Digging for Gold
BY RABBI MOSHE WEINBERGER
Our Sages teach us that “When the month of Adar enters, we increase in joy” (Ta’anit 29a). How can we experience this joy? What is the source of this happiness?
According to the Sfat Emet (Likutim, Chodesh Adar), “When the month of Adar enters” isn’t merely referring to a calendar date. Rather, when Adar truly penetrates our minds and hearts, we experience ever-increasing joy. What kind of lives are we living which require this pick-me-up? Some people’s hearts are broken by life’s circumstances. Others struggle to experience emotion and need Hashem’s help to open their hearts, as the verse says: “And I will remove the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh” (Yechezkel 36:26).
The word Adar in Hebrew comprises two words – Aleph dar – “the letter Aleph resides.” The letter Aleph, with its numerical value of one, refers to the One Master of the world, while “dar” means to reside or live. If we create space in our lives for the Infinite One to dwell within us, we will live joyously, regardless of our life circumstances.
During this time of year, we read the Torah portions about the Mishkan. The proximity of Adar to the Torah’s commandments about building the Mishkan reveals a secret to obtaining joy.
If G-d is infinite, how can we create a dwelling place for Him in a Mishkan or Mikdash? Even the wisest of men, King Solomon, struggled with this question when he stated, “Behold the Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain You; much less this Temple that I have erected” (Melachim I 8:27). How can anything in a finite world contain an infinite G-d? What is the purpose of the Mishkan?
The Rambam teaches that every Jewish man, woman, and child must contribute to building the Beit HaMikdash. This contribution can take many forms, including physical labor, artisanship, monetary donations, and applies to every Jew, great and small. When listing the Mishkan’s materials, the verse states: “And this is the offering that you shall take from them: gold, silver and copper” (Shemot 25:3). The Lubavitcher Rebbe questions the order of these materials. He cites a concept in halacha of “we ascend in holiness, and we do not descend” (Shabbat 21b). So why then are the materials not listed in ascending value, from copper to silver to gold?
The Rebbe answers that it all depends on how we experience the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. The Sinai experience was not merely the most profound Torah lecture ever given. It was an event that allowed each mortal Jew to experience the power of, “I am Hashem your G-d” (Shemot 20:2). G-d, Who fills the whole world, and Who cannot be grasped by the human mind, told each Jew that he is “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (ibid. 19:6). In effect, Hashem was telling each Jew: “You are the most precious to Me, you are pure gold!” If we remain oblivious to this, we can never attain true joy in life.
If a prominent and respected individual gives someone a compliment, the receiver feels elated, especially considering that it comes from someone they esteem and admire. When G-d Himself tells a person, “You are the most precious thing to Me,” the joy one feels is multiplied exponentially. It is as if Hashem is saying “I don’t follow physical rules in this Mishkan. I live in gold, and you are gold!”
When discussing the Mishkan’s curtains, they are described as “design of the work of a master weaver [ma’aseh choshev]” (Shemot 26:1). Rashi cites the Gemara (Yoma 72b) explaining that master weaving means: “weaving on both sides, one face from here and one face from there: a lion from this side and an eagle from that side.” According to Chazal, the outside and inside of the curtains were different and each side was beautiful.
Similarly, on Purim, events on the outside do not appear the same way on the inside. A Jew may appear ordinary on the outside but inside he is pure gold. A Jew is a “ma’aseh choshev,” a beautiful piece of artwork, different inside and out.
May we discover our inner beauty and realize how much the Infinite One cherishes us. May the realization that the Creator of the world finds us to be His most precious and dear creation enable us to re-accept the Torah with love and joy, fulfilling the words: “The Jews had light and joy, and gladness and honor” (Esther 8:16).
- Adapted by Dvora Miller Margolis.
Rabbi Moshe Weinberger is the founding Morah d’Atra of Congregation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, NY. Rabbi Weinberger is a noted speaker who draws upon a vast array of sources in his shiurim.