Ilustration Credit: Dov Smiley
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
וְעָשׂ֥וּ אֲרוֹן עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים אַמָּתַיִם וָחֵצִי אׇרְכּוֹ…
They shall make an aron (ark) of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long…
All the other parts of the mishkan are commanded with the word וְעָשִׂיתָ (ve-asita, you shall make). But the aron is commanded with the word וְעָשׂוּ (ve-asu, they shall make).
“You” is singular, but “they” is plural. What can we learn from this?
מְצַוֶּה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ לְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁלֹּא יְהֵא לְאֶחָד מֵהֶם פִּתְחוֹן פֶּה עַל חֲבֵרוֹ לוֹמַר: אֲנִי נָתַתִּי הַרְבֵּה בָּאָרוֹן, לְפִיכָךְ אֲנִי לוֹמֵד הַרְבֵּה וַאֲנִי יֵשׁ לִי בּוֹ יוֹתֵר מִמְּךָ!
…וּלְכָךְ נִמְשְׁלָה הַתּוֹרָה לְמַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "הוֹי כָּל צָמֵא לְכוּ לַמַּיִם" (ישעיה נה:א) – כְּשֵׁם שֶׁאֵין אָדָם מִתְבַּיֵּשׁ לוֹמַר לַחֲבֵרוֹ הַשְׁקֵנִי מַיִם, כֵּן לֹא יִתְבַּיֵּשׁ לוֹמַר לְקָטָן מִמֶּנּוּ לַמְּדֵנִי תּוֹרָה.
God is commanding all of Israel to make the aron. That way no one can say: “I contributed more to the aron, so I can learn more Torah, and the Torah belongs to me more than you!”
…This is why the Torah is compared to water, as it says, “all who are thirsty go to the water” (Yeshayahu 55:1). Just like no one would be embarrassed to ask for a drink of water, no one should be embarrassed to ask to be taught some Torah, even if the person teaching seems smaller or less important.
This midrash is suggesting that the aron was commanded in plural–to all people–because it’s the piece of the mishkan that most represents Torah. That’s because the aron contained the לֻחוֹת (luhot, tablets) that Moshe received from God.
- If no one has more of a right to learn Torah than anyone else, what does that teach us about how we should relate to learning Torah?
- This midrash can be a warning against seeing yourself as “holier-than-thou,” which means thinking that you are holier or more connected to Torah than others. What does it teach about how holy we should each consider ourselves and others to be?
- Why can it be difficult to learn from people who seem smaller and less important than you? Why is it important to be open to learning from these people?
- Not seeing yourself as greater or more important than others is called “humility.” Why does Torah learning require humility?
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