EXODUS XXXVIII:21-XL:38

THE SANCTITY OF TIME AND PLACE

The last chapters of Shemot conclude with instructions concerning the construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) in the desert. Many exegetes agree that the Mishkan is a response to the sin of the Egel Hazahav (Golden Calf), an admission that the people needed some tangible element to symbolize their relationship with God. On the other hand, the Mishkan served as a constant reminder of the God who had been responsible for their deliverance from Egyptian bondage.

The Torah (Pentateuch) insists on remembering that, even for a sacred task such as the construction of the Mishkan, one cannot violate the laws of Shabbat. The end does not justify the means. It is worth inquiring, then, whether Shabbat is holier than Mishkan. For example, one should not fast on Shabbat, so if Purim falls on a Sunday, Esther‘s fast is celebrated on the Thursday before and not on the Shabbat that precedes the holiday. On the other hand, if Yom Kippur coincides with Shabbat, the fast is held on that day.

In the Beit HaMikdash (Temple of Jerusalem),the Korban Tamid (daily sacrifice) was offered even on Shabbat, when there were additional sacrifices. Perhaps, the reason for the insistence on not doing construction work on the Mishkan on Shabbat is because the structure was consecrated only when it was completed. During the period of construction, it lacked sanctity. 

While the Mishkan and then the Beit HaMikdash represented the sanctity of the place, Shabbat symbolizes the sanctity of the time. In accordance with the above, a hierarchy cannot be established, however, the perception that “time” is more abstract and, therefore, should possess greater spirituality. 

Abraham Joshua Heschel had argued that the Bereshit account  crowns the sanctity of Shabbat as the culmination of the creation process of the first 6 days. It was only in the time of King David that the city of Jerusalem was consecrated, while the Torah does not mention it. On the contrary, the biblical text reads, “Wherever I make My Name mentioned, I will come to you and bless you. 

Instead, Menahem Ben-Yashar argues that Einstein showed that the universe has four dimensions: the 3 spatial dimensions plus the time dimension, and Judaism does not hierarchize between them. Holiness must pervade all dimensions. The Chachamimargue that the sanctity of Jerusalem goes back to the time of Creation, noting that the universe originated from the Foundation Stone of the Beit HaMikdash. 

Further, they maintain that Adam offered a sacrifice on an altar in Jerusalem. At the same time, it can be argued that, although the sanctity of Shabbat was ordained as the culmination of the process of Creation, its implementation only occurred in the wilderness with the ordinance that forbade the gathering of Man(manna) on that day.

Ben-Yashar goes on to point out that the first Mitzvah (religious instruction) that Avraham (Abraham) received, “Leave your land…”, is a reference to a place, “to the land that I will show you”, and not to a time coordinate. The Bible is a text of history and geography, time and place, sacred holidays and land. Perhaps the highest degree of holiness is attained when the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) enters the holiest site, the Kodesh HaKodashim of the Beit HaMikdash, on the holiest day: Yom Kippur. In a way, it is a renewed visit to Mount Sinai, just as Moshe (Moses) did not eat or drink; likewise, the Kohen Gadoland the people abstain from food on that day.

A structural difference between the concepts of “time” and “place” tipped the scales in favor of time. The long exile of the Jewish people prevented Jerusalem from continuing to be the center of worship. However, the notion of time, festivities, and the timing of prayers always accompanied them. While place is fixed, by nature, time is transportable.

While the Beit HaMikdash has a unique location, the synagogue automatically stands anywhere the Minyan (the necessary 10 males) is present. Nostalgia for the Ancestral Land during the long exile was a further expression of the feeling of being “incomplete,” for the absence of the concept of “place” in Jewish tradition over the past two millennia. The State of Israel has restored the notion of Shalem, “wholeness,” not only from a political and national point of view, but from the spiritual prism that has always been an indivisible part of the essence of Judaism.