The Torah famously commands in Parashat Teruma (Shemot 25:8), “Ve’asu Li Mikdash” – “They shall make for Me a sanctuary,” establishing the Biblical command to construct a Bet Ha’mikdash, a site for the ritual service of G-d. This command includes the construction of the actual building, as well as the various furnishings which are needed for performing the service, such as the Menorah, the Shulhan (table) and the two altars.
The Sefer Ha’hinuch discusses this Misva with extensive elaboration, incorporating poetic passages in offering his insights into the meaning and purpose behind the command to build a Bet Ha’mikdash. We present here the crux of his explanation and the primary points which he develops in this context.
The Sefer Ha’hinuch prefaces his remarks with a brief poem expressing the fear and reverence with which he approaches this topic. He writes that he is frightened “to approach the sanctuary of G-d,” knowing the dangers posed to those who come closer than they deserve, approaching without having properly cleansed themselves in advance.
The Sefer Ha’hinuch then proceeds to present his understanding of this Misva, establishing first that G-d’s ultimate purpose is to bestow upon us goodness. He wants us to be deserving of His blessings so He can shower us with His bounty. G-d quite obviously has no need for our Misvot, for our prayers, or for our sacrifices, but He gave us commands so that we can thereby be deserving of all the goodness which He has in store for us. And the highest level one can attain, the Sefer Ha’hinuch explains, is the performance of Misvot out of a genuine desire to bond with the Almighty. Many people, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, are driven to perform the Misvot by the desire to attain their future rewards. Such people, he says, will certainly earn a portion in Gan Eden, but they fall short of the ideal, which is to be driven out of genuine love for Hashem and a fierce desire to attach oneself to Him. Therefore, G-d commanded us to build a large, beautiful site for prayer and sacrifices – to inspire us to love G-d and desire a connection with Him. He quite obviously does not need a Bet Ha’mikdash, but He commanded that we build such a site for our own benefit, so we are overcome by love for Him. Our feelings and emotions are impacted by our actions, and visiting the Bet Ha’mikdash and serving G-d at that site will influence us and arouse our hearts with love and devotion to our Creator. (This is also the reason why we build large, impressive buildings as synagogues where we come to pray and learn.) The Sefer Ha’hinuch adds that G-d commanded establishing this site in Jerusalem, which was situated in the center of the ancient world, because the center is generally regarded as more significant than the periphery, and thus this location will enhance the impact of the experience of visiting the Bet Ha’mikdash.
Turning his attention to the purpose of the sacrifices, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that in order to impress upon us the gravity of sin, G-d wants us to do more than merely confess when we err. He wants us to do something far more substantial and demanding, taking a costly animal and making a trip to the Bet Ha’mikdash to offer it as a sacrifice. This elaborate process will impress upon the sinner the severity of a misdeed, thus helping to ensure that he will not repeat it. The Sefer Ha’hinuch proceeds to cite the famous comments of the Ramban (Rav Moshe Nahmanides, Spain, 1194-1270) explaining how the procedure for offering a sacrifice corresponds to the process of sin and thereby brings atonement. The Semicha – placing one’s hands on the sacrifice – corresponds to the sinful act, whereas the Vidui (verbal confession) corresponds to the speech which was involved when committing the sin. The animal’s Kereb (stomach) and Kelayot (kidneys) are burned on the altar, representing sinful desire, which originates in the Kereb, and sinful thoughts, which originate in the Kelayot. The animal’s legs, too, are sacrificed, atoning for the individual’s having run to commit the forbidden act. The animal’s blood alludes to the person’s animalistic nature which led him to sin. The sprinkling of the blood, and the burning of portions of the animal, indicate to the person that in principle his blood should be shed, and his body burned, because of his sin, if not for G-d’s boundless compassion, allowing him to offer an animal in his place. The animal’s blood is spilled in exchange for his blood, and the animal’s life is taken in exchange for his own life.
The sacrificial meat is eaten by the Kohanim, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, in order to support the Kohanim, who served as the nation’s scholars and teachers.
The Sefer Ha’hinuch adds that every animal sacrifice was accompanied by an offering of wine and flour. He explains that the Torah wanted a person to sacrifice that which people generally crave and cherish the most – meat, wine and bread – for the sake of achieving atonement for their wrongdoing.
