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Translated by Shulamith Berman
(All rights reserved to Keren Yishai)
The episode of the Golden Calf is now behind us. Moses spends some time in the camp, and on Rosh Hodesh Elul he once again ascends the mountain for forty days, descending with the Tablets for the second time on Yom Kippur. Thus it becomes a day of atonement and forgiveness. All this began on the fortieth day, the day of the descent from the mountain, on the tenth day of Elul.
But what happened the next day? What happened on the day following Yom Kippur? Rashi attributes many things to the day following Yom Kippur. Two of these things appear at the beginning of the Parashiot which we read this week – Vayakhel and Shekalim.
Parashat Vayakhel begins with a warning concerning Shabbat, and proceeds with a declaration regarding the building of the Tabernacle. These events take place from the day after Yom Kippur until Rosh Hodesh Nisan. These six months, from the 11th of Tishrei until Rosh Hodesh Nisan, less ten days, these are days of trauma. Let's review what the nation endured during this time. Less than six months previous to this time, the people had departed from Egypt and crossed the Red Sea. They were living on Manna, a well and a cloud! They had experienced a war against Amalek, the sin of the golden calf, Moses' first descent from Mt. Sinai, the shattering of the two tablets, his second ascent and his second descent, and now they would spend six months building the Tabernacle. These were all difficult events to endure. Let us not forget that this nation, before the 15th of Nisan, had experienced years of backbreaking toil and slavery. When I say that they had departed from Egypt, I want to emphasize once again that not everyone went out, as implied by the word "chamushim" and the phrase "am seridei herev" (the survivors of the sword). These people had survived a great catastrophe, many hardships had befallen them, and now, the day after Yom Kippur, Moses called them together (Exodus 35, 1-3):
"And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, 'These are the words which the Lord has commanded that you should do. Six days you shall work, but the seventh day will be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever works on this day shall be put to death.'"
Rashi immediately makes the following comment: "And Moses gathered – on the morrow after the Day of Atonement when he came down from the mountain." Rashi doesn't explain his calculations, but it's not complicated to work it out. But what if it was actually a few days after Yom Kippur? Further on we'll see that it was actually 'on the morrow'.
The Midrash in Lakach Tov makes the calculation on which Rashi bases himself. "And Moses gathered – when was this assemblage? After Yom Kippur. Our rabbis have said that he ascended on the 29th Av, and he received the Torah a second time" – this was on Rosh Hodesh Elul, when we begin to pray for forgiveness – "He descended on the 10th Tishrei, therefore it is a day of atonement and forgiveness for Israel, as it is written 'this shall be an eternal statute unto you.'" – it should be remembered that this first Yom Kippur occurred before the general commandment which would already apply to the next Day of Atonement. This was the first day of forgiveness, pardon and atonement. "As it is written 'this shall be an eternal statute unto you', after Yom Kippur he gathered them together and warned them concerning the work of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). This comes to teach us that for six months less ten days Israel was occupied with the work of the Mishkan." I think that even without going into all these calculations, and without the section about the Shabbat, this general assembly of all the children of Israel immediately following Moses' descent from the mountain is pretty impressive. Three thousand people had just died, friends, brothers and relatives, and the wound was still raw. A few brief months ago Hur had supported Moses' arms in the war against Amalek, and now he was dead, killed by the sin of the golden calf. Aaron received a severe reprimand from Moses. Joshua stayed close to Moses. Joshua, Hur, Aaron and Moses – these four constituted the leadership. They had guided the people from the parting of the Red Sea, during the war with Amalek. We must try understand the effect this had on the people. It's seems quite plain they will not transgress now, they are completely shocked. So the first thing Moses does is to assemble them. This has great psychological impact. Nobody suggested that he do this, but he did it anyway – this is leadership par excellence.
Moshe Rabenu brought down two stone tablets. After smashing the first tablets he again received them from on high, and the Almighty approved of his act of destruction – "the first tablets which you broke" ('asher shibarta'). Now the time has come for rehabilitation. He gathers the people and says to them, 'Now we're united, we're here and there's work to be done together.' This is extremely important. What are we about to do together? We'll build a Tabernacle. We'll continue to build. You didn't receive the Torah so that it would repose in some distant place. We will build a Tabernacle and everything is going to revolve around it. It won't be built by the Priests and Levites – it will be constructed by Bezalel ben Uri ben Hur. This has associations for everyone – he's the grandson of Hur of the tribe of Judah, and he'll be working with Oholiav ben Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. Thus are united the senior tribe and the tribe that made up the rear guard – the lion and the snake!
