The Materials of the Mishkan and Its Vessels (I)

 

 

And the Lord spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the children of Israel that they bring Me an offering; of every man whose heart prompts him to give you shall take My offering. And this is the offering which you shall take of them: gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and rams' skins dyed red, and tachash skins, and shittim wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, shoham stones, and stones to be set in the efod, and in the breastplate. And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. (Shemot 25:1-8)

 

            At the beginning of the command regarding the donations to the Mishkan, the Torah lists the various materials from which the Mishkan would be built. It is possible that the Torah lists the materials in the order of their importance (gold, silver, brass, etc.).

 

            In this and the next shiur, we will discuss the materials from which the Mishkan was built, and we will attempt to understand the significance of the fashioning of particular vessels from the different materials. We will also deal with the gradation found among the building materials and with the location of each material in the Mishkan.

 

THE OFFERING – “I REGARD IT AS IF YOU WERE DEALING BOUNTIFULLY WITH ME”

 

            The midrash lists thirteen materials that the people of Israel set aside for the building of the Mishkan, corresponding to the thirteen things that God did for them in Egypt.

 

"This is the offering which you shall take of them; gold, etc." R. Yehuda bar Simon said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: Do not think that you are dealing bountifully with Me. The thirteen things that you set aside for Me correspond to the thirteen things that I did for you in Egypt, namely: “I clothed you with embroidered cloth, and shod you with tachash skin, and I girded you about with fine linen, and I covered you with silk. I decked you also with ornaments, and I put bracelets on your hands, and a chain on your neck, and I put a ring upon your nose, and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head" (Yechezkel 16:10-12). “My bread also which I gave you, fine flour, and oil and honey" (ibid. v. 19). These correspond to the thirteen things that you set aside for Me, and I regard it as if you were dealing bountifully with Me. David said: "I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me" (Tehillim 13:6). And in the World-to-Come, I will repay you for these thirteen things: "And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory shall there be a canopy. And from there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain" (Yeshayahu 4:5-6). You repay Me, and I regard it as if you were dealing bountifully with Me. And [immediately] afterwards it is written: "Now will I sing to my well beloved" (Yeshayahu 5:1). This is: "I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me." (Tanchuma Shemot 25:3)

 

            And in the commentary of Da'at Zekenin Mi-Ba'alei Ha-Tosafot:

 

It lists here thirteen free-will offerings, and corresponding to them, Yechezkel lists thirteen garments with which the Holy One, blessed be He, will clothe Israel in the future (Yechezkel 16:10-12, 19).

 

            The midrash describes a relationship of mutuality between God and the people of Israel – God did thirteen things for the people of Israel in Egypt, and corresponding to them, Israel set aside certain things for God.

 

            This is similar to what David said about the Mikdash:

 

Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation, and David said: “Blessed be You, Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever… But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly after this sort? for all things come of You, and of your own have we given You. For we are strangers before You, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding. O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name comes of Your hand, and is all Your own.” (I Divrei Ha-yamim 29:10-16)

 

            It is precisely in connection with the building of the Mishkan and the Mikdash that what man gives to God is by virtue of what God gave to man and to the people of Israel.

 

            The emphasis placed on this point already at the stage of the donation of the materials teaches us that the building of a house for God must be accompanied by a feeling of great humility. God provides man and the people of Israel with the abilities and powers to build a house for Him. It is not man himself, by virtue of his own powers, who builds a house for God.

