At the end of the Book of Shmot, Moshe cannot enter the Tent of Assembly and the shechina has not yet spoken with him!
Pekudei, the final parasha in Sefer Shemot, concludes by relating ( 40:31-38 ): ‘So Moshe completed the work’ of the Mishkan.’The cloud covered the Tent of Assembly and the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan. Moshe could not enter the Tent of Meeting, for the cloud rested upon it, and the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan. When the cloud was raised up from upon the Mishkan, Bnei Israel would embark on all their journeys. If the cloud did not rise up, they would not embark, until the day it rose up. The cloud of Hashem would be on the Mishkan by day, and fire would be on it at night, before the eyes of all of the House of Israel throughout their journeys.
Ramban comments:’The cloud covered the Tent of Assembly’: Meaning that the cloud covered the Tent from all sides, and it was covered and concealed in it, and the glory of Hashem filled the Tent, as the glory dwelled within the cloud; and later, the cloud moved from the tent and dwelled on the Ark, as it is written:(25:22)’There I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from atop the Ark cover from between the two cherubim..all that I will command you unto Bnei Israel.
‘And it says:’Moshe could not enter the Tent of Assembly, even to its entrance because the cloud covered it, and he was not permitted to come into the cloud, and also because the Mishkan was filled with the glory of Hashem, so how could he enter it?
‘The reason was that he should not come there without permission, but Hashem would call to him, and he would come within the cloud, as occurred at Har Sinai.’
Our Sages - in Petichta deRut Rabba- bring the teaching of Rav Chama bar Chanina:’Does it come to your mind that Moshe was afraid of the cloud? Indeed we already read :(24:18) that Moshe entered into the cloud - this teaches that the cloud parted for him, and he walked in it like a man walks along a path; but when we read that ‘Moshe could not enter’, it teaches that he gave proper respect to the shechina and did not enter, until Hashem called to him.’
Rav Shimon Schwab, on this Midrash, comments: ‘When the Torah writes ‘could not enter’, the plain meaning is that it was not possible for him to enter.
‘We need to say that, in regard to midot, habit becomes nature; Moshe Rabbeinu’s exemplary humility, elevated it to be part of him, and, since he was exceptional in his subservience to Hashem, this became part of him, and he therefore truly ‘could not enter’ without permission - literally, as the Torah writes.’
Rav Zalman Sorotzkin adds:’’Moshe could not enter’: there is ‘could not’, meaning: is not permitted; and this is the meaning here, as our Sages say, that Moshe Rabbeinu did not enter until he was called to do so.’
Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl first notes that the Ramban, at the conclusion of his commentary to Sefer Shemot, calls it: Sefer Hageula’: the Book of Redemption, and expounds:’’What distinguishes the redemption? Not the exodus from Egypt, nor Matan Torah, but the erection of the Mishkah, because only when it was erected, and the shechina returned to reside, did Bnei Israel return to the level of their forefathers before the galut.
‘But there is a difficulty in saying so, as already at Matan Torah the shechina dwelled on Bnei Israel! True - but that was on a once-only basis, an ephemeral wondrous event. The erection of the Mishkan, on the other hand, paved the way for the shechina to permanently reside in Israel, though, to our great distress, we did not merit this for some two thousand years - still, the objective of the erection of the Mishkan was:’And I shall dwell amongst you’, and that the honor of Hashem’s Kingship would appear in our midst, for eternity.
‘Therefore - says Ramban - the Book of Redemption concludes with the erection of the Mishkan, in the assembly where the cloud of Hashem rests, because only then did Bnei Israel return to the level of our forefathers, when the cloud of Hashem resided on their tents in a permanent manner.
‘However, if this is the ‘apex’ of Sefer Shemot, it ends in a manner that arouses wonder, raising a question-mark as to the erection of the Mishkan.
‘This arises from two of our concluding psukim: The first describes, that ‘the cloud covered the Tent of Assembly’ - on first thought, this was the desired outcome, that all were yearning for: the residing of the shechina in the Mishkan; but in the next pasuk, there is an unexpected development:’Moshe could not enter the Tent of Assembly, for the cloud rested upon it, and the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan’.
