Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. IV, p. 1346-1347; Vol. XI, Terumah

A Difference of Opinion between the Rambam and the Ramban

In Hilchos Beis HaBechirah, after stating the mitzvah to construct a Sanctuary, the Rambam writes:[1]

We must make utensils for the Sanctuary: an altar for... the sacrifices, a ramp to ascend the altars..., a washbasin with a pedestal, an altar for the incense offering, a menorah, and a table [for the showbread].

By mentioning the utensils in this manner, the Rambam underscores a theme which he mentions in Sefer HaMitzvos[2] - that the mitzvah to construct a Sanctuary also includes fashioning all the utensils necessary to perform the various different elements of sacrificial worship required in the Beis HaMikdash. There is no separate mitzvah to fashion any of these utensils.

In his Hasagos to Sefer HaMitzvos,[3] the Ramban differs and explains that the construction of the Beis HaMikdash should be considered as one mitzvah, and the fashioning of the utensils as separate mitzvos. To quote:

The utensils are not part of the structures. Rather, they are two mitzvos, which are not dependent on each other. We may offer sacrifices in the Beis [HaMikdash] although it is lacking utensils.[4]

What is the Purpose of the Beis HaMikdash: Sacrificial Worship or Revealing G-d's Presence

The difference of opinion between these two authorities is, conceivably, representative of a divergence of approach regarding a matter of greater scope. In Sefer HaMitzvos,[5] the Rambam describes the mitzvah of building the Beis HaMikdash as a command to "make a house for service where sacrifices will be offered;" i.e., he places an emphasis on the Beis HaMikdash as being the center for the sacrificial worship of G-d. Without the utensils necessary for this service, the sacrifices could not be offered. Therefore, the mitzvah of building the Beis HaMikdash also includes fashioning the utensils necessary for this worship.

This concept is also reflected in the Mishneh Torah,[6] where the Rambam begins his discussion of the mitzvah of constructing the Beis HaMikdash as follows: "It is a positive commandment to construct a house for G-d, prepared for sacrifices to be offered within." The mitzvah of building the Sanctuary is complete when it is "prepared for sacrifices to be offered within."[7]

The Ramban, by contrast, sees the construction of the Beis HaMikdash as a commandment with a self-contained goal - building a sanctuary for the manifestation of G-d's Presence. Thus in his Commentary to the Torah,[8] he writes: "[G-d's] essential purpose in the Sanctuary was [the construction of] a resting place for the Divine Presence."

In this conception, sacrificial worship represents an additional service that is not intrinsically related to the existence of the Beis HaMikdash. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the fashioning of the different utensils necessary for sacrificial worship be considered as mitzvos in their own right.

A Resolution of the Differences: The Purpose of the Beis HaMikdash in Man's Eyes and Its Purpose in the Eyes of G-d

This conception of the differences between the Rambam and the Ramban cannot, however, be accepted without further explanation. For the manifestation of G-d's Presence as a goal of the Beis HaMikdash is alluded to in the very verse[9] which the Rambam cites[10] as the prooftext for the commandment to build the Beis HaMikdash: "And you shall make Me a Sanctuary and I shall dwell within." Moreover, the Rambam describes the mitzvah of building the Beis HaMikdash[11] in Hilchos Beis HaBechirah,[12] as constructing "a house for G-d," indicating that preparing a structure in which G-d's Presence is manifest is the primary purpose of the construction of the Beis HaMikdash.

Conversely, we are forced to say that the Ramban appreciated the establishment of a centralized place of worship as a fundamental goal which is fulfilled by the construction of the Beis HaMikdash. For there are passages from the Torah which clearly indicate this connection, emphasizing that G-d's choice of "a place for His name to dwell" is associated with the command - "there you will bring... your burnt offerings, your sacrifices...."[13]

Therefore, it must be explained that the purposes emphasized by the Rambam and the Ramban are not to the exclusion of the other. The difference between their perspectives stems from the choice of the dimension which they choose to stress. The Rambam speaks of the Beis HaMikdash in terms of the mitzvos to be fulfilled by man in relating to G-d. Hence, he emphasizes the dimension of sacrificial worship. The Ramban, by contrast, focuses on "[G-d's] essential purpose in the Sanctuary." Therefore, he places the emphasis on the manifestation of G-d's Presence.

In the Era of the Redemption

Both these purposes, the manifestation of G-d's Presence and man's sacrificial worship, will reach their utmost level of fulfillment in the Third Beis HaMikdash in the Era of the Redemption. For this will be "the Sanctuary of G-d, established by Your hands,"[14] and "there, we will offer to You our obligatory sacrifices... with love, in accord with the command of Your will."[15]

May our study of the different elements of the Beis HaMikdash herald the time when we will rejoice in its construction. And may this take place in the immediate future.

   

Notes:

1. (Back to text) 1:6.

2. (Back to text) Positive commandment 20, General Principle 12.

3. (Back to text) Hasagos to positive commandment 33.

4. (Back to text) The Ramban, nevertheless, counts only the fashioning of the ark as a separate mitzvah, and not the fashioning of the altars, the menorah, and the table for the showbread. He explains that the fashioning of these sacred utensils are not considered mitzvos in their own right, but rather as preparatory activities necessary to make possible the different services associated with these utensils. Note also a similar conception in the Minchas Chinuch (Mitzvah 95).

5. (Back to text) Positive commandment 20.

6. (Back to text) Hilchos Beis HaBechirah 1:1.

7. (Back to text) Although the Rambam maintains that the fashioning of the utensils is part of the mitzvah of constructing the Beis HaMikdash, the offering of the sacrifices is not dependent on the presence of all the utensils. Indeed, as the Rambam states in Hilchos Beis HaBechirah 6:15, we are allowed to offer sacrifices on the altar even when the Beis HaMikdash as a whole is destroyed. See also Megillas Esther to positive commandment 33.

8. (Back to text) On Shmos 25:2.

9. (Back to text) Shmos, loc. cit.

10. (Back to text) Hilchos Beis HaBechirah 1:1.

11. (Back to text) Ibid. Note the contrast to the wording of the Rambam in Sefer HaMitzvos, positive commandment 20 quoted previously.

12. (Back to text) Indeed, the very name, Hilchos Beis HaBechirah, "The Laws of [G-d's] Chosen House," indicates an emphasis on the uniqueness of the Beis HaMikdash as the place chosen by G-d for His presence to be manifest.

13. (Back to text) Devarim 12:11 Note the explanation of this passage in the essay entitled "G-d's Chosen House."

14. (Back to text) Shmos 15:17.

15. (Back to text) The Shabbos Musaf liturgy, Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 195. In Chassidic thought (Torah Or, Vayechi, 46d ff; Toras Chaim, Vayechi, 95a ff), this is interpreted as referring to the ultimate level of service, fulfilling the mitzvos, not out of a man's desire to cling to G-d, but for His sake, as expressions of "His will."