 

            R. Hirsch also notes this point:

 

Looked at from this point of view, the materials which were to be donated for the building of the Mikdash-Mishkan indicate those of its qualities by means of which that "sanctity" is to be obtained, as well as this "dwelling," this proximity of God to us is proclaimed. For had we not first received these objects of our gifts from God? And in donating them to the sanctuary, do we not receive them back ourselves in doubly enhanced value, even as Yaakov expressed it when he laid the first foundation stone for the very first house of God, "And of that You shall give me I will surely give the tenth to You" (Bereishit 28:22). Or as David expressed it even more poignantly at the preparation for the building of the first Temple, "For all things come of You, and of your own have we given You" (I Divre Ha-yamim 29:14). Or what was brought here to us in still more comprehensive brevity in the throwing of half of the blood of the covenant towards the altar and half towards the people. (Shemot 25:3)

 

THE QUALITIES OF THE METALS

 

            In the continuation, R. Hirsch discusses the nature of the various metals used in the Mishkan as well as their inner meanings:

 

In our discussion in Jeshurun (V, p. 232ff.), we have proved that in Scripture, metals in general, in accordance with their physical property of hardness, are used as a metaphor for firmness and strength (e.g., Yirmiyahu 1:15, Iyov 6:12, Yeshayahu 48:4), and in accordance with their being valuable, as a metaphor for valuing spiritual values (e.g., Mishlei 2:10, Tehillim 19:11, Iyov 28), but quite specially in accordance with their metallurgical properties as the most suitable metaphor for all goodness and truth in every stage of admixture with evil and the untrue, and also for the processes of tests and purifying and refining applied to morality and truth (e.g., Iyov 23:10, Zekharya 13:9, Malakhi 3:3, Yeshayahu 48:10, Mishlei 25:4, 10, 20 and 36:23, Yirmiyahu 6:29-30, Tehillim 99:119; Yechezkel 22:18, Yeshayahu 1:22; Daniel 2:32- 33). In all these places, metals are used to designate the various degrees of moral purity and truth. Whereas copper represents an ignoble nature, one not yet refined; silver describes the stage of still requiring purification, but of being able and fit to be refined; gold, which is usually found pure, and unmixed, and also resists the strongest tests, is the picture of the purest, most sterling, moral nobility and of true, real permanence   and constancy.

Metals combine the highest degree of adaptiveness with the highest degree of firmness and stability; under heat and hammer, they can be adapted to any desired form, but once they have received that form, they retain it with a persistence that can only be destroyed by violence. They represent by these properties just those very characteristics that we should have towards our duty in general, and especially towards the will of God, as revealed to us by His word. His word is described too as "Hammer" and "Fire" (Yirmiyahu 23:29). So that metals offer themselves more than anything else for allegorical expressions of our moral relations to our calling.

So that, according to their metallurgical characteristics, copper would represent the ignoble nature, silver, the one who is ready to be ennobled by purification, gold, the original and test-resisting, the most complete purity and goodness…

From all these verses, it follows that the metals symbolize the purity of morality and truth at different levels. Brass, iron, and all the non-noble metals symbolize non-refined nature, which has not yet reached the level of nobility. Whereas silver and gold symbolize the levels of the purity of moral nobility, of true fidelity to one's faith, as the Holy One, blessed be He demands of us, according to His holy will. (ibid.)

 

RANKING THE MATERIALS

 

            Throughout these shiurim, we have seen that that there is significance in the location of the various parts of the structure, in the location of the vessels, in the relationship between the various coverings, in the relationship between the priestly garments of the High Priest and the ordinary priest, and in the structure of the Mishkan and the courtyard.

 

            Menachem Haran writes:

 

The more important the article, the more precious and grand it must be. Something that is high on the scale of sanctity – a person strives to embellish it with the best of embellishments and to provide it with an enhanced form to the extent possible.^[1]

 

            In addition to the east-west axis,[2] an important principle found in the structure of the Mishkan is the principle of concentric circles. In the center stands the kaporet with the keruvim; the more distant vessels are from this center in all directions, the lesser its value and sanctity.

 

            Thus, the pillars of the courtyard are simpler than the boards of the Mishkan. Similarly, the pillars of the courtyard are simpler than the pillars of the screen of the Ohel, and these are simpler than the pillars of the parokhet. The hangings of the courtyard, as well as the curtains of the Ohel, are simpler than the curtains of the Mishkan. The same is true, of course, with respect to the rams' skins and the tachash skins. The screen of the gate of the courtyard and the screen of the Ohel are simpler than the parokhet. As stated, the curtains of the Mishkan are also simpler than the parokhet. And needless to say, the outer vessels are simpler than the inner ones.