The Sefer Ha’hinuch further notes that the offering of an animal sacrifice also serves another purpose. When a person sins, he acts mindlessly, without using his G-d-given faculties of thought and discretion. In essence, the sinner behaved like an animal, which acts on impulse, without thinking and considering whether the action should be performed. To atone for sin, therefore, the Torah required slaughtering and burning an animal to symbolize the eradication of this kind of thoughtless behavior. The process of sacrifice illustrates in our minds the notion that acting thoughtlessly has no place whatsoever in the life of a G-d-fearing person. We must conduct ourselves not impulsively, like animals, but rather with careful thought and discretion. The act of slaughtering and sacrificing an animal creates a powerful image of our rejecting the animalistic quality of mindless behavior. The Sefer Ha’hinuch adds that watching the animal being slaughtered will enhance the individual’s appreciation of the fact that he is not an animal, but rather a human being with a soul, through which the body will be resurrected at the time of Tehiyat Ha’metim (the resurrection of the dead).
This process, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, along with the sinner’s sincere remorse, will earn him forgiveness. However, he adds, sacrifices generally achieve atonement only for inadvertent sins; for intentional transgressions, sacrifices do not suffice. If someone brazenly commits a sinful act, knowing full well that it is forbidden, then the symbolism of the sacrifices will not have any impact upon him. The Sefer Ha’hinuch cites King Shlomo’s teaching in the Book of Mishleh (26:3), “Ve’shebet Le’gev Kesilim” – “and a rod for the back of the fools.” Fools who willfully transgress G-d’s laws will not be impacted by symbolic acts such as sacrifices, but only by the pain of punishment. Therefore, intentional violations require punishment by the court, as sacrificial offerings do not suffice.
The Sefer Ha’hinuch observes that the Torah also establishes a system of “Korbenot Nedaba” – voluntary sacrifices, which are offered not for atonement, but rather voluntarily, whenever one wishes. The reason for these offerings, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, is that the symbolic message of sacrifices, that we must eradicate the animalistic tendency to act mindlessly, on instinct, without thinking, is something which we must all learn and internalize. Therefore, it is appropriate even for one who did not commit a transgression to offer a sacrifice to reinforce this vitally important concept.
The Sefer Ha’hinuch in this context discusses as well the most unusual of all sacrifices – the Sa’ir La’azazel that was offered on Yom Kippur. This was a goat which was not slaughtered and not placed on the altar, but was instead sent out into the desert and cast from a cliff. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that this sacrifice represents the “Hot’im Gemurim” – completely iniquitous individuals, wicked people who have thoroughly abandoned and rejected the Torah, and who bring great harm to the Jewish People. Other sacrifices are offered in the Bet Ha’mikdash to indicate that even sinners retain a connection to G-d. The Sa’ir La’azazel, however, is taken outside the Bet Ha’mikdash to demonstrate that the “Hot’im Gemurim” have lost all connection to G-d. The goat was cast off the mountain and dismembered, symbolic of the eternal destruction suffered by these sinners.
After presenting all these explanations of the purpose of the Bet Ha’mikdash and the sacrifices, the Sefer Ha’hinuch then concedes that ultimately, the real reasons are found in the wisdom of the Kabbalah. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that we have no choice but to humbly submit to the Kabbalists’ scholarship, as only they truly understand the meaning behind these Misvot.
He then proceeds to outline some of the basic details regarding the structure of the Bet Ha’mikdash. The inner chamber of the Bet Ha’mikdash was called the “Kodesh Ha’kodashim,” next to which was the “Kodesh.” Outside the “Kodesh” was an area called the “Ulam.” These three areas together comprised the “Hechal,” the indoor section of the Bet Ha’mikdash. The outdoor area outside the “Hechal” was surrounded by a wall and called the “Azara” (“courtyard”). The “Azara” consisted of different regions, one where only Kohanim were permitted, and another where even non-Kohanim were allowed to enter. Various offices – called “Leshakot” – were situated around the Bet Ha’mikdash, and the equipment needed for the Bet Ha’mikdash was stored in these rooms.
The Sefer Ha’hinuch notes that unlike most other Misvot, the Misva to construct the Bet Ha’mikdash is binding collectively upon the nation as a whole, and not upon individuals or groups of individuals. He concludes his discussion by writing, “When the house will be rebuilt, speedily and in our days, this affirmative command will [again] be fulfilled.”