It's not like there was an instruction manual from IKEA!
Rabbi Ishmael, relaying a teaching from Rabbi Akiba in the name of Rabbi Eliezer the Great, gives us a pretty amazing insight. According to Heikhalot Rabbati 31, our ancestors didn't just start piling stones on top of each other willy-nilly. Oh no, it was a far more involved process than that.
They actually had to… compel the King of the World – that is, God Himself – along with all His heavenly host, to reveal the secrets of the Torah relating to the Temple's construction! Talk about divine intervention! They had to practically insist on getting the inside scoop, the divine blueprints, if you will. They needed to know how to build it, how to interpret the instructions, and how to put it all into practice.
Can you imagine that scene? The sheer audacity, the faith, the chutzpah of our ancestors!
And what happened next is equally incredible. The Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit, manifested itself from the main entrance of the Beit Adonai, the House of the Lord. Now, this is key: the text tells us that the Shekhinah, the divine presence, wasn't actually dwelling in the Kodesh HaKodashim, the Holy of Holies, at this point, “because of the decree.” It leaves us hanging as to what that decree was, doesn't it? What prevented God's full presence from residing in the most sacred space?
But what did happen was that when our ancestors saw the kisei hakavod, the Throne of Glory, making its way and standing between the cella (the inner chamber) and the altar… well, that was a sign. Remember, at this point, they hadn't even finished the building yet.
So what does this all mean? It suggests that the building of the Temple wasn't just a matter of physical construction. It was a deeply spiritual undertaking, requiring divine guidance and the manifestation of God’s presence. It wasn't enough to just follow a set of plans; they needed to be in direct communication with the Divine Architect. It speaks to the intimate connection between the earthly and the heavenly realms, and to the idea that even the most physical of acts can be imbued with profound spiritual significance.
Perhaps the unbuilt Temple was a space of pure potential, a liminal zone where the earthly and divine could most easily meet. It makes you wonder, doesn't it, what sacred spaces we are building today, and how we might invite that same divine presence into our own creations? What “decrees” might be holding back the Shekhinah from fully dwelling within us?