 

            It may be argued that from the technical perspective, there are two or three general circles, one inside the other: inside the Mishkan, which divides into two, on the one hand, and the courtyard in which the Miskhan stands, on the other.

 

            Everything inside the Mishkan is made of gold (plated or solid), from the kaporet and the keruvim to the clasps of the curtains and the rings of the bars of the boards. (The silver sockets of the Mishkan were not visible.) All fabrics were woven as kil'ayim, "an artistic work," decorated with forms of the keruvim.

 

            Almost everything found in the courtyard was made of brass (plated or solid), from the burnt-offering altar and its auxiliary vessels to the sockets of the courtyard. (Only the hooks of the pillars and their joints were silver.) Fabrics in the courtyard were either woven of a single kind – wool (undyed) or linen – or of kil'ayim, but as a "work of embroidery," without images of the keruvim.

 

            These two circles are not merely a matter of superficial adornments. Rather, they mark distinct levels of ritual, each level containing a separate array of ceremonies and symbols. The system of ritual ceremonies practiced in the Mishkan will be discussed at a different time; here we merely wish to point out and highlight the technical-material ranking that underlies the ceremonial-ritual ranking.[3]

 

            Now that we have established in general terms the ranking between gold, silver, and brass, let us discuss where precisely each of these metals was found.

 

GOLD

 

1. IN THE VESSELS

 

            First, we must distinguish between vessels made of solid gold and those that were gold-plated, although they both appeared to be gold.[4]

 

1. The ark (Shemot 25:10-16)

An ark of shittim wood… you shall plate it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you plate it.

And you shall make upon it a rim of gold round about.

And you shall cast four rings of gold for it.

And you shall make poles of shittim wood, and plate them with gold.

 

2. The kaporet and the keruvim (Shemot 25:17-22)

And you shall make a kaporet of pure gold.

And you shall make two keruvim of gold, of beaten work shall you make them at the two ends of the kaporet.

 

3. The table (Shemot 25:23 and on)

You shall also make a table of shittim wood… and you shall plate it with pure gold.

And you shall make for it a rim of gold round about.

And you shall make a golden crown for its border round about.

And you shall make for it four rings of gold.

And you shall make the poles of shittim wood, and plate them with gold.

And you shall make its dishes, and its spoons, and its jars, and its bowels, used for pouring out of pure gold.

 

4. The candlestick (Shemot 25:31-40)

And you shall make a candlestick of pure gold; of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: its shaft and its branches, its bowls, its bulbs, and its flowers, shall be of the same.

Their bulbs and their branches shall be made of the same piece; all shall be one beaten work of pure gold.

And its tongs and its ashpans shall be of pure gold.

Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels.

 

5. The incense altar (Shemot 30:1-10)

Shittim wood… And you shall plate it with pure gold, its top, and its sides round about, and its horns; and you shall make for it a rim of gold round about.

And you shall make the poles of shittim wood, and plate them with gold.

 

 

2. IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE MISHKAN

 

1. The boards of the Mishkan (Shemot 26:15-30)

And you shall plate the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold as places for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold.

 

2. The pillars of the parokhet (Shemot 26:32)

And you shall hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold; their hooks shall be of gold.

 

3. The pillars of the screen of the door of the Ohel (Shemot 26:37)

And you shall make for the screen five pillars of shittim wood, and plate them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold.

 

 

3. IN THE CURTAINS OF THE MISHKAN (Shemot 26:6)

And you shall make fifty golden clasps, and couple the curtains together with the clasps: that the tabernacle may be one.

 

 

4. IN THE PRIESTLY GARMENTS

 

1. Efod (Shemot 28:6-14)

And you shall make the efod of gold.

And the finely wrought girdle of the efod… gold.

Shoham stones… to be set in fixtures of gold.

Fixtures of gold.

And two chains of pure gold.

