D’var Torah Chukat


Whoever touches the corpse of a human soul which dies, and does not cleanse himself, has defiled the Tabernacle (Mishkan) of the Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from Israel. For the sprinkling water was not sprinkled on him, so he remains unclean, and his uncleanness remains upon him. (Numbers 19:13)
If a person becomes unclean and does not cleanse himself, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation, for he has defiled the Sanctuary (Mikdash) of the Lord; the sprinkling waters were not sprinkled upon him. He is unclean. ( Ibid. Verse 20)
The portion dealing with the red heifer uses the words "Mishkan" and "Mikdash."
Rabbeinu Beḥayye suggests that in using the two words interchangeably, the Torah intends:
To hint that the earthly Temple is patterned after the Heavenly Temple and is located opposite it; this is stated in Exodus [15:17]: “The foundation of Your dwelling place that You, Lord, have made, the Sanctuary my Lord which Your hands established.” – "Your dwelling place" is here, on earth, the Tabernacle, which is opposite the Sanctuary (in heaven) … And because the earthly Temple is located opposite the Heavenly one, the verses refer to it both as "Mishkan" and "Mikdash." It is also written "I have surely built an exalted temple ("zevul," kabbalisticly, one of the celestial regions) for You; a place for Your dwelling forever" – a temple located opposite zevul. We find a verse which explicitly states this: "Jerusalem built up is as a city joined together." [Psalms 122:3]
That is, the terrestrial "Mishkan"/"Mikdash," the prime locus for the Shechina to rest within our midst, is located opposite the supernal Temple.
Based upon these comments, Rabbeinu Beḥayye explains the grammatical form of the name "Yerushalayim" (Jerusalem). In the Holy Tongue, the "ayim" suffix indicates a pair, as in "einayim" (eyes), "oznayim" (ears), etc. Thus, the form "Yerushalayim " indicates two Jerusalems: the earthly and the heavenly. In Rabbeinu Beḥayye's wording:
This is the secret (i.e., the mystical aspect) of the word "Yerushalayim," which conveys two. The missing "yod" refers to the Heavenly Temple, and hints at the final "hei" of the Tetragrammaton. Thus, we find the name "Yerushalayim" spelled fully (with a second "yod") in the Bible five times (the numerical equivalent of the letter "hei"), indicating that this "hei" will be added (i.e, God's name will be complete when the earthly Jerusalem will be joined with the Heavenly one."
The name "Yerushalayim" appears in the Bible 669 times, of which only five are spelled fully. [Jeremiah 26:18; Esther 2:6; II Chronicles 3:5; 25:1; 32:9] Rabbeinu Beḥayye explains that the five exceptions correspond to the final letter of the Tetragrammaton and hint that when Jerusalem returns to her completion, when she is rebuilt, the Holy City will be truly connected to God Himself.
Thus, in Rabbeinu Beḥayye's elucidation, the second "yod" of "Yerushalayim" represents the Heavenly Temple. When the earthly Temple stood, the spelling of "Yerushalayim" was complete. The absence of the second "yod" indicates that the earthly Temple is incomplete; since its destruction, there is no connection to the Heavenly Temple. The implication is that the incomplete spelling of "Yerushalayim" is temporary, and when the Holy City and the Temple will be rebuilt, speedily in our days, the second "yod" will be returned to "Yerushalayim," and her name will again be written fully.
It is fascinating to note that three of the five times "Yerushalayim" is spelled incompletely, it is in verses which deal with her destruction. Perhaps the verses which deal with Jerusalem's destruction want to remind us that her resurrection is guaranteed. (David Magence)


Shabbat Shalom
The Va’ad