Vayakhel-Pikudai 5772

As this week marks the conclusion of Sefer Shemos, it would be appropriate to reflect on the curious fact that the Torah is divided into separate books. It is hard to imagine that the division is merely for the sake of convenience. Without the appended commentaries, even all five books together still comprise an easily handled volume. Undoubtedly the rationale for the division is that each book encompasses a unique theme; with the conclusion of that theme’s treatment the book itself is concluded. What then, we may ask, is the theme of the book of Shemos?

Fortunately, the Ramban addresses this question in his introduction to the book where he explains that Shemos is the Book of Geulah/Redemption, telling the story of the Jew’s liberation from Egypt. However, points out Ramban, a serious objection can be raised to this definition: The story of the Exodus is completed in the first several chapters which make up the weekly portions of Shemos, Va’erah, Bo, and the first half of B’shalach. What do the remaining chapters have to do with the theme of redemption?

Here the Ramban offers a fascinating suggestion. The term “Geulah/Redemption” means much more than deliverance from servitude. It actually implies a total restoration to an original, ideal state. Explains the Ramban, our patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov lived on such a lofty spiritual level that it would not be an exaggeration to say the Shechina rested upon their tents. But when their descendants were exiled to Egypt, a long process of degeneration began, and this was no longer the case. (In many ways, according to Chazal, the Jews in Egypt were indistinguishable from their Egyptian neighbors.) Therefore, the Jews could not be considered truly redeemed until they were restored to their original state. With the revelation at Sinai, the receiving of the Torah, the building of the Mishkan, and the resting of the Shechina upon it, the restoration is complete. It is at that point that Geulah/Redemption is achieved and the Book of Geulah/Redemption is concluded.

A careful reading of the concluding verses seems to indicate that the “Cloud” came to rest on the Mishkan as soon as its construction was completed. Surprisingly, in the book of Vayikra (9:6-23) we read that a number of sacrifices were required before the “Glory of Hashem” was seen on the Mishkan. Is this “Glory of Hashem” identical with the “Cloud” of which our Parsha speaks? (See Seforno 30:1 where he clearly differentiates between them.)

When we speak of Shechina/Divine Presence, we may discern two aspects. The first is the idea that Hashem oversees, protects, and guides us. (See Maharal, Netzach Yisrael Chapter 10.) Second is the idea that Hashem enables us to feel a sense of intimacy and closeness when we pray and serve Him.

In the conclusion of Shemos, the emphasis is clearly on the first idea. For this reason the Torah conveys the fact that the “Cloud” guided the B’nai Yisrael throughout their travels in the Wilderness. We can suggest that this first aspect of Shechina was manifest as soon as the Mishkan was completed. But the second aspect – intimacy in Divine service – could only become manifest when we initiated that service. Thus it was contingent upon the offering of the special sacrifices described in Sefer Vayikra.