Shabbos and Mikdash

There are two connected topics I'd like to focus on:

1) Why is constructing the Mikdash/Mishkan forbidden on Shabbos but the actual Avoda is permitted?

2) What is the link between Shabbos and the Mikdash/Mishkan as stressed by the pesukim? Furthermore, if you hold that the source of the 39 melachos is the Mishkan, it seems like the ultimate issur of Shabbos is not to build a house for Hashem!

The Bechor Shor and the Maharal seem to further strengthen our first question. If meleches shamayim (whether defined geographically or by purpose) is allowed, isn't construction of the Mikdash the ultimate meleches shamayim?

Perhaps an answer is that the idea of meleches shamayim is a chisaron in meleches machsheves as there is no purpose in this world of the action. E.g. the avoda is meleches shamayim as its only purpose is to serve Hashem and therefore it isn't meleches machseves. Construction of the mishkan is still meleches machsheves as it has a purpose in this world- to enable us to serve Hashem.

To summarise, you can only do melacha on Shabbos if the Shechina is actually present. Since it is present in the mishkan, melacha for the avoda is mutar. But when constructing the mishkan in the post egel world, the Shechina is not yet present so no chillul Shabbos is allowed.

So according to the Torah Temimah, there is nothing unique about the Avoda overriding Shabbos. It is the same as Bris Milah, Korban Pesach, Yom Kippur and there are more examples. Any mitzvas aseh with a fixed time overrides Shabbos.

However, it is slightly different as there are specific korbanos for Shabbos, e.g. the mussaf, so its not like the other cases where a general mitzvah happened to fall on Shabbos, rather the Torah explicitly wants us to do a special avoda on Shabbos.

Another possibility is that the avoda isn't chillul Shabbos, just like saving a choleh isn't chillul Shabbos. Just the rules of Shabbos don't cover this case and never have. They aren't two competing principles, rather Shabbos just doesn't apply to the avoda. Unlike cosntruction of the mishkan which was never designated for Shabbos.

Now we've distinguished between the avoda and the construction of the Mishkan and explained why the avoda overrides Shabbos, let's give a few possible explanations why Shabbos overrides the construction of the Mishkan.

The Netziv says that the Torah is treating meleches hamishkan more stringently than any other melacha so that starting a meleleches hamishkan before Shabbos that will complete by itself on Shabbos is forbidden. Two points stood out for me:

1) The issue is that Shabbos will be desecrated by melacha happening on it, even if a Jew hasn't actually broken Shabbos. The focus is on the very nature of Shabbos, not on the halachic obligations of a Jew towards Shabbos.

2) I would've thought that meleches hamishkan contradicting Shabbos is enough of a reason to forbid it. The Netziv adds that being mechalel Shabbos is a lack of kavod for the mishkan. Why is this necessary? (Don't have an answer.)

The Meshech Chachma is also pointing out that the punishment here is bidei shamayim, not by Beis Din.

The point we can see from the pasuk, the Netziv and the Meshech Chachma is that this pasuk isn't addressing the issur of breaking Shabbos, its rather describing the nature of Shabbos.

The pasuk doesn't say 'keep the Shabbos', it merely gives the natural consequences for breaking it- desecration of the day and death. Melacha on Shabbos is also an issur but the focus here is on the desecration of Shabbos. That is why we always use language of 'shomer shabbos' and 'chillul Shabbos'. Eating chametz on Pesach is an issur but you haven't been mechalel pesach!

The difference must be that Shabbos is essentially holy and that holiness requires a cessation of work.

Kedushas Shabbos creates the issur melacha and the death penalty/consequence, not the other way round!

So the pasuk is emphasising that the inherent kedusha of Shabbos overrides the inherent kedusha of the Mishkan. Why?

The link between Shabbos and Mikdash is that they are both kadosh, Shabbos is kedushas hazman and Mikdash is kedushas hamakom.

The eternal, omnipresent G-d is metzamtzem himself to dwell amongst human beings, in time on Shabbos and in space in the Mikdash. This is clearly why the Torah links them so many times.

Why therefore does Shabbos take precedence over Mikdash?

One difference is that the holiness of Shabbos was fixed by Hashem, the holiness of the Mikdash is created by us.

Halakhic Man, p. 46

Holiness, according to the outlook of Halakhah, denotes the appearance of a mysterious transcendence in the midst of our concrete world, the “descent” of God, whom no thought can grasp, onto Mount Sinai, the bending down of a hidden and concealed world and lowering it onto the face of reality.... Holiness is created by man, by flesh and blood. Through the power of our mouths, through verbal sanctification alone, we can create holy offerings of the Temple treasury and holy offerings for the altar. The land of Israel became holy through conquest, Jerusalem and the Temple courts – through bringing two loaves of thanksgiving… It is man who sanctifies space and makes a sanctuary for his Creator.

Shabbos seems to be an exception to R Soloveitchik's rule that kedusha is man-made. Definitely man has some role in Shabbos but ultimately it is Hashem who sanctified the day. I think in the kabbalah, Shabbos is referred to as itaruta delayla.

In the tension between Shabbos and Mikdash, we see the answer to the question of who needs who more? Does Hashem need us or do we need him? Is it more important that he built a home for us or that we build a home for him?

The Torah tells us that kedushas shabbos is greater than kedushas mikdash- the home Hashem builds for us is more important than the home we build for Hashem.

On Shabbos, we are not to build a house for Hashem but rather enjoy his world and his shechina without making any creative changes to his world.

There is also a second key difference between Shabbos and Mikdash. The kedusha of the Mikdash exists even when the physical mikdash is destroyed. This is because the revelation of the shechina in the Mikdash was supernatural and transcendental. Mikdash was full of miracles.

On the other hand, Shabbos demonstrates Hashem's presence within nature. Shabbos is our testimony that Hashem created all of nature and is therefore revealed within it. One can experience Hashem through nature. Shabbos is the epitome of nature at rest with man forbidden from making any creative changes to nature. Rather one is supposed to take a step back, like R Yannai, and experience Hashem's presence within the natural order.

In which case, why does Shabbos take precedence over Mikdash?

The message must be that the core of Jewish experience is not to be found in experiencing Hashem supernaturally but rather through experiencing him within nature.

Am Yisrael has survived 2000 years without the Mikdash but Shabbos has been essential.

Perhaps this is why the Gemara promises that Mashiach will come if Am Yisrael keep Shabbos perfectly. If we experience Hashem through nature, one day we will merit to experience him outside nature.

Perhaps a further link between Shabbos and Mishkan is that they are gathering points. The points in time and space when Jews gather together. Perhaps this is why it comes after the Egel where Hashem sees the need to centralise the religion and to give everyone the same places and times in Kedusha. Gatherings on Shabbos and at the Mikdash are vital for preventing the religion from splintering, everyone trying to access Hashem in his own way and eventually avoda zara.