 

2. The breastplate of judgment (Shemot 28:15-30)

The breastplate of judgment the work of an artist… gold.

Four rows of stone… in settings of gold.

Plaited chains of wreathen work of pure gold.

And you shall make upon the breastplate two rings of gold.

And you shall put the two wreathen chains of gold.

Two rings of gold upon the two ends of the breastplate in its border.

 

3. Golden bells between the pomegranates of the robe.

A golden bell and a pomegranate upon the hem of the robe round about.

 

4. A plate of pure gold

 

            When we consider the components of the Mishkan containing gold, we see that gold plays a central role in the Mishkan – in the vessels, in the structure, in the curtains and in the garments of the High Priest. The fact that gold is the most precious metal teaches that the Mishkan was built primarily with the most magnificent metals.

 

            An examination of the internal structure of the Mishkan reveals the following:

 

• On the western, northern and southern sides, the shittim wood boards are plated with gold.
• On the eastern side, the pillars of shittim wood bearing the parokhet are plated with gold.
• In the roof of the structure, the inner curtains are joined by golden clasps.
• Two vessels are found in the Holy of Holies. The kaporet and the keruvim are made of solid gold, and the ark with its rim, its rings and its poles, are made of shittim wood plated with gold.
• Three vessels are found in the Holy. The shittim wood table, its rim, its rings, and its poles are plated with gold; the candlestick is made of solid gold; the shittim wood incense altar, its rim, its rings and its poles are plated with gold.

 

In other words, the surrounding structure, the joining of the curtains serving as a roof, and especially the vessels themselves are made of gold. All the vessels that have rims, rings, and poles (the ark, the table and the incense altar) –  the vessels themselves, their rims, their rings, and their poles - are gold.

 

Our initial conclusion, then, is that the structure of the Mishkan, and especially what can be seen from the inside (the vessels and the High Priest with his special garments), is all gold.

 

It should be noted that the kaporet, the keruvim, and the candlestick were made of solid gold, whereas the ark, the table, and the incense altar were made of shittim wood plated with gold. Similarly, the boards comprising the structure of the Mishkan, the rings, and the bars were made of shittim wood plated with gold.

 

5. GOLD – PURE GOLD

 

            It is interesting that the term "pure" is used only in reference to gold, and not with respect to silver or brass. This teaches us that purity is of special importance specifically with the most precious of metal.

 

            It is also interesting to examine the contexts in which it is stated explicitly that the vessels were made of pure gold:

 

• The ark was plated with pure gold, but its rim, its rings and its poles are not pure gold.
• The kaporet was made of pure gold.
• The table was plated with pure gold, as well as its dishes, its spoons, its jars, and its bowls, but not its rim, its border, the rim of its border, its rings or its poles.
• Regarding the candlestick, it says, "a talent of pure gold," and according to the simple understanding, all parts of the candlestick were of pure gold – its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its bulbs, its flowers, its lamps, its tongs, and its ashpans.
• The incense altar was plated with pure gold, and this appears to include its top, its sides, and its horns, but not its rim, its rings, and its poles.

 

This examination of the vessels located in the Holy of Holies and in the Holy reveals that regarding all the vessels that have rims, rings, and poles – the ark, the table, and the incense altar – the rims, rings, and poles are not pure gold.

 

It might be suggested that the main body of the vessel was made of pure gold, whereas the additional parts - the rims, rings, and poles - merely help in the transport of the vessels from one place to another, but are not essential elements of the vessels, and are therefore not made of pure gold.[5]

 

            It is interesting that regarding all the vessels, the various elements of the vessel itself were made of pure gold.

 

            There were some components of the Mishkan that were not made of pure gold.

 

In the structure itself:

• The boards of the Mishkan, their rings, the places for the bars, were not of pure gold.
• The pillars of the parokhet were not of pure gold.
• The pillars of the screen of the door of the Ohel was not pure gold.
• In the curtains of the Mishkan, the clasps joining the curtains were not of pure gold.

