Logic

“And the entire congregation approached, and stood before G-d. And Moshe said, this is the thing that G-d commanded you, you should do, and the honor of G-d will appear to you.”

For seven days, Moshe Rabbeinu erected the Mishkan (Tabernacle), performed the service and then dismantled it. On the eighth day, which was the 1st of the month of Nissan, Aharon Hacohen, ‘a”h, and his sons were appointed as Cohanim. This portion of the Parasha, occurs on that day, the 1st of Nissan.

It says, “This is the thing”. What, we might ask, is the thing? On a simple level this is referring to the bringing of the sacrifices. Once they have been brought, the Shechinah will be able to rest there.

The Ohr Hacahaim explains that what Moshe Rabbeinu is telling them is that they have to prepare themselves in front of G-d, as King David, ‘a”h, said שִׁוִּיתִי ה’ לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד (16: 8). How a person behaves in front of a king is very different to how he behaves in front of commoners. How much more so is this true in front of the Holy One blessed be He, that our behavior before Him must be of the highest level. We see this from the passuk we quoted, which says, “וַֽיִּקְרְבוּ כָּל־הָעֵדָה וַיַּֽעַמְדוּ לִפְנֵי ה’”, “The entire congregation approached, and stood before G-d” – they stood before G-d, and not before the Ohel Mo’ed (Tent of Meeting).

You must always feel that you are standing in front of G-d. When you do so, your entire feeling, the way you hold yourself and your behavior, will all be different. And when you do so, “G-d’s glory will be upon you”.

Based on the explanation in Parashath Mishpatim, the holy Ben Ish Hai says in Aderet Eliyahu, that any commandment that a person performs, even if it is one that is totally logical to us, that even if we hadn’t been commanded to do it we would still do it, nevertheless, the way we perform it makes a difference. In other words, doing it because it is obvious and logical and, therefore, the right thing to do, is very different to doing it because we were commanded to do it by G-d.

The difference between the two is that when a person does it because it is a commandment, given by G-d in His holy Torah, the person doing it attaches himself to Him. In Kabbalistic terms, it causes the light above, which is connected with this commandment, to shine, and from it the light of the holiness from above, comes down to him. This is considered to be actually a portion of G-d himself.

So we see that doing it because it is the obvious thing to do, or doing it because that is what G-d commanded, are as if they were two totally different matters in two totally different realms. Doing it because G-d commanded us to do so, in the holy Torah, takes us to a much higher spiritual plane, whereas, doing it because it is the obvious thing to do, is just mundane.

It would appear, that these two explanations are one. If we take the explanation of the Ohr HaChaim, that we must see that G-d is standing right in front of us, then even if we do something logical, the fact that we see G-d in front of us and we do it because the Holy One blessed be He, ordained that we must do it, then it raises us to the holy level, mentioned in Aderet Eliyahu, where the holiness of the light above comes down to us.

And this is the explanation of what the Passuk says:

זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּה ה’ תַּֽעֲשׂוּ

“This is the matter that G-d commanded”. You did it because G-d commanded and not because you thought it was logical. And as a result:

וְיֵרָא אֲלֵיכֶם כְּבוֹד ה’

the glory of G-d will appear to you.

 

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Rabbi Ya’aqob Menashe is a renowned author and lecturer, whose Shiurim continue to inspire thousands around the world. Many can be seen at ww.NonstopTorah.com. His daily Torah Minutes are eagerly anticipated by thousands every morning. They can be seen at www.ATorahMinute.com. Rabbi Menashe is the spiritual leader of Midrash BEN ISH HAI. More information is available at the Midrash website, www. Midrash.org.