Moses assembles the people. This is no small feat. We know what a referendum entails. And here he is gathering the entire nation. He also does the second thing that we read about this Shabbat – he counts the people. I would say this is a most economic measure – if we've already got everyone here together, why not take the opportunity of counting them at the same time. By the way – why did he do this? Who asked him to count the people? This had never been done before. The logic is simple: they had just recovered from a plague, brought on by the sin of the golden calf, some two months previously, so it made perfect sense for Moses to assemble the people, on the day following Yom Kippur, and take a census. When we read these two parashiot – Vayakhel and Shekalim – we assume they are read at this time because Vayakhel is the portion for this week while Shekalim is linked to Adar. Not so! Historically both these events occurred at one and the same time! On that day Moses assembled the people, instructed them on the laws pertaining to Shabbat and the Tabernacle, and taught them to count their number by means of the half shekel. Let's take another look at the verses pertaining to the shekel (Exodus 30, 11-12):
And God spoke to Moses saying, 'When you take the sum of the children of Israel by their number, each man shall give a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when you number them, so there should be no plague among them, when you number them.'
Can you sense the atmosphere of these verses? Why must they be numbered? Ribono shel Olam, what happened? There was a plague, now they must be strong.
Rashi has this to say (Exodus 30:16): "And you shall give it for the service of the appointed tent – From this statement you may learn that he (Moses) was commanded to take their census when they began to contribute towards the building of the Tabernacle, after the incident of the golden calf, because the pestilence had befallen them, as it is said, 'and the Lord plagued the people'. To what may this be compared? To a flock that is dear to its owner upon which there fell pestilence. As soon as it ceased he said to the shepherd, 'I beg of you, count my sheep and ascertain how many of them are left'. He did this to show that the flock was dear to him". The people of Israel need encouragement and support at this time, it's quite clear. Our sages have a comment in Baba Batra which is most fitting here: "Rav Abahu said, Moses spoke to the Almighty, saying, 'Ribono Shel Olam, how can Israel be raised up?' And He said, by 'Ki Tisa'." Rashi explains: 'Taking their sum – if you would teach them to raise their heads high, teach them to give a ransom for charity." If they give to each other, they will fulfil 'Ki Tisa'. The following appears in Pesikta Rabati: 'The Almighty said to him, what is the head of the children of Israel? I am their head. When their head is raised, I am raised.' Tell them that I, too, require for them to raise their head. I am with them. The Shechina also requires to be strengthened, together with them.
The verses of Parashat Shekalim continue (Exodus 30, 13-16): "The half of a shekel for the shekel of holiness… the rich shall not give more, and the indigent shall not give less…" At the end of the verse we discover that all this is for the purpose of "making expiation for your souls". Why was it necessary to make atonement? Now all is clear. Although it seems that you have already atoned for the sin of the golden calf, what is really required is to treat it at the source. We must be aware that it is being entirely rooted out. "And you shall take the expiation money from the children of Israel, and you shall give it for the service of the appointed tent, that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Almighty, to make atonement for your souls." Now the connection with the Mishkan is clear. This money will be used, for the next six months less ten days, for the work in the Tabernacle. Rashi says that if we look in the Torah we will find two head counts: The first, "When you take the sum of the children of Israel," does not include details such as how many came out, it is simply an instruction to count the people. The second, in the beginning of the book of Numbers, an entire chapter, concerns the numbering of the children of Israel. Rashi calculates and comes up with the following: "Two censuses were taken in the same year: the first was in the month of Tishrei, after the Day of Atonement, when the Almighty wished to pardon the children of Israel, and they were commanded concerning the Tabernacle, while the second was on the first day of Iyar". When was this? One month after the Tabernacle had been consecrated. If the year begins with Tishrei, this falls in the same year, but if the year begins with Nisan, it's already the following month.
So, if we understand correctly, the day after Yom Kippur an event occurred which was quite predictable. Moses has spent forty days and nights on the mountain, followed by another forty days and nights. Now he must go down to the people, in order to raise them up, to tell them it's time to go forward.
