Kodesh Kadashim

In this week’s parshah, the Torah speaks about the final details of the construction of the Tabernacle and the service practiced inside of it. In one section of the parshah, Hashem (God) commands Moshe to anoint all the vessels of the Tabernacle with special oil, and only then would they be sanctified for the Tabernacle’s service. The Torah tells us:

“You shall take the anointment oil and anoint the Tabernacle and everything that is in it, sanctify it and all its utensils, and it shall become holy. You shall anoint the Elevation-offering Altar and all its utensils; you shall sanctify the Altar, and the Alter shall become holy of holies (Kodesh Kadashim)” [Exodus: 40: 9 – 10]

It seems strange that the Copper Altar (which is the same as the “Elevation-offering Altar) is designated as “holy of holies” while everything else isn’t. What’s so special about the Copper Altar that it warrants this designation?

In truth, the Copper Altar is not the only vessel that has been singled out as “holy of holies”. As we all know, the closed off section of the Tabernacle containing the Golden Ark is also labeled as “the holy of holies”. Therefore, in order to answer our question we need to understand the connection between the Copper Altar and the Golden Ark, and what connection they both have to the idea of “holy of holies”.

So far, we’ve been using the term “holy of holies” as the English translation to the Hebrew words in our verse “Kodesh Kadashim”. In fact, the real translation for “Kodesh” is “separation”. Therefore, “Kodesh Kadashim” should be translated as something like “separation of separations”. There may be many ways to explain the meaning of this term, but I believe that the double expression of “separation of separations” is simply meant as an emphasis on something that’s separated; as if to say that something is “really separated”. But what does it mean that something is “really” separated?

The idea is that two items are most separate when placed side by side, which at first sounds like a contradiction. If two things are side by side, how are they separate? What it really means is that, in order for one to recognize an intrinsic separation between items, he would have to place them side by side. By doing this, he can compare the two items and identify how they are different (separate) from one another. Furthermore, often times the contrast between two items is greatest when placed in contact with one another. For example, black and white. The two colors are considered opposites; you don’t get more separate than that! But in order to really stress the distinction between black and white, the best way would be to place the colors side by side, so that they’re actually touching. It is at this point of contact where the separation is most apparent.

“Separation of separations” therefore expresses the point where two polar opposites meet up with one another. So how does this apply to both the Copper Altar and the Golden Ark?

Concerning the Copper Altar, the Torah says:

“… where I (God) shall set My meeting with you to speak to you there” [Exodus: 29: 42]

On this verse, Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, famed as the author of the first comprehensive commentary on the Torah) writes:

“There are those of our Rabbis that learn from here (from this verse) that God would speak to Moses from upon the Copper Altar…And there are those that say (that God spoke to Moses) from upon the Cover (of the Golden Ark), as it says ‘And I (God) shall speak with you from upon the Cover’ [Exodus: 25: 22]…”

Although there seems to be a debate on the location of where God would converse with Moses, it may be possible to explain that God used both of these locations! Therefore, the connection between the Copper Altar and the Golden Ark is that they were both sites in which God would descend into this world in order to communicate with Moses. The idea of “separation of separations” should now be clear; both these places were the points of contact between God and the world. They are both seen as the connecting channels between the polar opposites of Heaven and Earth, the spiritual and physical elements of our world.

The only remaining question is why God needed both of these places in order to speak with Moses? Couldn’t one suffice?

When examining the respective functions of the Copper Altar and the Golden Ark, one may recognize that they are entirely different from one another. The Copper Altar is used every single day; it is upon the Copper Altar that the “continual elevation-offering” is sacrificed as the Torah says: “This is what you shall offer upon the (Copper) Altar: two sheep within their first year every day, continually” [Exodus: 29: 38]. The Golden Ark on the other hand is barely ever used. It is only used one time throughout the entire year during the special incense offering that is offered on Yom Kippur. And even then, the Ark itself is not used, the incense offering is merely offered in front of it! So, here we have two opposites: The Copper Altar, which is used every single day, and the Golden Ark, which is used only once a year to a minimum degree.

Since both of these vessels represent the means in which God communicates with the world, they can also represent the two different methods of communication. There is the “once in a lifetime” kind of communication in which God performs a miracle that goes beyond the laws of nature. And there is the “everyday” communication, which is not recognized as much. It is the setting of the sun, the rustling of the leaves, or the flat tire you get on the highway. This is the way in which God communicates with us every day and in every aspect of our lives.

Often times, communication works two ways. Therefore we have to have two modes of communication with God as well. There is the connection we establish with Him at different junctures in our lives where we feel closest to Him or where we feel we need Him the most. These may be times of joy, like marriage and during the different annual Jewish holidays, or times of sorrow, such as times of pain and death. But we are also meant to communicate with God every day of our lives, this is of course realized when we pray three times a day to God. But even more than that, we are meant to connect to God in every action we undertake, every word we speak and e very thought we think.

May we merit to have a two-way connection to God not only in those one-time occurrences, but in every second of our lives.



Good Shabbos,

NZL