It’s hard to blog about the clothes of the High Priest (this week’s Torah portion). But a word about Purim. One of the most important things that happened on Purim is the Jews finally fulfilled the Torah. A thousand years after they got it on Mt. Sinai.
What?!! For a thousand years they didn’t fulfill the Torah, after receiving it on Sinai? No, they did what they were told, but they didn’t really accept it inside, until Purim. When they realized they’d been saved from some behind the scenes maneuvering in the Persian high court, they finally internalized Who is behind the Torah. The real fulfillment occurs with true acceptance of the Torah – and that’s what happened on Purim. It has to come from inside.
That’s like the tabernacle and the Temple. Some say G-d’s presence came down to earth when the Torah was given and some say when the tabernacle was built (soon after the Torah was given). Either way, it came down. If with the Torah then it came down as spiritual illumination that flowed over the world. The problem with illumination is that when it goes away, everything goes back to being dark. After the Torah was given, the world reverted to its former non-spiritual status.
If with the tabernacle, then spirituality came as a quiet, behind the scenes operator that transformed the world from within. The tabernacle remained, and with it, the power of G-dliness to transform the world. Like on Purim, when the Jews not only accepted the Torah, but fulfilled it…this is a good start, to fill in the gaps, go to our website at http://www.jerusalemconnection.org/weekly
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