Wise Timing

The Tabernacle as Exercise in Categorical Discernment

A king distributed balls of silk to his servants to check their intelligence. The industrious and sensible one sorted from the balls of silk allotted to him and selected the best quality ones. He then did the same with the remaining ones until he divided all of his portion into three grades - fine, medium, and coarse. He then made from each grade the best that could be done with it and had the material done by skilled craftsmen into expensive garments of various colors and styles, which he wore in the presence of the king, selecting garments suitable to the occasion and place.

The foolish among the king’s servants used all the balls of silk to make that which the wise servant had made with the worst sort. He sold it for whatever he could get for it, and hastily squandered the money in good food and drink or the like.

When the matter came to the king, he was pleased with the deeds of the industrious and sensible one, drew him closer, and promoted him to a position of one of his treasured servants. The deeds of the foolish servant were evil in his eyes, and the king banished him to the faraway desert lands of his kingdom to dwell among those who had incurred the king's anger.

- Ibn Paquda, Duties of the Heart

They set in it four rows of stones. The first row was a row of carnelian, chrysolite, and emerald; the second row: a turquoise, a sapphire, and an amethyst; the third row: a jacinth, an agate, and a crystal; and the fourth row: a beryl, a lapis lazuli, and a jasper. They were encircled in their mountings with frames of gold. The stones corresponded [in number] to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, corresponding to their names; engraved like seals, each with its name, for the twelve tribes. (Exodus 39:10-14)

The visualization of the Mishkan and its accoutrement does not come naturally to us, but one thing is clear: the instructions for each piece are highly detailed and specific. The Torah doesn’t say make a breast-plate (and figure out the rest), but make a breast-plate in rows, using these specific stones, which should number 12. That level of specificity is not found in other areas of Torah law.

For example, the Torah never explicitly commands us to marry, nor does it instruct us explicitly in the laws of marriage. Likewise, the laws of Shabbat, which are commanded (don’t work, it shall be a day of rest, etc.) are far more detailed in rabbinic literature than in Scripture itself. Such a gap is one classical reason our sages use to bolster the case for an Oral Torah, handed down to Moses at Sinai, alongside a Written Torah. The Levitical instructions, by contrast, don’t seem to need or want an Oral Torah; nothing should be missing or left for leeway or interpretation. If Oral Torah thrives on commentary, discourse, and intersubjectivity, the point of the architectural and design instructions is to remove interpretation and debate. And where there is room for discretion, the authority is entirely Bezalel’s.

Another key idea in the Torah’s instructions on how to build and design the Mishkan instructions is that everything has a proper place. To succeed at building it, you need specialists. You need specialization of labor. This is a fitting metaphor for the priest’s breastplate, which contains 12 stones corresponding to the 12 tribes. Each tribe has its function, its time and place for contribution. It is not enough to have beautiful resources, you need to order them. The organizational principles must themselves have purpose. Similarly, a good story needs not just good sentences, but a good structure.

In Ibn Paquda’s view, it is not enough to know to know history, philology, metaphysics, law, and inner wisdom. One must know how to sequence these, how and when to apply to them, when to understand the limits. The meta-test separating sage and fool is not what silk they have, but their sense of what silk is appropriate for the moment. You need to know the category of silk you are dealing with when assessing its suitability. Similarly, the 12 gemstones each need to be judged not in comparison to one another, but in relationship to their use. The most expensive or rare stone is not always the best one.

In the story of Esther, our tale opens with a king who demands the appearance of his queen before a crowd of sycophants and oglers. Such an inappropriate and boorish summons can be compared to the fool who does not know how to distinguish silk from suit, or material from context. The king mistakes his wife for a hat, to quote Oliver Sacks. He treats her shamelessly. If the king does it intentionally it proves that he has no qualms about playing a fool. Regardless of whether we read Ahasverosh as a mastermind or a dolt, he lacks order. Malbim notes that the order in which his courtiers are listed is scrambled. We have no clear sense of a chain of command in his palace, thus creating constant competition amongst his courtiers. The chaos of his royal palace contrasts with the order of the Mishkan.

Vashti, by contrast, rejects the king’s bid, proving her own discretion and dignity. Since it is customary to read the story on multiple levels, I suggest we take Vashti as an allegory for the Torah’s refusal to appear naked, publicly, and on demand before us. The Torah’s esoteric and deeper meanings cannot be codified or brought to conclusion. Only the garbed Torah, the exoteric Torah, will attend our banquet. True understanding of Torah cannot be publicized or turned into a party trick. It is subtle and personal. When we reduce Torah to one thing, we act like the misguided king and the misguided servant. Instead, we must recognize that the Torah offers different silks for different occasions; our task is to find or bring order to it. The Torah can edify, move, instruct, reveal, and much more. It is a collection of parables, historical references, psychological profiles, laws, and so on. But saying this says nothing. For the artistry is not in owning the silk but in making the suit. Just as the design of the Mishkan required not just magnificent materials, but clear intentionality for how each could play a part.

Holiness is enabled by intentionality and purposiveness. Intentionality and purposiveness are required to make categorical distinctions, create order, and understand what the moment calls for. Purim is a story about timing. It appears to be a story about serendipity, about happening to be in the right place at the right time. But kismet can be facilitated by those who know to look out for their moment. In the words of Walter Benjamin, miracles befall those who understand that “time is not homogenous or empty.” Vashti understood the importance of timing. Mordechai and Esther understood the importance of timing. Purim’s date falls differently in different places depending on a number of factors. It is the only holiday in which the date changes depending on location. God is not absent. We just need to find the right time.

Shabbat Shalom. Chazak Chazak V’nitchazek.

Zohar