Landing or Building? – Beshalach
We know who built the Mishkan, the first and second Batei Mikdash – Moshe, Shlomo and Ezra. The million dollar question is “Who will build the third and everlasting Beit Hamikdash?”
The answer (or at least part of it) appears in our parsha. –
תְּבִאֵמוֹ וְתִטָּעֵמוֹ בְּהַר נַחֲלָתְךָ מָכוֹן לְשִׁבְתְּךָ פָּעַלְתָּ ה' מִקְּדָשׁ ה' כּוֹנְנוּ יָדֶיךָ (שמות טו, יז).
From the pshat of the passuk, it “appears” that the third Beit Hamikdash will be built by HKB”H Himself - כּוֹנְנוּ יָדֶיךָ – “Your” hands, HKB”H’s hands and not “our” hands.
In fact this issue is a matter of “dispute” between –
vs.
This dispute of Chazal extends into an epic Machloket Rishonim, between Rashi and the Rambam, with Rashi holding according to opinion a. of the Zohar and the Tanchuma, and the Rambam holding according to opinion b. the Yerushalmi.
Rashi’s method is detailed in the Gemara in masechet Sukka.
The Mishna (Sukka 41a) describes a decree of R’ Yochanan ben Zakai regarding the new barley grain harvest. In the time of the Beit Hamikdash it was permitted to begin eating/using grains from the new barley harvest (חדש), only after the Korban Ha’Omer was offered on the second day of Pesach, the 16th of Nisan, in the morning.
That was if everything went according to plan. However, probably due to an incident that delayed the offering of the Omer one year in the Mikdash, they made a חומרה and ruled that from then on it was forbidden to eat/use the new barley grains the entire day of the 16th of Nisan, to eliminate any doubt and from then on it was only permitted to start eating/using them on the following day – the 17th of Nissan, the third day of Pesach.
After the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed and the Omer could no longer be offered, the halacha reverted back to the original ruling (Mi’dOraita בעצם היום הזה), that the new grains could again be eaten from sunrise on the 16th. R’ Yochanan Ben Zakai, however, decreed to continue to forbid use of the new grains entirely on the 16th and Am Yisrael would have to wait until the following day (17th) to begin using the grains – in memory of the Beit Hamikdash.
The Gemara then asks – What was the purpose of this decree? (waiting until the 17th of Nisan even though the Beit Hamikdash no longer exists) and the answer given is - that the third Beit Hamikdash, when it is rebuilt בבי"א, will be rebuilt במהרה (rapidly).
The Gemara says that R’ Yochanan Ben Zakai was afraid of the scenario that on the 16th of Nisan (either the eve of the 16th at night, or early the following morning on the day of the 16th) the third Beit Hamikdash would be rebuilt and they would need to get organized to again bring the Omer and the Omer might be delayed till later in the day of the 16th and he therefore forbade use on the entire day of the 16th of the new grains.
Rashi there asks “What does the Gemara mean that the third Beit Hamikdash would be rebuilt either on the eve of the 16th (at night) or early in the morning on the day of the 16th? The Torah says that building the Mishkan/Mikdash can only be done during the day (וביום הקים את המשכן), not at night. Similarly it is forbidden to work on building the Mishkan/Mikdash on Shabbat (and also on Yomtov – Shavuot 15b), so how could the third Beit HaMikdash be rebuilt on the eve of the 16th at night or early in the morning on the 16th of Nisan, which is Yomtov?” Rashi answers “The above issurim of building at night and Yomtov refer to the first two Batei Mikdash, that were built by man, however, the third Beit Hamikdash will be built by HKB”H and that is what the Gemara means “rapidly” – it will descend from Heaven ready-made on the 16th, as it says (and Rashi quotes a passuk from this week’s parsha, Shirat Hayam) - מִקְּדָשׁ ה' כּוֹנְנוּ יָדֶיךָ (שמות טו, יז), “Your hands” (not our hands).
From this, it appears that Rashi is of the opinion that the third Beit Hamikdash will not be built by human hands, but will “land”, ready built, directly from Heaven, (for wont of a better description) like some kind of “spaceship” that descends from the sky, landing on Har Habayit in the flash of an eye, flattening and replacing whatever currently is there.
The Tosfot concurs with this and also says that the third Beit Hamikdash will not be built by human hands, but by HKB”H Himself and will therefore endure forever, unlike the first and second Batei Mikdash that were built by human hands and destroyed. Tosfot bases this on the Zohar - ובגין דא בטורא דא אתבני בי מקדשא על ידא דקודשא בריך הוא יהא קיימא לדרי דרין (בראשית כח) – “On this mountain, where the Mikdash will be built by HKB”H, it will endure forever”.