 

Thus, in the structure of the Mishkan itself there was no pure gold. This in demonstrates that in a certain sense the vessels were more magnificent and important than the structure, for they were made of pure gold, as opposed to the boards, the pillars, and clasps of the Mishkan.

 

Regarding the priestly garments:

 

• In the efod, a in the girdle of the efod, and in the shoham stones there was no pure gold.
• The wreathen chains fastened to the fixtures were made of pure gold.
• In the breastplate, the rings on the two ends of the breastplate, and in the wreathen chains that were put in the two rings there was no pure gold.
• The pleated chains of wreathen work upon the breastplate were made of pure gold.
• The golden bells between the pomegranates of the robe were not made of pure gold.
• The plate was made of pure gold.

 

Generally speaking, then, the main portions of the priestly garments, with the exception of the plate, were not made of pure gold. An explanation is therefore required as to the unique significance of the plate regarding this matter.

 

The efod and the breastplate were not made of pure gold, but their chains were made of pure gold. Here, as opposed to the Mishkan, it is precisely the less important parts of the garments that were made of pure gold, and not the main portions.

 

THE MEANING OF PURE GOLD

 

            The Biblical commentators who focus on the plain meaning of the text (Rashbam, Chizkuni and Ibn Ezra in his short commentary) explain that pure gold refers to refined gold with no impurities.

 

The Meshekh Chokhma comments:

 

Regarding the ark, pure gold is mentioned with respect to the ark itself (Shemot 25:11) and the kaporet (ibid. v. 17), but not regarding the rim (ibid. v. 11) or the poles (ibid. v. 13). Even though "they shall not be taken from it" (ibid. v. 15), they were only of gold, but not pure gold. This is because purity involves putting [the gold] into a kiln to be refined, as is explained in the Yerushalmi Shekalim 6:3. Thus, putting [the gold] into the kiln is like dressing in the case of a hide. Accordingly, the ark itself is like a dressed hide upon which tefillin are written, which require dressing for its own sake. But the rim of gold and the poles are like the hide of the compartments [of the tefillin}, which according to the Rambam, do not require dressing for its own sake… Therefore, they did not have to be melted for the sake of the ark of testimony. As for the keruvim, it was not necessary to write that they were of pure gold, since they were beaten from the kaporet itself, and the kaporet was of pure gold, and so the keruvim were also of pure gold. As our master writes in Hilkhot Bet Ha-Bechira 3:10 regarding the lamps of the candlestick. (Shemot 25:19)

 

            The Meshekh Chokhma first notes that only the ark itself was of pure gold, but not its rim. He explains that purity with respect to gold means putting it into a kiln in order to be refined, a process that parallels the dressing of a hide, and the ark is like a hide. He also explains that the keruvim were beaten from the kaporet, and so since the kaporet was of pure gold, the keruvim were also of pure gold. As we noted, it is not by chance that the Torah writes that the keruvim were of gold, and not of pure gold, and the issue requires further study.

 

            According to the view of Rashi that pure means refined, there is room for several questions:[6]

 

• Sometimes the term "pure" relates to the vessel itself, and not to the gold, and it is difficult to say that the vessel itself must be refined. Owing to this difficulty, Rashi comments (Shemot 31:8) that the candlestick was pure because if was made of pure gold. The matter, however, requires further study.
• If "pure" means refined, why isn’t the term used regarding refined silver and brass?

 

In light of these and other questions, it may be suggested that pure gold is mentioned with respect to the vessels and the priestly garments because these vessels and garments require special purity, and the Torah therefore emphasizes that the gold is pure.

 

Support for this understanding may be brought from the words of the Chizkuni. Regarding the command about the candlestick, he writes:

 

No vessel in the Mishkan is called pure except for the candlestick and the table in Parashat Emor, and this is because there was no sprinkling of blood upon them. (Shemot 31:8)

 

According to the Chizkuni, the special purity of these vessels is the reason for this special formulation.

 

            In this lecture, we discussed gold. The next lecture will continue with a discussion of the other materials: silver, brass and shittim wood.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

 

 

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