Parashat Pekudei 5782

by Rabbi Margie Cella

In this last parashah of the book of Shemot (Exodus) we find a full inventory of the materials Bezalel used to make the mishkan (tabernacle), its furnishings, and the priestly garments for Aaron and his sons. After doing everything that God had commanded, he brought the finished component(s) to Moses, whom God instructed to erect the tabernacle and anoint Aaron and his sons for the priesthood. After he did so, a cloud rested on the tent by day and fire at night, only moving from that spot when the people had to move to a new location.

The events described in the haftarah occurred in approximately 952 BCE, when Solomon finished the work on the Temple, and held a dedication celebration on the holiday of Sukkot, beginning by bringing in all the treasure King David had collected for its functioning. While he himself led the community in offering innumerable animal sacrifices, the elders of the nation, at his command, brought up the ark, containing only the two tablets Moses had received at Sinai, and placed it in the Holy of Holies.

Next the tabernacle and all its vessels were transferred to their new, permanent home. Thus, Jerusalem became the religious center of the nation of Israel. The connection between the parashah and the haftarah is obvious. The centerpiece of both structures is the ark and its precious contents (Exodus 40:20, 1 Kings 8:9). God’s presence is manifested in both structures by the presence of a cloud (Exodus 40:34-35, 1 Kings 8:10-11). The dedication of the mishkan culminates with Moses blessing the assembled nation (Exodus 39:43); similarly, Solomon also blessed the people at the dedication of the Temple (1 Kings 8:14). The absorption of the ark and, indeed, the entire tabernacle into the structure of the Temple signaled a continuity of worship to the people of Israel: what had served a nomadic people traveling in the desert became the foundation of the permanent structure serving a people settled in the land.

Unfortunately, we know today that Solomon’s Temple, as well as the Second Temple did not withstand the test of time. The sacred ark has been lost to history. Today each of us is called to make a place for the presence of the Shekhinah (feminine divine presence of God) within our soul.