How do we go forward? Now that you have descended, there are two things you must do: First, speak of the Shabbat and the Tabernacle, and second, speak of the ransom for charity. The beauty is in the juxtaposition of man and God, man and his fellow-man. But there is more. The half shekel is not for charity from one man to another, but for the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, for the purpose of constructing the foundations. The message is clear – we are equal, nobody is more important than anyone else, no matter what their financial situation may be. Moreover, we all need each other. This is the message which must be imparted to raise up the nation. The Mishkan is built with many offerings, but it all depends on the foundations. And the foundations are built in such a way that nobody is permitted to give more than anyone else. We are unfamiliar with this concept! We all understand the idea of a minimum, but the mitzva of the half shekel is both minimum and maximum! You will always be aware that whether you are a king, a high priest, wealthy or wise, you still require every single Jew, each one who has not yet contributed his half shekel. As long as one half shekel is missing, the foundations of the Mishkan cannot be completed! The inside of the Mishkan is open to individual donations and contributions, but as far as the foundations are concerned, 'the rich shall not give more'. Both these things take place on the day following Yom Kippur. Up to this point, all commentators are in agreement!
Yet according to Rashi, on Yom Kipur another two things also happened. When I say 'according to Rashi' this is because from here on Rashi disagrees with the other commentators. I maintain that this is part of his unique style – we will see more of this later.
The question is – how many things did Moses achieve on one and the same day? I'm not even taking into consideration his extreme fatigue, after forty days and nights on the mountain. Another leader may well have taken a few days vacation after such an ordeal. But even so, can we begin to understand how enormous was this undertaking – assembling the entire nation and teaching them the rules governing the Mishkan? It's the equivalent of learning all of Terumah, Tetzave, Ki Tisa, Vayakhel and Pikudei, all with Rashi explanations, in one day! Yet Moses succeeded in imparting the basic principles of the Mishkan and the Shabbat to the entire people. But, according to Rashi, this is not enough either, and even more was added on the same day, the 11th of Tishrei – why not utilize the day to the maximum?
Rashi adds another element, and I cannot understand how, technically, it was possible to introduce it along with everything else. He takes us back to Parashat Yitro. According to Rashi, Yitro appears immediately after Matan Torah. "And Yitro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God" (Exodus 18:12). Alarm bells begin to go off – according to Rashi's calculations this took place on Yom Kippur. A feast!!?? Actually, there is no contradiction here, because the injunction to fast on Yom Kippur was only introduced the second year, according to all commentators. Now let's turn to the second verse: "And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood by Moses from the morning to the evening" (ibid. 18:13). At this point it's not clear when this occurred, but it's plain that unlike the assembly, the shekel, the Shabbat and the Mishkan, this took up an entire day, morning to evening. Yitro asked Moses why he sat there all by himself with all the people coming to him from morning to evening – enough already!
Says Rashi: "Came to pass on the morrow – this was really the day after the Day of Atonement." I'm not quite sure how this works technically. How did he manage to judge from morning to evening, while assembling the people, teaching them about Shabbat and Mishkan, and taking the census, as related in Parashat Shekalim? Something doesn't quite hang together as regards the timing. Rashi continues: "So we have learnt in Sifri. What is the force of "the morrow"? it means the morrow after Moses descended from the mountain. And you must admit that it is impossible to say that this was any other day but the morrow after the Day of Atonement." The Sfat Emet (Siftei Hahamim Exodus 18:13) explains why Rashi was so adamant on this: "This does not mean from the following day that they ate and drank" – we do not know when they ate and drank because this is not written. What is written is that Yitro arrived, and then they offered sacrifices and ate, but I don't know when that was. That's why Rashi asks precisely what is meant by the morrow? It is the day after Moses came down from the mountain, and we know when that was, it was at the end of forty days and nights. Perhaps it was before Matan Torah? Rashi says that's impossible because of Yitro's remark to Moses: "And you will enlighten them in the statutes and laws" – which indicates that he had already returned from the mountain. Therefore, 'the morrow' is the day after the date that we know – Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement when Moses descended the mountain.
By the way, Rambam does not accept this at all. He claims not to understand how such a thing could technically be possible (Rambam, ibid.). "And even assuming that the reference is not precisely to the following day… it still means that the day in question comes after Yom Kippur". He goes on to say: "For they had no other day available for judgement from the day they arrived at the mountain until after Yom Kippur of this first year."
