Re-evaluating the Mikdash
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5771
I made a deal with Dr. Barry Swick recently. We agreed that if his son Michael could arrange something special for my children, I would give a sermon about it, so here goes.
Almost two weeks ago Barry, my two older sons and I went to the Prudential center to watch the Devils play the Ottawa senators. Michael was going to try and arrange for post-game passes for us to meet one of his friends, Nick Foligno, who plays for the Senators. When we got to the arena the passes were there waiting for us. After the game we were escorted by guards to the entrance to the locker rooms and we waited for the players to emerge. There was a barrier set up and we watched along with a small group player’s family and friends as the players left the locker room. Nick came out, we spent some time, he spoke to the kids, signed a few pictures and we went home.
It was almost like getting access to the inner sanctum. In general at a sports event there are the players and the spectators; those who get to do and those who get to watch. And we had access to one of the insiders- to those who do what we cannot.
Then the challenge became to find the sermon in that. What is the message and how does it connect to the parsha?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the experience of the Mikdash is very similar to the sports spectator. In both there is a select group that plays or acts while the rest of the people simply observe. There is the professional hockey player and the professional God Server and then there is the rest of us. And in both, the spectator makes periodic journeys to the arena but it certainly does not become a part of the daily routine. That is left for the player or priest. That is why there is excitement when we get there- it is special and out of the ordinary and that is why it is exciting to meet one of the insiders.
That left me with a serious question: if the Mikdash and its service are meant to be the primary mode of worship and service, why is it set up in a way that forces the majority of Jews to feel like outsiders and spectators?
Even as spectators we are only commanded to come 3 times a year for the festivals. During the rest of the year, even on Yom Kippur, there is no command for us to even be there. And the Kohanim only serve about 2 plus weeks out of the year plus the holidays.
I have been thinking about that question all week. How can the primary mode of worship be one that is so exclusionary and off limits?
On Wednesday I had an epiphany. Maybe my assumption is all wrong. Maybe the purpose of the Mikdash is not to serve as our primary mode of worship. Rather the Mikdash is to serve as a place for God to reside in our midst. The service in the temple is regulated and allows for an atmosphere that will bring God into our midst. To achieve that it must be super-regulated and somewhat exclusionary. We are commanded to come and sense God’s presence 3 times a year. If we came all the time we might lose our sensitivity to it all, thus we make periodic visits. That is all fine because that is the purpose of the Mikdash- it is not meant to be our primary mode of worship.
Although this will sound strange to us, what emerges is as follows. When the temple stood- there was a place where God’s presence could be felt but that was not the primary mode of worship FOR THE INDIVIDUAL. There was no formal prayer either. Rather, our primary mode of worship was the performance of the mitzvoth.
If this idea is correct, it will actually help me with a number of temple related issues that I have spoken about throughout the years that we can now better understand.
- There is an argument about which came first, the sin of the Golden Calf or the command to build the mishkan. Rashi believes that the sin of the golden Calf came first and the mishkan was a response to it. Ramban believes that the command to build the mishkan came first. The Ramban writes (25/1): They are now holy, in that they are worthy that there be among them a sanctuary through which He makes His Shekhina dwell among them. Therefore, He first commanded concerning the Mishkan, so that He have among them a house dedicated to His name, Ramban then connects the Mishkan to Sinai: The secret of the Mishkan is that the Glory which abode upon Mount Sinai [openly] should abide upon it in a concealed manner. It is abundantly clear that according to Ramban, the service in the Mikdash is a means to an end and that end is: the primary purpose is to have a place where God can reside amongst us.
The connection to Sinai makes that even clearer. Sinai was a revelation. The people were back behind the lines, behind the hockey glass and select few went up. It was an experience with God, and there was an awareness of God. Nobody would ever think that Sinai was a moment of worship or that this was its purpose. For the Ramban, the Mishkan is a continuation of Sinai, a place for us to feel and experience God. Not necessarily a place of worship.
- Another issue I have grappled with and spoken about in the past is: can animal sacrifice be the best and ideal mode of worship and are we sincere as we pray for its return. Rambam, Maimonides is extremely bothered by this- particularly because he seems to believe that the Torah is describing a mode of worship. He then resorts to a very difficult explanation regarding why this particular method is chosen. If my theory is correct, than at least some of the Rambam’s concerns are alleviated. You can still ask – why this form is chosen but can be comforted with the knowledge that it was never meant to be the individual’s primary method of serving God.
Lastly, it will help us re-evaluate the relationship between prayer and temple service. The Talmud concludes that our prayer service was established based on the temple service. That tends to push us towards equating the two and in a certain sense that is true. The times of the day are the same and both are meant to connect us to God and help make us aware of God’s presence.
But there is one major difference that should not be overlooked. Prayer is an equal opportunity service. I am not talking about minyanim but the act of prayer. Anyone can pray. You can pray whenever you want, and more or less where ever you want. In that sense it has a real advantage over sacrifice as a mode of worship.
Our problem is that we treat the synagogue like the temple. We come occasionally and at times feel like outsiders.
I would encourage everyone to take more advantage of it than you currently do. Consider coming not only on Shabbat morning but on Friday night and Shabbat afternoon as well. If you already do that consider coming during the week. We could use you and you could use us. Coming more will help transform you from spectator to player. It might not be that easy in the hockey arena, but is in shul.