Interestingly Rashi himself, in a number of other places, including on the famous passuk from this week’s parsha (שמות טו, יז) above, says that the third Mikdash will be rebuilt by Tzaddikim (referring to a Gemara in Ktubot 5a). In two psukkim in Yechezkel (43:11 and 45:1) Rashi again says that Am Yisrael will build the final Mikdash. Later on in Sukka 52b and also in Ktubot 62b, Rashi says that the third Mikdash will be built by human hands.
Despite the above discrepancies in Rashi, it has become commonly accepted that Rashi’s “bottom line” opinion is that the third Mikdash will be built by HKB”H and not by man, according to opinion a. above, followed also by Tosfot,
The Rambam, on the other hand, in Mishna Torah (הל' בית הבחירה א, א) says that the third Beit Hamikdash will be built by human hands and he bases this on the passuk וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם. – “You (Am Yisrael) build me a Mikdash, etc.”
The Meiri (סוכה מא ע''א, ר''ה ל ע''א) asks “How does the Rambam explain the Gemara in Sukka above (if the Mikdash is built by human hands), that it is built on Yomtov, contrary to halacha?” He answers that that the Rambam is referring to a situation where in the heat of the moment of the Geulah and their enthusiasm to rebuild the Mikdash, the Beit Din will mistakenly instruct Am Yisrael to build the Mikdash at night, or on Yomtov. The Meiri gives a second answer - that there exists a minority opinion (the halacha is not according to that opinion) that it is possible to build the Mikdash at night.
There are numerous Mefarshim that try to reconcile the two opinions of Rashi and the Rambam.
The Vilna Gaon (אדרת אליהו, דברים פרק א, י) says physically the third Beit Hamikdash will be built by human hands, but the power to build it will emanate from HKB”H –
"כמו שנאמר בארון וכן בבית המקדש (מלכים א ו, ז) אבן שלמה מסע נבנה, שהם מרימים את האבן אבל לא היו המה מרימים אלא שנתן ה' יתברך כח והרים את ידם, וזהו שאמר ידיך כוננו אותם".
The Aruch La’Ner (סוכה מא ע''א ד''ה ברש''י) also tries to reconcile Rashi and the Rambam, saying that there are “two” Batei Mikdash. One is the physical structure that is made by man and the second is a spiritual Mikdash that will descend from Heaven (like the Neshama in the human body).
The Maharam Schik (יו''ד סי' ריג) says that the opinions a. and b. above between the Tanchuma and the Yerushalmi are referring to the two types of Geulah. The Geulah called אחישנה, will occur rapidly, due to Am Yisrael’s elevated status and in this case the third Mikdash will descend in the blink of an eye, from Heaven, ready-made (Tanchuma). The Geulah called בעיתה will occur when Am Yisrael is not deserving of it, but HKB”H will redeem us anyway and in this case the third Mikdash will be built by man.
The Maharil Diskin (הערות לערוך לנר, הערה 362) says most of the third Beit Hamikdash will descend from Heaven, but the doors will be built by man.
To summarize: We have a מחלוקת חז"ל between the Tanchuma/Zohar and the Yerushalmi, continued by Rashi and the Rambam, regarding who will build the third Beit Hamikdash - HKB”H or man?. There are numerous Mefarshim who try to reconcile the two opinions.
The above is a well-known machloket and I have not been mechadesh anything here. The reason I brought it here is firstly because it is all based on a passuk from our parsha, but also for a much more important reason.
As we can see from the above the issue is not entirely clear cut. Rashi, himself, in different places, voices the two opposing opinions. Even the Tanchuma itself (פקודי, יא) seems to hold the opposite of what it says above (כי תשא, יג). There is a “concerted” attempt by many Mefarshim to try to reconcile the “supposed” conflicting opinions (if indeed they do conflict).
There are different streams in the Torah world today regarding the Beit Hamikdash. The common denominator between them all is that they all want the third Beit Hamikdash to be rebuilt. The only question is how and when.
In the first stream are those who believe that we should not be actively doing anything to rebuild the third Beit Hamikdash. When Mashiach comes, it will descend ready-made from Heaven with everything in it and any attempt on our part to research, experiment, rebuild, etc. is a total waste of time, better spent on other, more important things such as studying the parts of the Torah that have practical application today and not Kodshim, doing tshuva, working on our middot and raising our spiritual level so that we will be worthy of Geulah.