Rashi doesn't agree. The Ram, Rabbi Eliahu Mizrahi, who is Rashi's great commentator, claims not to understand the Rambam's argument. The word 'machar' (morrow) appears twice in the Torah, signifying that some time has elapsed, in other words, it is a following day. The Ram, however, proves that wherever it is written, the reference is to a specific day – the following day precisely. In this context it refers to the day after Yom Kippur. If it doesn't fit, you may have a problem on your hands, but you cannot 'move' the morrow to the new month of Kislev or to Hanukkah. In order to resolve this difficulty we must assume that "from morning to evening" is more flexible, extending perhaps to past midnight. Even so, it is doubtful whether all that could have been achieved in one day. I won't delve any further into this right now. I understand that Shekalim, Shabbat and Mishkan were all dealt with the same day – following Yom Kippur. The Rambam claims it cannot be but Rashi is adamant that everything took place on the 11th of Tishrei.
What did Moses intend to achieve on the morrow of Yom Kippur? These three things were done by Moses, not by the Almighty. Moses has asked God how he can raise the people, now he prepares to assemble them and he sits in judgement. Nowhere does it say that God instructed him to do so. It's quite clear that they are in need of uplifting, they need Moses to instruct them as pertains the laws between man and God, they need hope. A wise leader also knows when to exhort the people to be united. In a day or two arguments will probably break out once again – we are only human, after all – so I want you to know that I have just come down from the mountain and now we must begin to work on the Tabernacle, on holiness, on the Holy of Holies. We are no longer on the heights of Mt. Sinai, we are here now, and everything will be alright. I now present you with a system of laws – "Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood by Moses from the morning to the evening".
Rashi quotes our sages, who ask (in Gemara Shabbat) why it says 'from morning to evening'. They reply that when a judge dispenses justice and truth he becomes the partner of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the enterprise of Creation, where it is written 'and it was evening and it was morning…' They explain that every hour that he sits in judgement is important and conveys a message. Moses wanted to demonstrate to the nation that there was continuity, everything would now go forward. "I am with you. Even if problems arise, there is a system, there is judgement. As a nation, it is incumbent upon you to remain at the exalted level of the people who saw the lightning and the smoke upon the mountain, who heard the thunder and said 'we will obey and we will hearken'. We will have special hours for judgement. Have patience, all is being arranged…" This is, therefore, the ideal time for Yitro to arrive and propose a system of management. So far so good, the Rashi commentary is clear.
Only one thing remains, that Rashi also included in his list for the day after Yom Kippur. It is connected to the previous Parasha. If I have been correct until now, the day following Yom Kippur was a day for calming, for soothing and reassurance. It was a day of assembly, the day when the remote, exalted leader came down to the people. We should not forget that they had suffered another trauma, which has only been briefly touched on so far – the dispute between Moses and Aaron. The people were very close to Aaron, he who loved and pursued peace, who loved all creatures and brought them close to the Torah. This is Aaron, who would be mourned by ALL of Israel when he died. The same was not said of Moses.
Moses rebuked Aaron in stinging terms. "What have you done to this people? Your method of leadership resulted in great sin." The Torah describes the sin of the golden calf as "the Calf made by Aaron." The nation lost Hur, Aaron lost his status. Joshua was not available because he was attending Moses, who was far away. The assembly, Moses' descent, his sojourn within the camp, all this is extremely understandable, which makes the fourth thing all the more difficult to grasp.
Exodus 33:7 reads as follows: "And Moses took the Tent, and pitched it outside the camp, and called in the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the Tabernacle of the congregation which was outside the camp." The Torah does not indicate exactly when this took place. We are told that it was after Moses descended, following the sin of the golden calf. The feeling is precisely the opposite of that after Yom Kippur. The Rambam maintains that on the day that Moses descended, on the 17th of Tammuz, he burned the calf and passed judgement on the worshippers, and on the following day… On the 18th of Tammuz, the day following the golden calf, his rage and fury were immense, and he declared that he had no wish to be there. He therefore took the Tent and removed it from the camp, saying 'whoever wants can come to me, I'm not with you.' He cut himself off from the camp, according to the Rambam.
