Pole Position

The Haftorah for Parshas Pekudei comes from Sefer Melachim and discusses the completion of the Binyan Bayis Rishon. The Haftorah for Parshas Vayakel speaks about the actual construction of the Bais Hamikdash and, although they are almost never both read in the same year, this Hatorah is a direct continuation. The Pessukim discuss the final steps of actually bringing Hashraas HaShechina to the completed Mikdash, as well as the words and actions of Shlomo Hamelech on that auspicious day. As we await the day on which we too will be Zoche to a similar experience, we can look to these Pessukim for lessons in how to bring that moment closer.

The Navi tells us that Shlomo gathered the leaders of the nation, as well as “Kol Ish Yisroel” at the Makom Hamikdash on Sukkos. At that time the Kohanim carried all the Keilim up to the Bais Hamikdash, and Korbanos “Asher Lo Yisafru V’Lo Yimnu Merov”, which were too numerous to count, were brought. Then, the Passuk tells us: “Vayaviu Hakohanim Es Aron Bris Hashem El Mekomo” the Aron itself was brought into its place “El Devir HaBayis El Kodesh Hakedoshim”. The Navi later tells us that once the Kohanim left the Mikdash, the Anan descended, and the Shechina was found in the Bais Hamikdash, indicating that the placement of the Aron was in fact the last part of this process. Before that, however, the Pessukim tell us about the Aron itself, and its placement within the Mikdash.

First, the Navi speaks about the Keruvim, whose wings covered the entity of the Aron including the Badim. Then, the Passuk speaks about those Badim: “Vayarichu Habadim VaYerau Roshei Habadim Min Hakodesh Al Pnei HaDivir V’Lo Yerau Hachutza”. Taken literally, this Passuk means that the Badim used to carry the Aron were elongated so that they were seen outside the Kodesh Hakedoshim. Rashi, based on a Gemarah in Yuma, asks the obvious question on these words: the Passuk says “VaYerau”, but also “V’Lo Yerau”, but both are not possible—were they seen or not seen? The answer given by Chazal is that were the Passuk to say that the Badim were seen from the Kodesh, one might think that they penetrated the Peroches, which separated the Kodesh from the Kodesh Hekedoshim. This was not the case however, rather the Badim protruded into the Peroches and a bulge could be seen from the Kodesh. Thus, they were “seen but not seen”.

Now, clearly it was not by chance that the Badim were visible from the Heichal, even only from behind the Peroches, there must have been intent. If we consider the dimensions of the Aron and the Kodesh Hakedoshim this becomes even more clear. The Badim that Moshe Rabbeinu made were ten Amos long, and fit into the Kodesh Hakedashim of the Mishkan, which was also ten Amos in length. The Kodesh Hakedashim of the Bais Hamikdash, however, was twenty Amos in length, so the Badim would not have been touching the Peroches under normal circumstances. This seems to be implied by the word “Vayarichu”, that the Badim were somehow made longer so that they were “seen but not seen.” In fact, there is a Machlokes among the Meforshim how this was accomplished.

The Ralbag writes that the Badim were not elongated by a Nes, as indicated by the word “Vayarichu” and they elongated. Instead, he suggests that new Badim were made to fit into the Aron of Moshe Rabbeinu such that they would touch the Peroches. The Radak, on the other hand, explains that the original Badim were kept, but it was their positioning, and that of the Aron itself, which caused them to touch the Peroches. He suggests that the Badim themselves were adjusted so that the majority of their length was on the side of the Aron closest to the Heichal, and that the Aron itself was placed closer to that wall as well so that the Badim would in fact touch the Peroches.

There is another detail in the Binyan Bais Hamikdash that makes the positioning of the Badim so notable. Earlier, when describing the structure of the Heichal and Dvir, the Passuk mentions “Shtei Dalsos Atzei Beroshim”, two solid wood doors, which separated the Kodesh from the Kodesh Hakedoshim. The Braisa D’Meleches Hamishkan, however, notes something amazing about these doors: they were never closed. Because the Badim protruded into the Peroches, the doors could not close. Shlomo Hamelech build doors that could close the Kodesh Hakedoshim off from the Kodesh, but they were in essence inoperable because of the protruding Badim.

It is clear, then, that having the tips of the Badim visible from within the Kodesh was of prime importance. The placement of the Aron and Badim, and perhaps even the construction of the Badim themselves, were done with this end in mind, and the doors of the Kodesh Hakedoshim were rendered unusable because of it. Given all these facts, we must of course ask the simple question: why? What was the message of these Badim that made it so vital that they could be seen from the Heichal, where the Kohanim doing the Avodah would notice them?

In order to discern what their message might have been, we must first understand the essence of the Badim themselves—what do they signify?

When thinking about the Badim that Moshe was instructed to make, which were the same Badim that were used until the time of Shlomo Hamelech, and perhaps even after, there are two things that come to mind. First, is a Halacha that is told to Moshe Rabbeinu at the time of the Meleches Hamishkan. Moshe is instructed to make the Badim and insert them into the Tabaos, the rings on the Aron: “B’Tabaos HaArom Yihiyu HaBadim Lo Yosiru Mimenu”. The Badim were to remain in the Tabaos forever, never being removed for any purpose. Meforshim point out that some of the other Keilim had Tabaos and Badim, but this Halacha did not apply to them. Only the Badei HaAron were permanent fixtures. This would seem to indicate that the significance of the Badim, their message, is immutably connected to that of the Aron—the two are inseparable.

