Rabbi Ari Kahn
Parashat P’kudei
Clouds, From Both Sides
As the book of Shmot draws to an end, a cloud envelops and
fills the newly completed Mishkan. In a general sense, we understand that this
is what makes the Mishkan operational:
The cloud
covered the Tent of Meeting, and God's glory filled the Mishkan. Moshe could
not come into the Tent of Meeting because the cloud rested on it and God's glory filled the Mishkan. [Later],
when [God] raised the cloud up from
the Mishkan, it [would be a signal] for the Israelites to move on, [and this
was true] in all their travels. When the cloud
did not rise, they would not move on, [waiting] until the day it did. God's cloud would remain on the Mishkan by
day, and fire was in it by night. This was visible to the entire House of
Israel, in all their travels. (Shmot 40:34-38)
What is the significance of this cloud? Although we may not
have paid proper attention to it, we have seen this cloud but not really
focused on it throughout the entire book of Shmot; we might say that the cloud
has been a major subtext. Thus, when the Jews first left Egypt, the cloud accompanied
them:
God went before them by day with a pillar of cloud, to guide them along the way. By
night it appeared as a pillar of fire, providing them with light. They could
thus travel day and night. The pillar of cloud
by day and the pillar of fire at night never left [their position] in front of
the people. (Shmot 13:21-22)
Always present, always in the background; like a vigilant
mother, the cloud had been watching over them, protecting them. Although we
generally think of clouds as ethereal, as a bit of heaven, the cloud had been
their constant companion in a very real sense, separating between their camp
and the Egyptian army, leading them through the sea, showing them the way
forward. In a similarly “real” sense, when the time came for the Revelation
at Sinai, God descended to earth, as it were, and appeared on the mountain in a
cloud:
God said to Moshe, 'I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that all the people will hear
when I speak to you. They will then believe in you forever.' (Shmot 19:9)
When Moshe was invited to ascend Mount Sinai to receive the
Tablets, he climbed heavenward, making his way through the cloud:
As Moshe climbed the mountain, the cloud covered the mountain. God's glory rested on Mount Sinai, and
it was covered by the cloud for six
days. On the seventh day, He called to Moshe from the midst of the cloud. To the Israelites, the
appearance of God's glory on the mountain top was like a devouring flame. Moshe
went into the cloud, and climbed to
the mountain top. Moshe remained on the mountain for forty days and forty
nights. (Shmot 24:15-18)
These verses, describing the Revelation, bear a striking
resemblance to the verses at the end of the book of Shmot that describe the
completion of the Mishkan. Perhaps by considering the similarities between
these two sets of verses, we may gain a better understanding of the final chord
sounded as Shmot comes to an end, and, as a result, of the Mishkan itself.
The key, it seems, is the cloud: According to tradition, the
protective cloud that had accompanied the Israelites out of Egypt dissipated when
the people worshipped the golden calf. This seems to represent a strange, stern
quid pro quo: The people were confused; they felt vulnerable and abandoned due
to Moshe’s
absence, and they failed to appreciate that God’s Presence was still very much with them in the form of the
protective cloud. And because they turned a blind eye toward the ever-present
manifestation of God, taking the cloud for granted, it was taken from them. This
is the price to be paid for not appreciating God’s protection: The protection is revoked. The cloud
vanishes.
In the aftermath of the sin, Moshe prays for forgiveness on
behalf of the nation. He pleads that God’s presence return and dwell among the people. Moshe goes so
far as to say that if God is not in their midst He may as well not go through
the motions of allowing the Jews to continue their journey to the Promised Land
(Shmot 33:15-16). Moshe understood that without God in their midst, their
efforts would be futile, meaningless.
This, then, is the true significance of the final verses of
Shmot: The cloud has returned. For the first time, the people are granted a
clear sign that the sin perpetrated at the foot of the mountain, the sin that
had banished the cloud, has been forgiven. The cloud expresses the rekindled
intimacy between the Jewish People and God. Now that they are once again
granted protection and guidance, they are able to move on, both spiritually and
geographically, continuing their quest to create a holy society in the Holy
Land.
For
a more in-depth analysis see: http://arikahn.blogspot.co.il/2016/03/audio-and-essays-parashat-pikudei.html
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