In the second stream are those who believe that we should be active in rebuilding the Beit Hamikdash, but not right now. The time is not yet right for it. It is important to fervently sing Leshana Habah BiYerushalayim Habenuyah after the Pesach Seder and dance around the bima on Motzei Yom Kippur, and keep the idea of the Beit Hamikdash alive, but on the “back burner”. Reality has many more pressing matters to deal with first that take precedence over the Beit Hamikdash. such as conversions, reforming the justice system, etc. They truly want the Beit Hamikdash to be rebuilt, but do not really want to be an active participant in the process.
In the third stream are those for whom the Beit Hamikdash is their entire life. Every waking (and sleeping) moment they feel the deficiency in their existence because the Beit Hamikdash is not a reality and they are actively doing everything in their power to work towards changing that reality. The Beit Hamikdash for them is the focus around which everything else revolves - every thought, every action, every interaction.
The truth is that we should all be part of the third stream and the fact that we are not is not out of laziness, or maliciousness, or any other deliberate reason. It is predominantly because of – ignorance! It is because the vast majority of us do not really understand what the Beit Hamikdash is. We perhaps think we do, but we don’t really. If we did, we would switch overnight to the third stream.
Most of us think of the Beit Hamikdash as some romantic, nostalgic concept from way back when, or some starry-eyed, utopian vision of the future that appears to be nowhere in sight, something with no practical implications right here and now. How wrong we are.
The Beit Hamikdash is part and parcel of each and every one of us - right now, every second of every day. The Beit Hamikdash is the blueprint of our anatomy and physiology, the way our cells divide, the way they produce energy, the way our brain works, the hormonal balance in our bodies, how we utilize energy from photosynthesis of plants, how we speak, think, act, react. It is the blueprint of everything in our natural world, atoms, electrons, gravity, waves, simple harmonic motion, radiation, light. The Beit Hamikdash is the blueprint of our world and everything in it. If we truly want to understand how our world works, we first need to understand the blueprint – the Beit Hamikdash. Sir Isaac Newton, one of the greatest scientists who ever lived, knew that! That is why he spent a major portion of his life studying the Beit Hamikdash (this is a true fact).
But it is more than that. The Beit Hamikdash is not only a blueprint for the structure and methodology, but also for the morality of our world.
It is true – the ultimate reason we observe the תרי"ג mitzvot is simply because HKB”H commanded us to. Understanding the reasoning behind them is not mandatory - simply observing them is enough to serve HKB”H ביראה. However, יראה is not the most elevated form of Avodah, אהבה is! Chazal urge us to delve deep into the Torah, הֲפֹךְ בָּהּ וַהֲפֹךְ בַּהּ דְּכֹלָּא בַּהּ, so that we will obtain a deeper understanding of the reasoning behind the mitzvot and when we do so, it enables us to serve HKB”H with אהבה. Since the Beit Hamikdash is the blueprint, it is the gateway to understanding the reasoning behind the mitzvot. Every tiny facet of the Beit Hamikdash is a key that unlocks and reveals the profound principles of the entire Torah and the reason for our existence.
I will explain it with a mashal. Everyone knows that in order get out of bed every morning and be in time for the bus, you have to wake up at a specific time. That is the theory. However the theory – knowing you have to be up at 6am - is insufficient. A few of us are blessed with an “internal clock” that wakes our bodies up every day at the same time, but for most, we need a “gadget” to help us with that - it is called an alarm clock! We set it to wake us up every day and the “breee…eep” of the alarm shakes us out of our slumber and gets us to the minyan (and to work) on time.
We all know that we should be doing chessed, we should be שמח בחלקנו, be humble, fearful of sin, diligent in our Avodat Hashem and the rest of the תרי"ג mitzvot and middot that are required from us. That is the theory. We learn it from studying the Torah. For a select few of us, that is sufficient, we have an “internal compass” that makes us behave the right way naturally, out of instinct. However, most of us need a “gadget” to give us a little prod, a “breeep” in our ear, in our minds, in our hearts to help make the theory a reality. That is what the Beit Hamikdash is - an entire world of “gadgets”, a Menorah, a Shulchan Lechem Hapanim, the smell of the Ketoret wafting all the way down to Jericho, the clang of the Levi’im opening the doors to Heichal every morning signaling the start of the Avodah, the Mizbeach, the אש תמיד, the Kiyor, the Shira, the trumpets, the Bigdei Kehuna, etc. etc. The entire complex is rife with “gadgets”, visual, tactile, auditory, aural stimuli to give us a little prod, via sight, touch, sound, smell – to trigger something within us, to reinforce the theory we studied from the sefer in the yeshiva, to make the theory reality. Each of these “gadgets/aids” teaches us fundamental principles of morality and behavior that we can never truly and fully fathom without the real, “multisensory”, full-body experience.