But Rashi says (Rashi, ibid.) that the Tent was removed from Yom Kippur until the Tabernacle was erected, and no longer. The Rambam quotes Rashi as saying that it was done on the day following Yom Kippur, pointing out that "if the Tent was removed after Yom Kippur, it was done because Moses and the Almighty wished it". The atmosphere is far better now, so why remove the Tent beyond the camp? Rashi is firm in his opinion. The Tent was removed on the day after Yom Kippur. Technically, some time was required for this, but if we've already accepted that there was enough time for the assembly, the Mishkan, Shabbat, Shekalim, and for judging the people for morning to night, the Tent could also be moved in the same space of time.
"And it came to pass, when Moses went out to the Tabernacle, all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and they looked after Moses until he was gone into the Tabernacle. And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the Tabernacle, the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the Tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. And all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the door of the Tabernacle, and all the people arose and worshipped, every man at his tent door. And God spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he turned again into the camp. But his servant Joshua ben Nun, a young man, did not depart from the Tabernacle."
This is the fourth of Moses' acts. What is common to them all is their spontaneity. Moses was not commanded to carry out any one of them. What motivated Moses to move the Tabernacle? I think the answers to these questions have great significance, especially now, in the light of events which are happening today among us, in our institutes of learning. I think we are in need of encouragement and strength. In my opinion, the tension between Moses and Aaron has not been correctly portrayed. It should not even be described as tension. If ever there was a symbol for harmony between brothers, that symbol is Moses and Aaron, in striking contrast to the story of Joseph and his brothers. Moses and Aaron go together, harmoniously. They represent truth and righteousness. The truth that pierces the mountain, and the love and pursuit of peace. But they each have their own way of looking at things, which can on occasion lead to dispute.
There are two types of talmid chacham (scholar) - those of 'bet hamidrash' and those of 'beit haknesset'. The former are to be found within the tent – it is their duty to teach, to inquire, and to study. They explore every issue in depth, regardless of how popular or acceptable a particular topic may be outside the walls of the study house. Raban Gamliel was the prime example of a scholar who followed the truth even if it reached a point which was not acceptable to other rabbis and teachers. He was famous for his decree that one whose inner self did not match his "outward self" had no place in the bet midrash. The benches of the study house emptied rapidly, there was no affinity between the prayer house and the study house – after all, who was prepared to declare that his external self matched his inner self? Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria overturned this ruling. Perhaps this exemplifies the ongoing dispute between Hillel and Shammai, between Moses and Aaron.
This dispute acquired great significance for the Jewish nation on the day following Yom Kippur. I think the concept of "the day after Yom Kippur" has acquired the status of an eternal concept, no less so that Yom Kippur itself. Just as Yom Kippur was henceforth a day of atonement and forgiveness, we now have another concept, that of "the day after," and it has great import. I remember my grandfather asking us why, at the close of Yom Kippur, the aravit prayer included 'Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned.' Who has sinned? Yom Kippur has just this minute ended! But from the moment the Ne'ila prayer was over until the middle of the Sh'moneh Esreh, there were already plenty of reasons to say 'Forgive us, our Father'… Grandfather would then say: "That's one explanation for why we say 'Forgive us our Father', but why, immediately at the end of Ne'ila do we say 'And He who is Merciful will forgive our sin'? What sin? His reply: we imagine that Yom Kippur is now over, we feel a lessening of tension, a sense of relief – this is the feeling conveyed by '… He who is Merciful will forgive our sin…' As soon as Yom Kippur is over the verb 'He will forgive' re-emerges. We feel that something is over, we are released from it, this is the sense of the day after Yom Kippur, the sense that Yom Kippur is finished.
On the day following Yom Kippur the Bet Midrash confronts the Bet Knesset. I want to discuss this encounter. One Yom Kippur we are, all of us, members of the Bet Midrash. We are all cut off from externals, we enter the world of the Bet Midrash. Immediately after Yom Kippur we undergo a process of emergence from the Bet Midrash to the Bet Knesset. Our sages have this to say (Masechet Berachot 64): "Rabbi Levi bar Chiye said, he who goes out of the Bet Knesset and enters the Bet Midrash merits the Shechina, as it is said, those who appear before the Lord God in Zion will go from strength to strength". This gemara applies to us all, to every single Jew, everyone who completes his prayers in the Bet Knesset and goes out to the Bet Midrash. What is this Bet Midrash? It refers to one who sets aside a certain time, be it two minutes or an hour for the purpose of study. This doesn't include one who spends all his time in the Bet Midrash. According to the halacha, this definition includes those who don't even know how to read but nevertheless enter the Bet Midrash to hear a few sentences.
