Pekudei: Boundaries and Distinctions

By Ben Rothstein Many people may not realise it, but this week’s parasha ends on a cliffhanger.

After Moshe puts the finishing touches on the mishkan, we read:

וַיְכַ֥ס הֶעָנָ֖ן אֶת־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וּכְב֣וֹד יי מָלֵ֖א אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּֽן׃

וְלֹא־יָכֹ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה לָבוֹא֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד כִּֽי־שָׁכַ֥ן עָלָ֖יו הֶעָנָ֑ן וּכְב֣וֹד יי מָלֵ֖א אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּֽן׃

And the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of God filled the mishkan. And Moshe was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud rested upon it, and the glory of God filled the mishkan.

Moshe couldn’t get into the mishkan! The entire people are gathered to see God’s presence residing in the mishkan, a portable temple with its altars and incense-pans ready to go, but it cannot be used at all. Moshe is kept out, because God is in. The culminating moment of this dramatic piece of Torah only occurs at the start of the next book:

וַיִּקְרָ֖א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה

And He called to Moshe.

God now invites Moshe into the mishkan. There are several key messages that arise simply out of reading these pesuqim and considering why they were recorded, and they relate to the idea of boundaries and distinctions.

Firstly, God’s presence is now given a very physical, demonstrable location. God is there, and not just in your head. This externalisation of God forces each member of Yisrael to acknowledge His independent existence as an Other, and not as the product of his or her own mind. When the worship of God is confined to the internal, we run the risk of recreating God in our own image. Whenever we think, ‘Hashem wouldn’t mind if…,’ or the ever-emotive ‘How could God do X?’ (shorthand for ‘I wouldn’t have done X, and God must be like me, so God also shouldn’t have done X’) we are projecting our own, subjective, human values and ideas onto God. By having a visible representation of God in the mishkan, the people had to confront God’s real existence as something external to them.

Further, there is a clear distinction between where God is and where God is not. Unlike the popular panentheist propaganda song, Hashem is not in fact here, there and everywhere (it’s hip, so hip to be square). God allows a space for human beings to exist outside of Him. If God were not to do this, then his intense Godliness would simply overwhelm all of existence, and there would be no room for other things to exist. And no, I’m not advocating ṣimṣum, just the fact that there is a distinction between God and not-God (everything else). Without clear boundaries, everything would bleed into everything else, with no possibility of individual expression and uniqueness. This idea is intrinsically connected with the term kavod, as used here in kevod YHWH, because the term kavod means not only glory, but honour. Honour derives from a person’s boundaries, knowing who one is and for what one stands. When a person is unsure of their boundaries, that person allows him or herself to be treated in dishonourable ways.

However, boundaries are not walls. They are not permanent, rigid fixtures with no give. In circumstances where boundaries and individuality are respected, boundaries can be dropped with certain individuals. Conversely, when boundaries are violated, they become all the more important, and further boundaries may be put up in order to protect the individuality of the one whose boundaries were not respected. God acts with us in the same way – He sets out requirements of how we are to treat Him and relate to Him, and we must respect those boundaries. God doesn’t have any issues like we do, about being unclear or unwilling to enforce boundaries. The moment Nadav and Avihu brough eish zara into the sanctum sanctorum, they were immediately killed. When the Jewish people en masse violate God’s commands, He moves away from them and sets up further boundaries between Him and us. God says, ‘I will hide My face,’ a strange turn of phrase that suggests God is still there, but not in a revealed way; God’s presence is not exposed, there is a stronger boundary between Him and Yisrael.

The Kotzker Rebbe (supposedly) remarked, ‘Where is God? Wherever you let Him in.’ God does not go where He is not invited. He does not impose Himself on the world; he sets up boundaries to prevent His existence from flooding all of existence, but His presence in the life of an individual is up to that individual. And what better parasha for this idea to be in than the parasha of Pequdei, the parasha of counts and accounts? For the meaning of something ‘counting’ is that it matters, that each individual piece of the mishkan delineated in this parasha matters, and is significant. The only way that we have room for our individual, significant existence, the only way in which we matter and can ‘count’ for something, is by God setting up firm boundaries between Himself and ourselves.