Yes, in order to hasten the Geulah, we need to all study more Torah, do tshuva, give more tzedaka, do more chessed, improve our middot, etc. But the only true and effective way of understanding these concepts and how to observe them the correct way, is to study them using the blueprint, the Beit Hamikdash. Unless we understand the components of the Beit Hamikdash, what each is for, how each is used and why, we will never truly understand the true Avodah HKB”H requires of us. The Beit Hamikdash is the model of how we should be living our lives and serving HKB”H. This is why the Mishkan/Mikdash is in the center of the camp, why all of Am Yisrael are required to pay pilgrimage – because it is the throbbing heart of Am Yisrael and the Torah that needs to be experienced in the flesh.
The Beit Hamikdash is not some “foreign”, “distant”, “not-currently-relevant” concept that we should not be devoting time to. It is the key to everything that we hold dear, that we strive for. We should all be devoting a large majority of our time to studying it and understanding what true Avodat Hashem really is and how we should truly be living (with the emphasis on LIVING) our lives according to the Torah.
It begins with curiosity and exploration. There is no shortage of amazing, cutting edge sforim that really embody and convey the essence of the Avodah in the Beit Hamikdash, each with its own specific focus. “Meir Panim” on the Lechem Hapanim, HaRav Moshe Odess’ “Bilvavi Mishkan Evne” on the Korbanot, Prof. Zohar Amar’s “Chameshet Minei Dagan” and “Ketoret”, and many more. There is a small “army” of dedicated people out there that are literally turning the clock back 2000 years and restoring עטרה ליושנה, by peeling away the mysteries of the Beit Hamikdash layer by layer and understanding how and why each component is like it is. Reading these books is not a stroll down memory lane, it is a revelation of how little we understand the Torah – and how the world truly works (just like Isaac Newton thought).
Once your curiosity has been piqued and your eyes are opened to this (unfortunately) mostly “hidden” world, your life will be transformed. You will not be able to live your life the same way. You will be imbued by a new sense of purpose, a sense of urgency, a sense of responsibility to share with others the jewels and indescribable beauty you have discovered. I know because it happened to me.
Getting back to the beginning of the shiur. This is not an “either/or” situation, the Tanchuma or the Yerushalmi, Rashi or the Rambam …. and never the twain shall meet. This is a symbiosis between both sides, which is what the Mefarshim are trying to tell us - by reconciling the two faces of this issue.
Undoubtedly the third Beit Hamikdash will descend from Heaven and reach down and connect with the man-made third Beit Hamikdash which the Ramabam paskens lehalacha – “We all have an obligation to build”, to participate in building – to study it, to learn from it, to apply the principles in our lives and our actions. Even to work towards practically rebuilding and restoring the components. The keilim - the Menorah, the Shulchan, the Mizbeach, etc. The raw materials - the oil for lighting, the Solet, the Ketoret, the Shemen Hamishcha, etc. The techniques – Shira of the Levi’im, baking the Menachot, Zrikat Hadam, Kemitza, etc.
Even if the Beit Hamikdash miraculously descends tomorrow like a UFO from Heaven, unless we make an effort now to study, understand and prepare for it, we will not know what to do with it! It will literally be like a UFO.
After 120 years when we ascend to Heaven, HKB”H will ask us ציפיתם לישועה? – did you yearn for the Geulah? What will we reply? “Yes, I sang Leshana Habah after the Pesach seder and Neilah. I cried on Tisha Be’av during the piyut of the Asara Harugei Malchut. I read a fascinating parsha sheet on Shabbat Truma about the Mishkan”. Is that what HKB”H truly means ציפיתם לישועה? or does He mean – did we spend every second of our lives yearning for the Geulah and actively working towards achieving it?
We all yearn for the Geulah, for an idyllic future where we have world peace, שפע, time to sit under our vines and fig trees and study Torah, total control over our yetzer harah, etc. We all actually yearn for what the Beit Hamikdash is, we just call it by different names, instead of calling it by its rightful name and actively working towards achieving it.
Yes, Moshe sings as part of Shiram Hayam מִקְּדָשׁ ה' כּוֹנְנוּ יָדֶיךָ, but Moshe also says as part of Tehilim (90) תפילה למשה איש הא-לקים –
וִיהִי נֹעַם ה' אֱ-לֹקֵינוּ עָלֵינוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ כּוֹנְנָה עָלֵינוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ כּוֹנְנֵהוּ
It is a combination of כּוֹנְנוּ both by HKB”H and us and it is a combination of His hands and our hands. That is the punch line of Shirat Hayam! (Meir Panim, מבוא).