I am acquainted with an elderly Jew, one of those who rise at four every morning to immerse themselves in the Mikve and pray, before proceeding to their place of employment to earn their livelihood. We once discussed the sentence, 'He who studies every day will merit the world to come…' He asked me what is 'the world to come' and what is meant by 'he will merit the world to come'? "I am a simple Jew – what do I know about the world to come? I know one thing, though. I know that this world has no meaning for me unless I study two halachot every morning. Forget the world to come! For me, those two halachot represent this world, and everything in my world is different once I've studied them. I have already prayed in the Bet Knesset. Now I have my five minutes in the Bet Midrash. It illuminates my day. It's pure joy! It's like a melody. The world to come may be a bonus, but this world is enough for me!"
What a wonderful definition. When I heard it, I felt I understood what is meant by 'he merits the shechina'. He is connected in the manner of an electrical appliance to an electrical outlet, and the 'charge' remains with him for the next ten hours, while he earns his living.
Our sages also have this to say: "Rabbi Chiye bar Ashi and Rav say the following: talmidei chachamim (scholars) have no respite, neither in this world nor in the world to come, as it is said, 'those who appear before the Lord God in Zion will go from strength to strength'. It would appear from this that true talmidei chachamim move forward at a marching pace. Why do they have no respite, both in this world and the next? What exactly are they doing that doesn't permit them to rest? Rashi claims that they go from Yeshiva to Yeshiva and from Bet Midrash to Bet Midrash. Perhaps, but I've seen people working harder than that! We can assume that they work hard, but even assuming that scholars work extremely hard, if you asked me for a list of the characteristics of Torah scholars, I wouldn't place hard labor at the top of the list.
It seems that the reason why scholars have no rest, and the reason why simple Jews merit to receive the shechina, are derived from the same verse. One learns it as a marching song, the other receives it as a melody.
Rav Nissim Gaon has an entirely different interpretation from the two interconnected interpretations given above. Scholars have no respite because they go to the Bet Knesset from the Bet Midrash, not because they go from Yeshiva to Yeshiva and from Bet Midrash to Bet Midrash and work very hard. The simple Jew derives his pleasure from the fact that he goes from the Bet Knesset to the Bet Midrash for an hour, and this is the very thing that unsettles the scholar and causes him unease. The scholar is never still, he is always going forward, tense, under stress, not because he works hard but because he is engaged in two activities which appear to be contradictory.
It is the way of the world to divide all sages and scholars into those of the Bet Midrash and the Bet Knesset. The former spend their time inside, within the Yeshiva. They are cut off from the outside world, and sometimes they emphasize this aspect of their lives. They have their own codes, their own expressions – sometimes these are quite incomprehensible to the rest of us, in fact we may suspect that they themselves don't quite understand them. They have created a new code within the tent, outside of the camp! This may be important, but it is inherently dangerous, because ideologically you speak of klal Israel – unless perhaps you have lost sight of them! The next logical step is to assume that klal Israel don't understand!
The other scholars are to be found in the Bet Knesset. When the two groups come in contact, each group may perhaps look down on the other, but in truth, they need each other. The scholar in the Bet Midrash may not realize it, but his strength is derived from the strength of the Bet Knesset. The gemara teaches that true scholars do not understand this division, because when they spend their time in the depths of the Bet Midrash they yearn for the Bet Knesset, but when in the Bet Knesset, they long for the Bet Midrash. Thus, they are never at peace, they are constantly frustrated.
Scholars are never at rest because they must know how to move from Bet Knesset to Bet Midrash and from Bet Midrash to Bet Knesset. Of them it is said "those who fear God will go from strength to strength." King David said it best, in the Book of Psalms (Psalms 84). He was speaking of one who finds himself outside the walls of the Bet Midrash but yearns to enter: "My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord, my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. The sparrow has found a house, the swallow has a nest where she may lay her young. Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God."
Now he speaks to those who are within, how fortunate they are: "Blessed are they that dwell in Your house, they will still praise You. Blessed is the man whose strength is in You… Those who pass through the desolate valley make it a well, the rain fills them with blessings." Those of you who sit within, have you heard of those who pass through the valley? They, too, wish to be connected. They have wells from which to drink from the source. They are continually emerging from the Bet Knesset and entering the Bet Midrash, drinking from the wellspring.
