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Share(כא) אֵ֣לֶּה פְקוּדֵ֤י הַמִּשְׁכָּן֙ מִשְׁכַּ֣ן הָעֵדֻ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר פֻּקַּ֖ד עַל־פִּ֣י מֹשֶׁ֑ה עֲבֹדַת֙ הַלְוִיִּ֔ם בְּיַד֙ אִֽיתָמָ֔ר בֶּֽן־אַהֲרֹ֖ן הַכֹּהֵֽן׃
The “Tabernacle of Witness” [was so called] because it was a witness to Israel that the Holy Blessed One forgave them for the Sin of the Golden Calf, as God rested the Divine Presence among them (Rashi, ad loc). Why did they need witness [or proof]? The Israelites were humbled by their sin, so the Holy One gave them proof via the mishkan to strengthen their hearts and to show them that their sin had been rectified.
The Sefat Emet argues that the mishkan was a gift from the Holy One to a fallen, broken people. Having transgressed gravely through constructing the Golden Calf, they were ashamed, deflated, unable to see themselves as agents of the Divine. They could not believe that the God they wronged could so genuinely forgive. They could not believe that they themselves could be forgiven. Neither teshuva (repentence) nor tikkun (rectification) seemed possible. In comes the mishkan ha-edut, the Tabernacle of Witness, to bear witness to them that the Divine will reside within their midst come what may. Forgiveness is real and so is self-correction. Our past need not hold a grip on our future. We can testify to the very things we rejected not long ago. We can be loved on the other side of sin.
As it is brought [in BT Avodah Zara 4b], the Israelites were only “worthy” of the sin [of the Golden Calf] in order to teach [us] about repentance. Meaning: [In order] to make known to any penitent [lit. son of repentance] that they do not fall in God’s eyes and that, through repentance, they are restored to their original position [pre-sin].
...the suggestion here is that the whole episode of the Golden Calf was a purposefully-constructed pedagogical moment. The Israelites at Sinai–witnesses to Revelation, idolaters at the foot of the mount–were destined to be exemplars of atonement. If the sin of the Golden Calf could be forgiven, anything can be forgiven. If the Holy One could rest among the Israelites after that travesty, the Holy One can reside with–and within–all of us, imperfect as we may be. The Tabernacle of Witness would bear witness to that possibility for all time, the possibility of teshuva and the possibility of tikkun.
(ו) לֶךְ רֵד כִּי שִׁחֵת עַמְּךָ, הָעָם אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן אֶלָא עַמְּךָ, אָמַר משֶׁה רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָם מִנַּיִן הֵם עַמִּי, אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַמְּךָ הֵם, שֶׁעַד שֶׁהָיוּ בְּמִצְרַיִם אָמַרְתִּי לְךָ (שמות ז, ד): וְהוֹצֵאתִי אֶת צִבְאֹתַי אֶת עַמִּי, אָמַרְתִּי לְךָ שֶׁלֹא לְעָרֵב בָּהֶם עֵרֶב רָב, אַתָּה שֶׁהָיִיתָ עָנָו וְכָשֵׁר אָמַרְתָּ לִי לְעוֹלָם מְקַבְּלִים הַשָּׁבִים, וַאֲנִי הָיִיתִי יוֹדֵעַ מַה הֵם עֲתִידִין לַעֲשׂוֹת, אָמַרְתִּי לְךָ, לָאו, וְעָשִׂיתִי רְצוֹנְךָ, וְהֵם הֵם שֶׁעָשׂוּ אֶת הָעֵגֶל, שֶׁהָיוּ עוֹבְדִים עֲבוֹדַת כּוֹכָבִים וְהֵם עָשׂוּ אוֹתוֹ וְגָרְמוּ לְעַמִּי לַחֲטֹא. רְאֵה מַה כְּתִיב אֵלֶּה אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא (שמות לב, ד): אֵלֶּה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, שֶׁהַגֵּרִים שֶׁעָלוּ עִם משֶׁה הֵם עֲשָׂאוּהוּ וְאָמְרוּ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֵלֶה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, לְכָךְ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אָמַר לְמשֶׁה: לֶךְ רֵד כִּי שִׁחֵת עַמְּךָ.
(6) “Go descend, for your people…have acted corruptly” – it is not written here, “the people,” but rather, “your people.” Moses said: ‘Master of the universe, since when are they my people?’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘They are your people. When they were still in Egypt I said to you: “I will take out My hosts, My people” (Exodus 7:4). I said to you not to mix the mixed multitude with them. You, who were humble and upright, said to Me: One always accepts penitents. But I knew what they were destined to do; I had said to you, no, but I performed your will.21Originally God said not to accept the mixed multitude, but He then acquiesced to Moses’ request that they be accepted, due to Moses’ argument (see Rabbi David Luria). It is they who crafted the calf, as they were idolaters; it is they who crafted it and caused My people to sin.’ See what is written: It is not written here, “this is our God,” but rather, “this is your god, [Israel]” (Exodus 32:4), as the proselytes who ascended with Moses, it was they who crafted it, and said to Israel: “This is your god, [Israel].” That is why the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: “Go descend, for your people…have acted corruptly.”
In truth, the Israelites are witnesses for God, as the verse states: “You are my witnesses [declared the Lord]” (Isaiah 43:10). Surely the Israelites, who were created to bear witness to God’s unity, how could they be idol worshippers, God forbid?! But for this reason, the Israelites were negligent regarding their witness, until God showed them that their sin was not [a reflection of] their essence, but was [an] incidental action of the erev rav ; that they were worthy to bear witness for God [now], 1 as before [their sin]. As it is brought [in BT Avodah Zara 4b], the Israelites were only “worthy” of the sin [of the Golden Calf] in order to teach [us] about repentance. Meaning: [In order] to make known to any penitent [lit. son of repentance] that they do not fall in God’s eyes and that, through repentance, they are restored to their original position [pre-sin].
In truth, the Israelites are witnesses for God, as the verse states: “You are my witnesses [declared the Lord]” (Isaiah 43:10). Surely the Israelites, who were created to bear witness to God’s unity, how could they be idol worshippers, God forbid?! But for this reason, the Israelites were negligent regarding their witness, until God showed them that their sin was not [a reflection of] their essence, but was [an] incidental action of the erev rav ; that they were worthy to bear witness for God [now], as before [their sin]. As it is brought [in BT Avodah Zara 4b], the Israelites were only “worthy” of the sin [of the Golden Calf] in order to teach [us] about repentance. Meaning: [In order] to make known to any penitent [lit. son of repentance] that they do not fall in God’s eyes and that, through repentance, they are restored to their original position [pre-sin].
Similarly, after Yom Kippur, which is the day of penance and forgiveness, the mitzvah of sukkah– which is like the resting of the Shechinah in the Temple–is offered to strengthen all penitents (baalei teshuva) to know that they are worthy of the Divine dwelling among them.
After a month of Elul and the Ten Days of Repentance from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, during which we focus deeply on clearly seeing our shortcomings, our sense of selfworth might be so low that it doesn’t feel possible to continue. Yet immediately following Yom Kippur comes Sukkot, and with it the invitation to rest in God’s enduring embrace. We enter sukkot, humble huts open to the stars; we sit under the “clouds of glory” (ananei ha-kavod); and we bask in the deep knowledge that, though we err, we can love and be loved by the One who dwells among us: Ve’shachanti be’tocham.