‘After all the labors of all of the people over months, and after the people in their heart-of-hearts, hoped that the residence of the shechina in the Mishkan was the proof of forgiveness of the transgression of the golden calf - and, alas, Moshe Rabbeinu, their leader, cannot enter the Tent of Assembly!
‘Could this be an ominous message from Above?
‘True, that we have an answer to this: now, at the conclusion of Sefer Shemot, Moshe cannot enter - but at the very start of Sefer Vayikra, the Torah relates that immediately theresfter: .’Hashem calls to Moshe, and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Assembly’, and the cloud that filled the Tent reduced itself, to residing above the Ark in the Kodesh haKodashim, so that Moshe could then enter the Tent.
‘Nevertheless, if the objective of the Mishkan was - amongst other things - ‘There I will meet with you, and speak with you..’, surely it would have been more apt to conclude the Book of Redemption by Moshe entering the Tent, by Hashem calling him and speaking to him, that in that moment the choicest in Israel enters the Tent, and the shechina talks to him face-to-face; then truly - in the words of the Ramban - can it be said that the return to the level of the forefathers has been achieved.
‘Instead, the Sefer concludes with a sense of some distancing, on the part of Hashem; Moshe cannot enter the Tent of Assembly and the shechina has not yet spoken with him!
‘Perhaps we can explain in the following manner: True, the purpose of the Mishkan was to show the closeness of Hashem, His love for Israel, the ‘I shall dwell amongst them’, that the Kohanim, by their service in it, would draw the people closer to Hashem - but this was all from the aspect of love that was in the Mishkan; from it being the place of the greatest love between Hashem and kneset Israel.
‘But this love also needs יראה: fear - just as man needs to seek closeness to Hashem - indeed this is his purpose, to be beloved by Hashem, whose Mitzvot he fulfills out of love - in the same measure, this love has to be accompanied by fear of Hashem, which serves as the foundation - within the closeness to, and the love of the Creator, man needs to also know the distance; not to draw nearer than is proper.
‘Proof of this: the stand at which the Torah was given - though it was an event steeped in love, it was preceded by by יראה, by the separation from family for three days, and the restriction on approaching the mountain - because, with all the love of matan Torah, there was equally a need for fear - fear to come too close to the shechina, because love without fear - will not endure.
‘This very same consideration was also required at the consecration of the Mishkan, as a basis for the great love it represented; there had to be a foundation of fear, that all should know the infinite distance between man and the shechina, his Creator.
‘Therefore, when the Torah chose to conclude Sefer Shemot with Moshe Rabbeinu being unable to enter the Mishkan, this emphasized the complete redemption of
Israel! This confirmed their return to the level of their forefathers, because only when we see, that even a man as great as Moshe Rabbeinu cannot enter; that there is a place that is even out of bounds to him - THIS expresses the residence of the shechina in Israel; this is faithful testimony, that the shechins dwells in Israel in its full force.
‘To make this clearer: to enter, is possible in every mundane place, whenever one wishes - this, in itself, is proof that the shechina does not dwell there.
‘Where is the greatest revelation of the shechina? In the place where one may not enter. If one may not enter the Mishkan, it means that ‘And I shall dwell amongst you’ has occurred; precisely if ‘Moshe could not enter the Tent of Assembly’ - that is the greatest proof that Hashem is in our midst, and that Bnei Israel returned to the level of our forefathers.’
Rav Shimon Sofer finds an allusion to this, in our psukim, from the repetition of words:’’The cloud covered the Tent of Assembly and the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan’, and this is repeated later in the pasuk:’the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan’- interrupted by the words ‘Moshe could not enter’.
‘We need to expound that this repetition, comes to say, that ‘the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan, and Moshe could not enter the Tent of Assembly’: even the great Moshe in all his sanctity could not enter, proving the greatness of the glory of the Tent of Assembly, that the glory of Hashem truly filled the Mishkan.’
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