This fact, that the Badim were never removed from the Aron, is even more interesting if we take into account a Gemarah in Sotah that discusses the arrival of the Aron in Eretz Yisroel. Based on the Pessukim in Sefer Yehoshua, the Gemarah understands that in order to cause the Yarden to split, allowing Bnei Yisroel to cross, the Kohanim who were carrying the Aron stepped into the water. Then, when Klal Yisroel had safely crossed, the Kohanim stepped back out of the Yarden and the water resumed flowing. The Gemarah then notes a difficulty: the Kohanim would have been on the opposite side of the Yarden than the rest of Klal Yisroel, with the flowing river between them. How then did they safely reach the other side? The Gemara concludes: “Nasa Aron Es Nosav V’Avar”. The Aron carried its bearers and they crossed the Yarden. In other words, a wonderous Nes occurred and those carrying the Aron were lifted over the Yarden to safety.

Although it may seem as though this was a one-time Nes, that the Aron was Noseh Es Nosav, this is not necessarily the case. The Gemrah there infers that later Uzah was punished for thinking that he had to save the Aron from falling because he should have made a Kal V’Chomer: if the Aron can be Noseh Es Nosav, it surely can carry itself. We see then that “Nasa Aron Es Nosav” was not a Hora’as Shah, a one-time occurrence—it was part of its essence. The Aron had the ability to carry those who carried it, and according to some, even in the Midbar when it seemed that the Bnei Kehas were carrying it, it was in fact carrying them.

The Badim, which themselves were created “LaSes Es HaArno Bahem”, for the purposes of carrying the Aron, are certainly tied to this Nes. They were never to be removed, but, at least sometimes, were not even truly necessary. Surely there is a reason for the fact that the Din of “Lo Yasuru” applies only to the Badim that are connected to the reality of “Nasa Aron Es Nosav”.

In order to understand the message of the Badim, it would helpful to understand the meaning and depth of the fact that “Nasa Aron Es Nosav”.

The Gemarah in Taanis Yerushalmi makes a fascinating statement about the Luchos: “Masa’an Arbaim Sa’ah V’Haksav Haysa Savlan”. The Luchos, which were made of stone, weighed forty Sa’ah, a tremendous amount, but the Ksav, the words upon them supported the weight, enabling Moshe Rabbeinu to carry them. When Klal Yisroel was Choteh, however, the Ksav left the Luchos, and Moshe could no longer bear them, causing them to fall and break.

The Recanti, in his Pirush on Parshas Ki Sisa, explains this phenomenon in simple terms: the Ksav represented the Shechina, the Kedusha of the Luchos, which made it possible for a human to carry them. When that Kedusha left, because of the Chet HaEgel, the Luchos could no longer be carried. This, he explains, is the case whenever Hakadosh Baruch Hu removes Himself from anything physical, so to speak: it becomes too heavy and can no longer easily be carried. As something of an example that we can easily understand, the Recanti points out that when a person leaves this world, and the Chelek Eloka MiMal departs, the physical body becomes much heavier. Thus it is the Kedusha that exists in each of us, in the form of our Neshama, that enables us to even stand.

Another example of this affect, notes the Recanti, is Nasa Aron Es Nosav. The Aron was an item of such extreme Kedusha that those who seemed to be carrying it were not bearing any weight. In reality it was the Kedusha in the Aron that allowed them to even consider lifting it. The increased Kedusha of the Aron made it not only weightless but even allowed those “carrying” it to themselves be carried along with it. Nasa Aron Es Nosav was not a Nes in the strictest sense of the word, it was a reality that existed because of the Kedusha of the Aron.

It was this reality that the Badim signified and this message that they carried beyond the Peroches.

Moshe Rabbeinu was commanded to make Badim, and told “Lo Yasuru Mimeno”, not because the Aron needed people to carry it, but because people had to hold on to the Aron. The message of the Badim is that Nasa Aron Es Nosav applies in every circumstance. The Kedusha that exists in our life is what makes it possible for us to exist, and we need Badim to grasp onto it.

This is the message of Nasa Aron Es Nosav and perhaps this was the intent of ensuring the Badim could be seen from outside the Kodesh Hakedoshim. If one looked into the Bais Hamikdash, he could not see the Aron, but he could perceive the Badim. He could sense their message—that Kedusha supports us, and not visa versa, and that we must find ways to hold onto it so that we may continue to function.

The Gemarah in Yoma tells us that “Aron B’Mikomo Nignaz”, the Aron was hidden in its spot. After the Churban Bayis Rishon the Aron was hidden exactly where it stood and remains there to this day. The source for the Gemarah in our Passuk which ends with the words “Ad Hayom Hazeh.” The message would seem to be clear: even today, when we cannot see the Badei HaAron, their message resonates. We must take heed of their lesson, that increased Kedusha makes it easier for us to carry ourselves through the world. In this day and age, the Din of “Lo Yosuru Mimeno” is even more relevant—we must find ways to attach ourselves to Kedusha, which will lighten our load and allow us to soar to even greater heights.