Holy Temple: A contradiction in terms? (Parshat Naso)
I have long argued that the Mishkan, the Tent of Assembly, that was so aesthetically, rigorously and meticulously crafted in the desert was never meant to be either temporary or fixed base. The effort involved, the costliness of the materials, indeed the text itself all indicate a plan for perpetual peregrination among the tribes once settled in the Promised Land.
וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.
(Shemot/Exodus: 25:8)
The verse is very clear. The Sanctuary is singular. Yet God does not say “And I shall dwell within “it”. Instead He declares, very clearly, and I shall dwell “among them”. The word ‘them’ can only mean the Israelite tribes/tribal camps. Had the intention been for establishment in a particular location, or to be replaced by a permanent temple, the Torah would have said so. But it says no such thing. And certainly, makes no mention of any preferred locus be it Hebron, Shiloh or Jerusalem.
The logic is obvious. The Torah understands that a fixed location would have a doubly negative impact on the nation’s spirituality. On the one hand it would effectively disenfranchise those who reside at a great distance from the center of ritual. This would render them alienated from their faith while making them susceptible to the worship of idolatrous regional deities. On the other hand, a grand permanent edifice would render those who live in its proximity cynically indifferent. Or worse yet, they might become profiteers who exploit the vulnerabilities of visiting pilgrims.
There is nothing exciting about a circus if you live next door. It’s the anticipation of the circus coming to town for its brief, annual sojourn that makes it exciting. The children rushing to watch the big top being raised. The parade of fascinating objects and animals. The grand music and exotic costumes – now that is something to anticipate.
And if this is true for a mere circus, how much more so for the Mishkan – the Tent of Assembly – through which God manifests His presence throughout the community.
In this week’s parsha, Naso, we get another reminder, indeed textual proof, that the intent of the Mishkan is to enable God to (periodically) take up residence among each of the Tribes.
מִזָּכָ֤ר עַד־נְקֵבָה֙ תְּשַׁלֵּ֔חוּ אֶל־מִח֥וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖ה תְּשַׁלְּח֑וּם וְלֹ֤א יְטַמְּאוּ֙ אֶת־מַ֣חֲנֵיהֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י שֹׁכֵ֥ן בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
Remove male and female alike; put them outside the camp so that they do not defile their camp among which (plural) I dwell.
(Bamidbar/Numbers 5:3)
The Torah is discussing the temporary banishment of ritually impure individuals from their camp (singular) so that they might not defile their camps (plural) in whose midst God dwells.
Clearly the banishing of the contaminated individual is from his/her particular (i.e. tribal) camp. This purdah is applicable for ALL the tribal camps, because it is among ALL the tribal camps in whose midst God dwells.
The fact that the Mishkan was subsequently left to moulder in a single location, Shiloh, for 369 years musth have had a devastating impact on the unity of the 12 Tribes once they had settled in Israel. And the decision by Shlomo to erect a grandiloquent (and inevitably corrupt) Temple in his backyard was surely the final blow that disenfranchised 10 of the 12 tribes forever.
Parshat Naso further reinforces all this by making it very clear that the Tribe of Levi – the only tribe exempted from military service – was meant to be perpetually itinerant, like circus roustabouts. They were neither assigned land nor were they enlisted into the military. They were needed for the Mishkan in order to make it possible to pitch its tent everywhere, so that every Israelite would feel connected to it, and thereby connected with the rest of the Nation of Israel.
It could well be that the single greatest contributing factor to the disunity, destruction and exile of both Hebrew commonwealths was the replacement of a modest, meaningful sanctuary meant to bring sacred ritual and solace to the people. A holy temple is almost by definition a contradiction in terms.
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Parshat Naso also deals with the topic of Sotah, when a jealous husband suspects his wife of infidelity. I have written in the past about the fascinating juxtaposition of this highly troubling topic and the corresponding haftarah from Shoftim/Judges 13 (http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/parshat-naso-where-sotah-is-inconceivable/)
