The Acacia Ark That Healed Israel's Sin at Shittim

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Vayakhel 9:1

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

[(Exodus 37:1:) "And Bezalel made the ark of acacia (shittim) wood."] R. Jeremiah said: (Jeremiah 30:17:) "For I will bring up healing for you, and I will heal you of your wounds, etc." A king of flesh and blood strikes with a scalpel and heals with a plaster, but the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so: with the very thing by which He strikes, He heals. As it is said (Exodus 15:23): "And they came to Marah, [and they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter (marim)]." R. Levi said: Why "for they were bitter"? The generation was bitter in its deeds. (Exodus 15:25:) "And he cried out to the Lord, [and the Lord showed him a tree ( etz)]." The Holy One, blessed be He, gave him bitter wood, and he put it into the bitter [water], "and the waters became sweet" (ibid.). This is [the meaning of] "and I will heal you of your wounds." So too Israel, when they sinned at Shittim, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: By your lives, through that very thing by which you sinned, you shall be healed. "And Bezalel made the ark [of acacia (shittim) wood]."

Themes

HealingSinNoahExodusEgypt

Biblical References

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Midrash Tanchuma Buber, BeshalachWhy the Egyptians Cried Woe When Pharaoh Let Israel GoOpen the Torah scroll to the words "And it came to pass when Pharaoh let the people go," and listen, my children, to how Resh Laqish heard them. He did not hearMidrash Tanchuma Buber, YitroGod Heals Israel's Blind, Deaf, and Lame Before SinaiWhen the Holy One spoke to Moses at the bush, He promised: bring the people out of Egypt, and you shall serve Me upon this mountain. So Moses waited, counting tMidrash Tanchuma Buber, TerumahThe Singing Cedars and the Acacia That Heals ShittimListen, children, to the secret of the boards. The great center bar that ran end to end through the Tabernacle did not begin in the wilderness. It came down to Book of JubileesStory of ShemBook of Jubilees turns to Story of Shem. Chapter 8 gives us a glimpse into the post-Flood world order, focusing on the division of the earth among Noah's sons. Midrash AggadahWhy the Presumptuous Walked in Darkness Up the MountainWhen the spies' evil report had sealed Israel's fate in the wilderness, a band of them rose at dawn determined to march into the Land after all. Scripture callsMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelIt Shall Be as a Sign Upon Your Hand(Ibid. 16) "And it shall be as a sign upon your hand, etc.": The Mekhilta, a halakhic midrash from the school of Rabbi Yishmael, reads this verse from the accou