On Your Shoulders - Naso 5785

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The Mishkan (traveling sanctuary) was finally completed.  It was a magnificent portable building made of many materials including gold, silver and copper, and various colors of fabrics and skins. To dedicate the Mishkan, over the course of the first 12 days, each head of tribe brought a lavish offering consisting of animal sacrifices, incense and more.


They also donated six covered wagons and 12 oxen to pull them.  These wagons were used by the Levites to transport the pieces of the Mishkan and all the utensils and vessels from place to place as the Jews traveled through the desert.  However the wagons were not given to all the Levites.  


Each of the three levite families carried different specific parts of the Mishkan.  The family of Kehot were assigned the holy furniture items, including the Holy Ark.  Those items had poles and were carried by Levites on foot, not transported on wagons.  


Rambam (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Klei Hamikdash 2:12) lists this commandment of carrying the furniture on foot as one of the 613 commandments of the Torah.  “When the ark is transported from place to place, it should not be transported on an animal or on a wagon. Instead, it is a mitzvah for it to be carried on one’s shoulders...Numbers 7:9 states: ‘For the holy task is their obligation. They shall carry it on their shoulders.’”


Note that Rambam focuses on the ark and not the other holy articles.  The Rebbe explains that the Mitzvah of carrying the ark is unique because it contained the Tablets with the Ten Commandments, the foundation of the Torah.  (This specifics of the differences in carrying the Ark and the other furniture and how the Mitzvah is counted involves a beautiful but  intricate Talmudic discussion that is beyond the scope of this essay.)  


The Torah is our lifeforce and the basis of our existence and identity, and must be treated with utmost respect. It is the source of our resilience and continuity as a nation for over 3,000 years through all the attempts to erase us  We have been put on this Earth with a mission to improve it and make it a home for Hashem through adherence to Torah.  In fact, the Torah shows the path for every human on earth to be part of this mission by observing the seven universal laws known as the Noahide laws.  We therefore revere the Torah in a way that is above all else.


The Torah cannot just be put anywhere.  It must always have an honored place, even when being transported.  The shoulder, the highest place in a person on which something can be carried, is the only appropriate place for the Torah.  Not the hands which are lower, not a wagon, only the place right next to the head.  Another way that this reverence for the Torah was expressed was that the Levites who carried the Ark faced each other, the one in front walking backwards, in order not to turn his back to the Torah.


We extend this reverence for the Tablets to the Torah scroll.  It is placed in a most respectful place, the Holy Ark.  When carried, it is held resting on the shoulder, with an arm wrapped around it.  The Talmud teaches that when traveling on a donkey with a Torah scroll, we should not place it in a box and hang it on the donkey.  Rather we should carry it against our shoulder and ride.  


When the Torah is on the Bimah, if we are not actually reading it for a minute or two, we cover it with its cover.  We are not permitted to touch the parchment of the scroll, and only handle it using a cloth or some material.  On Simchat Torah, when we dance with the Torah, we make sure it is always wrapped and covered, never displayed around the synagogue and held by the parchment, which is against Halacha.  We kiss the Torah as it passes us, and we don’t walk in front of it with our backs to it.  

 

Because the words of the Torah that are written on the scroll are Hashem's will and wisdom, the exact words He dictated to Moshe who transcribed it.  These very words, and every letter, have not changed for 3,338 years, and contain the code for how Hashem wants us to behave in any life situation that we may face for eternity.  We study the words of the Torah, ideally daily, repeating it every year, and it is always fresh and new, with new insights to glean.


The Jewish people cannot be separated from Torah.  It is our treasure and our heritage.  It is mine and it is yours, and we should take advantage of it.  There is so much wealth in the Torah.  Deeply meaningful stories, just laws, wisdom for life, and spiritual guidance for a truly meaningful life.  Its wisdom is endless and its depth is fathomless.  Carry it next to your head on your shoulder and you will enrich your life in unimagined ways.

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