Parshas Terumah (5778)
Two of the most important vessels that were built by Moses to be placed in the Tabernacle that the Jewish people erected in the desert were the Holy Ark and the Table. The Ark contained the Ten Commandments engraved on the Tablets, and the Table held the Showbread. The dimensions of the Holy Ark, as recorded in the Torah, were “two and a half cubits its length; a cubit and a half its width; and a cubit and a half its height” (Exodus 25:10). The Table’s dimensions were two cubits in length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height (ibid 25:23).
The Bible commentators point to the difference between the two measurements. Whereas the measurements of the Table are almost all whole numbers, the Ark’s measurements are all fractions – 2 ½ x 1 ½ x 1 ½. In a Torah written by a Purposeful Creator, these numbers can’t possibly be arbitrary. Surely, there must be some deeper reason for this discrepancy.
The Kli Yakar, an early Torah commentator, explains the different measurements in the following manner: Each vessel in the Tabernacle represents a different vehicle, or channel, through which G-d exerts His influence in this world.
The Ark in the Holy of Holies, in which was placed the Two Tablets, was where G-d rested His Divine presence in the world – it symbolizes spirituality and the search for meaning. The Table with its Showbread, on the other hand, represents G-d’s providing food and sustenance for the entire world.
The Ark and the Table are thus synonymous with the two basic needs that every human being has – the physical aspect of man needs food and material things, while the soul yearns to grow spiritually and to connect to G-d.
What the differing measurements of the Ark and the Table are teaching us is an extremely important lesson in life:
As far as our physical needs, we should try to feel content and full and satisfied with whatever we have – just as the Table’s cubits were whole. The Talmud says, “Who is wealthy? One who is happy with what he has”. Wealth and the contentment that comes with it, all depend on our attitude.
[Years ago I had a friend who was only looking to marry a girl who had lots and lots of money. I once reminded him of that old cliché - “Money doesn’t buy happiness”, to which he replied, “Who’s looking for happiness? I just want the money!” We sometimes think the happiness will come later, first let’s get the money ... but it doesn’t always work that way.]
With regard to spirituality and the search for meaning, however, it should be just the opposite. We should never be completely satisfied. We should always see ourselves as only halfway there, as symbolized by the half-cubits of the Ark’s dimensions.
It seems that these days we’ve got things a little mixed up. Many people spend their entire active lives making more and more money and rising higher and higher on the corporate ladder. A lot is never enough.
And when it comes to their children, they will do whatever it takes to open up for them every possible option. No one has ever heard a Jewish mother tell her 10-year-old son, “So you want to become a janitor when you grow up and make an average salary – that’s perfectly fine with me! I don’t care if you don’t become a doctor! As long as you’re happy!” We’re just not satisfied until our kids get into the best schools and become the big doctor, lawyer, etc. ….
But for some reason, when it comes to the pursuit of spirituality and Jewish knowledge, we are quite content with whatever it is that our kids (and we ourselves) know. There’s a world of inspirational and useful information in the Torah – 3500 years of history to be studied, mystical insights that probe the deeper meaning of life, answers to many of our most difficult questions, and so much more. And these days – with the help of the internet - we can easily gain access to virtually all the wisdom and depth that Judaism has to offer. Yet we often say to ourselves, “I know what I know, I’m happy with it, and that’s all I need.”
We would do well to learn the lesson of the differing measurements of the Ark and the Table. Even as we strive to make an even better living for ourselves and our children, we should feel fortunate and grateful and content and satisfied with the good things that G-d has already given us. And when it comes to Torah study and the pursuit of Jewish knowledge and all the depth of meaning that comes with it, we should never be satisfied – a little Jewish knowledge is never enough!
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=501