Who is referred to in these last verses? The first verses spoke of those who dwell in Your house, the next verses speak of those who pass through the valley. Now comes the final verse: "They go from strength to strength, they will appear before the Lord in Zion." Who? Some sages say it refers to those who pass through the valley. Five minutes in the Bet Midrash will be enough for them to merit the shechina. Rabbi Chiye Bar Ashi, in the name of Rav, says that this refers to those who dwell in Your house. Rabbi Levi says that those who go from strength to strength will also merit to receive, but those who pass through the valley will merit the shechina. They are forever pacing steadily from the Bet Knesset to the Bet Midrash and from the Bet Midrash to the Bet Knesset.
I don't know whether we've quite mastered the art of moving from one to another, despite all our great achievements of the last decades. The difference between the Bet Knesset and the Bet Midrash is so simple! The Bet Midrash is intended for those whose external and inner lives are the same, while the basic idea of the Bet Knesset is that if someone is left outside, that is the fault of the Bet Knesset – everyone should be included! The question is: do those who speak the language of the Bet Knesset realize that there is another language, as relevant and profound as theirs?
on the day after Yom Kippur Moses descends to the people, those same people who two months previously had sinned with the golden calf and become cut off from the Bet Midrash. Our sages express their anger with those who call the Bet Knesset "the house of the people." If this is a house of assembly because everyone is gathered within, they claim, then it will be a place for merrymaking. The sin of the golden calf was that the Bet Knesset became a house of the people as a result of its total severance from the Bet Midrash. Moses understood that the first priority was to return, and the second essential was to reconnect the Bet Midrash with the Bet Knesset. So first he held a huge assembly to teach the people about Shabbat and the Mishkan. Then he judged the people, great and small, and only after Yitro's suggestion did he devote himself to the big things. On the same day he also set up a Yeshiva outside of the camp, and in the tent he raised a young man who never stepped outside. This was necessary because the Bet Midrash had to be filled.
Now here's the main point: both Joshua within the tent and the people in the camp see the same picture. The rabbi moves continually between the camp and the tent. Joshua never stirs from the tent, but he is trained by a rabbi who teaches him how to move between the two. Everyone watches Moses. Those in the camp perceive that he goes to the Bet Midrash. When he enters the tent, the pillar of cloud descends and closes the doors. When Moses emerges, Joshua perceives the path formed by this pillar and watches as Moses goes to the camp. For six months less ten days he doesn't assist Moses, but during those six months less ten days the people learn how to move from the Bet Midrash to the Bet Knesset and from the Bet Knesset to the Bet Midrash. Everyone sees it differently. Joshua sees it from there, the people see it from here – two aspects, two perceptions. What you see from here you don't see from there – but they are two perceptions of the same leadership, a leadership that knows how to connect the Bet Knesset with the Bet Midrash. He who would train Joshua to become the next leader must teach him the course entitled "Scholars have no respite, as it is said, go from strength to strength…"
Perhaps it is more fitting that we learn this lesson from King David in Psalms. David, more than anyone else, found no rest, either in this world or the next, because he was always in the Bet Knesset and the Bet Midrash. King David, who arose every night to recite Psalms, who purified himself every morning before setting out to do battle and make order in the camp, before night fell and the cycle was repeated.
Our sages claim that King David never slept for more than sixty breaths. There are many discussions on why and how this could be, but in my opinion he never fell asleep because he was always either in the Bet Knesset or in the Bet Midrash. He simply had no time to sleep. When he tried to describe his dreams he said: "My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord" – I fear that someone will take away my palace, I want to enter the Bet Midrash. But he also said "Blessed are they who dwell in Your house", and then again, "Those who pass through the valley" and "They go from strength to strength."
According to tradition, Rashi is the great, great, great grandson of King David. It is therefore perhaps most fitting that Rashi should focus on the concept of the day after Yom Kippur, for if ever there was a rabbi most suited to both Beth Knesset and Bet Midrash it was Rashi. What is Chumash without Rashi? What is learning without Rashi? He was the supreme example of one who spent his life going from one to another, he spoke to both Bet Knesset and Bet Midrash in the same language. This is most fitting for one who insisted that on the day after Yom Kippur, despite the fact that it could only be divided into twelve hours, so many different things took place. Moses assembled the people and told them we are all united, and he sent Joshua to the tent so from there he could perceive how a rabbi and teacher goes from the Bet Knesset to the Bet Midrash.
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