Tabernacle in the Desert
Question
Hi
All the way from Johannesburg, South Africa.
I’ve been reading through this week’s Torah portion “Vayakhel”. The Tabernacle was built with a complete enclosure surrounding the inside section – see attachment if it successfully uploaded
If so, how did the Jewish people manage to see what the Kohanim were doing inside?
It would seem such a shame that after everyone donated so generously and worked so hard to build the Tabernacle, they weren’t able to see what was going on inside…
Regards
Seth
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Answers
The Tabernacle was an intensely spiritual place and, as with all spiritual dimensions, it came with a hierarchy of spirituality. That means that there were those who were able to serve in almost the entirety of the Tabernacle and those who could not. The Kohanim (priests) were allowed to be in most of the Tabernacle because they represented the spiritual dimensions of the Jewish Nation. But even the Kohanim were not allowed into the Holy of Holies. That privilege was reserved only for the Kohan Gadol, the High Priest, because his spiritual stature was even higher than the other Kohanim. It was that elevated stature that meant that only the Kohan Gadol could access the most spiritual parts of the Tabernacle.
For the regular Israelites, there were parts of the Tabernacle they could access, and also parts they were not allowed to enter because their spiritual designation was lower.
In effect, the Tabernacle was similar to a royal palace, with certain parts that can be accessed by all and other parts that are only for certain royal household members. And there is the inner sanctum, which is reserved only for the very, very select few.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team
Thank you for your answer & insight.
(I had thought this question wasn’t successful sent, so I logged a 2nd question which is really just a repeat of this one.)
Shabbat Shalom 🕯️🕯️
It’s a pleasure. I am happy that Just ask! was able to be of assistance.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team