Parshat Terumah 5777
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in this week's parsha regarding the building of the Aron (Chapter 25, Pasuk 10), V'Asu Aron Atzei Shitim. The "Aron" was made from the wood of the acacia tree. The very next pasuk states, V'Tzipisa Oso Zahav Tahor Me'Bayis U'Mechutz Tetzapenu. You shall cover it in gold on the inside and on the outside. One might think that the wood Aron was gold plated; Rashi based on the Gemara in Yoma teaches that this is not the case. There were three Aronot, a wood Aron placed inside a gold one, and another gold one placed inside the wood Aron. Then the top was covered in gold making the Aron surrounded by gold inside and out.
Some commentators ask, why was it necessary to make three Aronot, a separate wood one with gold ones inside and out? Why wasn’t the Aron similar to other vessels; made from wood but were covered in gold.
Rav Tzadok answers this question by quoting the Medrash Tanchuma on our parsha. The Medrash says (10) that the Mizbeach is made from Atzei Shitim since it is meant to atone for the sins which are referred to as Ma'asei Shtus, foolish acts. And the Gemara in Bechoros 5B teaches that the place where Bnei Yisrael sinned with the Moabite women was called Shitim because this is where Bnei Yisrael committed acts of shtus. There is also the Gemara in Sotah 3A, which Rashi quotes in his commentary on Chumash, that no one sins unless a Ruach Shtus, a spirit of foolishness, enters him.
We see from here that the Atzei Shitim represent sin since the word shitim is similar to the word shtus. And this explains why the Mizbeach which atones for sins is made from Atzei Shitim. But how does this explain the Aron being made from Atzei Shitim and the fact that there were three separate units, with gold on the outside and the inner Aron made from Atzei Shitim?
The Gemara in Succa 52A teaches that Talmidei Chachamim are particularly affected by their yetzer hara. The Gemara says, Kol HaGadol MeChaveiro Yitzro Gadol Mimenu. Whoever is the greater person has a greater yetzer hara. How could it be that the bigger a Torah scholar one is, the bigger his evil inclination?
Rav Tzadok explains that yetzer means desire and cheshek. Everyone has a yetzer and it's every individual's choice whether to use his desire and cheshek for good or for bad. The Talmidei Chachamim use it for good and the more one is a Torah scholar the greater his passion and appetite for learning. And the Zohar Hakadosh teaches that without the yetzer there wouldn't be true joy and pleasure in learning Torah.
This is why the Gemara in Succa teaches that the greater a person is the greater his yetzer hara. When one is so engrossed in learning Torah and has such a cheshek and a geshmak in his learning, there is a counterbalance of desire for sin created which must be overcome. But someone who doesn't get excited about learning will not feel as much desire for anything else, including sin. This is the p'shat in the continuation of the Gemara in Succa that if one meets the yetzer hara he should drag him into the Beis Medrash. That passion for sin which a person feels overwhelming him should be instead used as a passion and desire for learning Torah. The source for good and bad are both derived from desire; each person must direct his desire for good and not for bad. Hence take the yetzer hara and drag him instead into the Beis Medrash and direct the passion towards the Torah.
The Aron in the Mishkan had the Luchos inside them. As a result, the Aron represents Torah and the Talmidei Chachamim who learn Torah. The middle Aron is made from Atzei Shitim representing the yetzer hara of the Talmid Chacham. But the word for wood which is Eitz also represents Eitz Chaim which is Torah. The Eitz Chaim of Torah needs to overwhelm the yetzer hara of Shitim. This is the Talmid Chacham who has a passion for Torah and must subjugate the desire for sin.
The Gemara in Yoma 72B teaches that the inner and outer Aronot of gold indicate that the inner part of a Talmid Chacham must be similar to his outer part. One must be totally sincere in his Torah learning and full of Yiras Shamayim. When one achieves this level of sincerity and his inner part parallels his exterior, he will have the help from Hashem necessary to ensure that the inner Aron of Atzei Shitim will be transformed to Eitz Chaim He La'Machazikim Bah.
Good Shabbos
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