to a fascinating passage from Vayikra Rabbah, a midrashic commentary on the Book of Leviticus, that explores this concept.

The passage begins with the investiture of Aaron and his sons as priests. Leviticus 8:2 mentions "the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams.” Now, Rabbi Huna, citing Rabbi Abba bar Kahana, gives us a rather vivid image: He pictures them arranged to form a kind of hill. A ram on one side, a ram on the other, and the bull standing in the middle. The different heights create this symbolic hill, representing how Aaron and his sons were being elevated through this investiture. Beautiful. A visual representation of spiritual ascent.

But the midrash doesn't stop there. It moves on to Leviticus 8:3: "Assemble the entire congregation at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting." Now, Rabbi Elazar raises a crucial question: All of Israel? Six hundred thousand people? At the entrance of the Tent of Meeting? That seems...impossible.

And here’s where it gets interesting. Rabbi Elazar suggests this is "one of the places where the lesser contained the greater." Makom she’hamuat me’at machzik harbeh. A place where a small space holds a vast multitude.

This idea, this "lesser containing the greater," becomes a recurring theme. It's not just about physical space, but about the boundless nature of the Divine and its ability to manifest even in seemingly limited circumstances.

The midrash then offers a series of examples. Think about Genesis 1:9, "Let the water under the heavens be gathered to one place." The entire world was full of water! How could it all gather in "one place"? Again, the answer: the lesser contained the greater.

Or consider the story of the plagues in Egypt. In Exodus 9:8, Moses and Aaron are instructed to take "cupped handfuls of soot of a furnace." Rav Huna points out that a cupped handful is twice the size of a clenched handful. So, four cupped handfuls are like eight clenched ones. But Moses is supposed to throw it "heavenward" with one hand! How is that possible? The Holy One, blessed be He, provided the ability! The lesser contained the greater.

The passage continues, piling on examples: the dimensions of the courtyard in Exodus 27:18, the rock from which water flowed in Numbers 20:10, Joshua gathering the Israelites in Joshua 3:9. In each case, the same principle applies: a limited space somehow accommodates the infinite.

Rav Hanin even describes the rock in Numbers as being the size of a sieve! Impossible for all of Israel to stand before it. Unless... the lesser contains the greater.

One particularly striking interpretation comes from Rav Huna. He suggests Joshua stood all the Israelites "erect between the two staves of the Ark." Rava says he "crowded them" there. Can you imagine? It sounds absurd, yet it leads to a powerful statement from Joshua: "With this you will know that the living God is in your midst" (Joshua 3:10). Because the staves of the Ark contained them all, they knew of the Divine Presence.

The passage concludes with a vision of the future. Jeremiah 3:17 promises that "all the nations will be gathered" to Jerusalem, which will be called "the Throne of the Lord." But how can Jerusalem contain all the nations?

Rabbi Yoḥanan asks Rabbi Ḥanina this very question, and Rabbi Ḥanina answers with verses from Isaiah: "Expand the place of your tent…for you will spread right and left" (Isaiah 54:2-3). The idea, again, is that the seemingly limited can expand to encompass the infinite.

So, what does all this mean for us? Perhaps it's a reminder that the Divine can be found even in the most unexpected places, even in the smallest of containers. Maybe it's an invitation to see beyond the limitations of our physical world and to recognize the boundless possibilities that exist within. And maybe, just maybe, it’s a comforting thought that even when we feel cramped and confined, there's always room for something greater.