Pekudei: Benefit, Pleasure, and Holiness
In several of my posts in the last few weeks, we’ve looked at the Meshech Chochma’s view of kedusha (holiness). We saw this through the prism of the parochet in parshat Terumah and then through the broken tablets in parshat Ki Tisa. This week we’ll take another look at this theme, but this time with a focus on the topic of human enjoyment and benefit, and how that relates to kedusha.
After having spent several weeks discussing the construction of the mishkan, this week, we reach its conclusion.
In chapter 40, God instructs Moshe regarding the sanctification process of the items in the mishkan. The Meshech Chochma, in writing about this process, will raise a halachic concept known as מעילה (me’ilah). Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz defines me’ilah as “trespass..the unlawful use of consecrated property. He continues further by explaining that “anyone who benefits from consecrated property or damages it through use is guilty of me’ilah.”
The main item which the Meshech Chochma discusses is the ki’or (laver), a large basin of water that had taps from which the kohanim would wash their hands and feet before service in the mishkan, and later in the Temple. He will also make reference to the priestly vestments, which we discussed for parshat Tetzaveh.
But first, the verse upon which the Meshech Chochma comments:
וּמָשַׁחְתָּ֥ אֶת־הַכִּיֹּ֖ר וְאֶת־כַּנּ֑וֹ וְקִדַּשְׁתָּ֖ אֹתֽוֹ׃
And you shall anoint the laver and its stand and consecrate it. (Shemot 40:11).
ומשחת את הכיור כו' וקדשת אותו. לא כתיב והיה קדש בכיור וכן בכה"ג כתיב והלבשת כו'. הענין מפני שלדעתי מי כיור אין מועלין בהן דנתנו לרחיצה ולהנות לכהנים וכן בגדי כהונה אין מועלין בהן דנתנו להנות בהן
And you shall anoint the laver...and consecrate it. It is not written “it will become holy” about the laver, and also about the kohen gadol it is written that Aharon was dressed [before being anointed] (Shemot 40:13). The important matter is that in my opinion, the water of the laver cannot be made me’ilah, since they were used by the kohanim for bathing and enjoying. And also with regard to the priestly vestments, they cannot be made me’ilah, since they were given for the kohanim to enjoy.
The Meshech Chochma here is interested in objects and their holiness, which is a theme he often highlights, as we’ve mentioned before. What I like about this week is that R’ Meir Simcha takes a slightly different approach in his analysis of kedusha. In parshat Terumah, he picked up on the parochet’s role as the divider between levels of holiness. In Ki Tisa, he suggested that Moshe’s breaking of the tablets was a sign that the tablets did not have inherent holiness, and that Am Yisrael’s transgression of building the Golden Calf stripped the kedusha from those tablets.
Here, though, the Meshech Chochma’s read relates to the syntax of our verse and is only after that tied to concepts of kedusha. By commanding that Moshe first anoint the laver, and only then will the laver become consecrated, God is once again making kedusha conditional. The act of anointing confers kedusha that would not otherwise exist.
It’s important now to step back and examine the role of the laver in the service of the Temple, as well as the function of me’ilah. As I wrote above, the laver was the basin from which the kohanim would wash their hands and feet before performing the Temple service. Me’ilah is the unauthorized use of, or benefit from, consecrated property.
We know the laver itself has holy status, given the anointing that happened in the first part of our verse. The question is now whether the water of the laver is subject to the laws of me’ilah. Is that water considered holy, such that improper use of it would render a kohen liable for me’ilah?
The Meshech Chochma reasons that the waters of the laver are not subject to me’ilah because they were given so that the kohanim could bathe and enjoy that water. The same goes for the priestly clothing. If these things are not subject to me’ilah, it must be that they aren’t considered kadosh (holy).
It appears here in our verses that the Meshech Chochma is making a fine distinction between a container and the items placed into or onto that container. The laver itself was made kadosh, but the water within it was not. The kohanim benefit from the laver’s water more than the basin itself. Aharon himself was anointed and made kadosh, but the clothing he wore was not.
What can we learn from this distinction? First, the Meshech Chochma’s philosophy of kedusha bears repeating. From what we learned in Ki Tisa, kedusha can be conferred onto a place or an object only through upholding the covenant and the commandments it demands of us.
Here, though, the Meshech Chochma seems to be adding another feature to kedusha. By reasoning that there is a connection between the benefit that the kohanim receive from the water and the lack of kedusha that the water has, he seems to be suggesting that human benefit or enjoyment can (potentially) preclude an item’s kedusha.
At first, this may seem radical. It may seem wrong not only to disassociate joy and kedusha but also to suggest that they may fundamentally be at odds! But I think we should take another moment to consider what this could be teaching us.
Perhaps, when it comes to kedusha, human enjoyment and pleasure shouldn’t be defining features. Perhaps kedusha is a realm devoted to the divine and not involved in the emotions felt by human beings.
Ultimately I don’t think that kedusha and enjoyment are mutually exclusive, as I toyed with just a moment ago, but I do think that it’s helpful to think about. One can certainly derive pleasure and benefit from objects that have kedusha. The point is that enjoyment is not central, it’s only secondary. This seems to me to be the Meshech Chochma’s point.
After all these weeks spent talking about kedusha, we now get ready to move into Sefer Vayikra (the Book of Leviticus), in which kedusha is also a central theme. As we move into that book, I’d encourage you to think about the model of kedusha that the Meshech Chochma has provided for us.
How is kedusha conferred? What are the conditions on kedusha? Is there a relationship between human emotion and kedusha?
We will all have different approaches and answers to these questions, but I hope that seeing things through R’ Meir Simcha’s eyes has helped you refine your own understanding of kedusha in our world. Shabbat shalom and chodesh tov.