777
Shabbos Parashas Terumah - 5777
Rabbi Hal Miller
They shall make an Ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits in length, a cubit and a
half its height. [Shemos 25:10]
The Talmud in Megillah 10b and Yoma 21a proves that the Ark did not occupy any space in
the Mishkan. Simple measurements as laid out in the Torah text leave no room at all in the
Holy of Holies for the Ark itself, yet we know it fit, and not only that, it contained the Tablets
that Moshe brought down from the mountain, and various other items. Clearly something
miraculous was involved. If so, why did the Torah spend so much time giving us these
dimensions? What exactly is being measured?
One simple answer would be that from these measurements we can determine the sizes
of the items that were to be placed in the Ark. The Torah scroll was so long, and so big
around. The Tablets were such and such, etc. There are definitely things to learn from
these figures. But it is still difficult to understand the connection to the zero-space size
involved in the whole fixture.
Rav Moshe Feinstein cites Rashi on the two verses previous to ours, where the Torah tells
the people to "make a mishkan like what I show you". The operative word here, or actually
a single-letter prefix, is "like". Extending Rav Moshe's argument, we all, in all generations,
are commanded to make an Ark to contain the Torah, which must be filled fully, just like
the original acacia wood box was. In other words, these verses are allegorical, in that we
must make ourselves into these holy containers for Torah. But there must be yet another
explanation of the text.
Midrash Rabbah [Shemos 34:1] explains the question from Moshe's standpoint. Moshe
asks why G-d, whose Presence is everywhere and cannot be contained, directed Moshe
to build the Ark and Cherubim, upon which G-d would "reside". Moshe knows that this
Ark could not physically house G-d. The Midrash says that the point is not a physical
housing, but a spiritual one.
In this world, it is physicality that occupies space. Spirituality does not. But in the next
world, these are reversed. When the Torah directs us to build an Ark, it is referring to
the spiritual house, which we must fill with Torah and mitzvos, neither of which take up
physical space, but both of which bring us closer to G-d.