“Fossil Fuel” for the Sanctuary

The Mishkan and subsequent Holy Temples correspond to the human body. The holiness from the three divisions of the Sanctuary would flow through the human body. PIKUDEI PIKUDEI

Mishkan=Human Body=Mitzvos

According to the Zohar, the Mishkan, the portable Temple the Jews built in the desert—the completion of which we read about in this week’s parsha—corresponded to the human body. Our Sages also tell us that the human body corresponds to the Commandments of the Torah. The equation this yields is: Mishkan=body=Mitzvos.

Translating this “mathematical” formula into simple English, it suggests that when a Jew uses his or her body to fulfill the Mitzvos, that body becomes a Sanctuary for G-d.

All Components

One can take the parallel even further. The Mishkan consisted of many parts. Yet its PIKUDEI basic structure, as was the basic structure of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem that was modeled after the Mishkan, comprised three sections the:

(a) Outer courtyard;

(b) Sanctuary itself, and the

(c) Holy of Holies, or the inner sanctum that was separated from the Sanctuary by a curtain.

If we take the Zohar’s association of the human body to the Mishkan, we must say that the human being also consists of three main parts. They are the:

(a) Base physical aspects of the body, which includes the digestive systems, the breathing apparatus, the sexual organs, etc.

(b) Emotional faculties, associated with the heart and the

(c) Intellectual faculties associated with the brain.

The obvious message from the above is that to make a Sanctuary for G-d one must involves all components of the human being.

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Three Stages of Human Life

According to some commentators the three sections of the Mishkan can also be said to correspond to three stages of the human being’s life: Youth, middle age and old age.

It may be suggested that these three stages correspond to the three components of the human body.

(a) During one’s youth, the more physical, hormonal and sensual components of the person are active.

(b) During middle-age a person develops a sense of who he truly loves, the emotions become more refined.

(c) In one’s later years, one’s pursuit of intellectual goals is not overshadowed by the physical and emotional interests that are more dominant in the earlier two stages of life.

Once again, the obvious lesson from the parallel of the three stages of life to the three components of the Mishkan, is that every stage of life must be utilized for the goal of PIKUDEI making a Mishkan, within one’s life, and particularly, within one’s area of strength.

In one’s youth, one should try to channel youthful passion and energy into Mitzvos, middle age depth of emotion should be utilized for cultivating a love for G-d and everything G-dly.

Old-age, should not be squandered on golf courses, tennis courts, casinos, etc., beyond, of course, the needed recreation for health, but on deepening one’s understanding of Judaism. And, indeed, in recent years, we’ve seen an explosion of participation of senior citizens in Jewish educational programs.

Space, Time and Energy

On a still deeper level, the ancient Kabalistic work, Sefer Yetzirah, teaches that all of existence consists of olam (world or space), shanah (year or time), and nefesh (soul or energy). So far, we’ve explained how the space of the human body consists of three parts: lower body, heart and brain. Likewise, human time also can be divided into the PIKUDEI three stages of youth, middle age and old age. One can also find three aspects of energy within the human being, each one corresponding to a different part of the Mishkan.

(a) On the lowest level, we have a soul that animates our body and enables us to function on a basic level. This part of the soul is responsible for all of our physical, emotional, intellectual and even spiritual identities and endeavors.

(b) But there is a deeper part of our being, the sub-conscious, hidden part of our personality that we are frequently not even aware that we possess. And while we may have created a Sanctuary for G-d by investing our conscious faculties and energies into serving G-d, we may still have a spiritual vacuum beneath the surface. One must invest time and effort to dig deeper within our souls to find and utilize our subconscious energies for good.

Indeed, many of the commandments we were commanded to do are “spiritual-drills” that PIKUDEI can excavate the sub-conscious spiritual terrain of our soul, clean it and harness the spiritual “fossil-fuel” we can tap into for the creation of a Sanctuary.

(c) But there is also a deeper level of our soul, its very essence. This essence eludes discovery even when we dig within our soul to find its subconscious nature.

On special occasions, however, such as at the end of Yom Kippur, while dancing on Simchas Torah, during the festivities of Purim, on the last day of Passover, or in a deep crisis situation, this essence comes to the fore.

Three Temples

The Jewish people built two Temples in Jerusalem and the third will be built imminently by Moshiach. Chassidic literature expounds on the differences between each of these sanctuaries.

In light of the above analysis it may be suggested that the:

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(a) First Temple made a Sanctuary out of the conscious spiritual levels of our soul.

(b) Second Temple (where the Ark with the Tablets it contained was hidden in a subterranean chamber) paralleled the Sanctuary we build within the subconscious inner dimensions of our soul. However, the (c) Third Temple will enable us to create a sanctuary out of all our soul’s dimensions, including its very essence.

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From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Vayakhel-Pikudei by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.