​Parashat Pekudei, 5785, 2025: "Clouds of Glory"

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Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Our parasha concludes with the final pasuk of Sefer Shemot: “For the cloud of Hashem was upon the Mishkan by day, and fire was within it at night, visible to all Israel in their journeys.” (Sefer Shemot 40:38, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  This is the second time we have encountered Hashem’s cloud of glory, as Hashem revealed this miraculous wonder to us during Yetziat Mitzrayim:

And Hashem went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to cause it to lead them on the way and at night in a pillar of fire to give them light, [they thus could] travel day and night. He did not move away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire at night [from] before the people. (Sefer Shemot 13:21-22)
 
In his Commentary on the Torah on our pasuk, Rashi (1040-1105) notes that this pillar of cloud played a dual role as Hashem’s messenger and as our fledgling nation’s guide during its travels in the Sinai Desert:
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Now who was that messenger? [It was] the pillar of cloud, and the Holy One, blessed be He, in His glory, led it before them. In any case, it was the pillar of cloud that He prepared so that they could be led by it, for they would travel by the pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud was not [meant] to provide light but to direct them [on] the way.
 
At first glance, it would seem quite logical to equate the cloud of Hashem that was upon the Mishkan with the pillar of cloud of the Exodus, as they appear to be similar in kind. The Vilna Gaon (“the Gra,” Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, 1720-1797), however, contrasts these two occurrences and highlights their significant differences:

Even though there was a Cloud of Glory that accompanied and went before them during the Exodus, it was short-lived and remained with them only until the Sea of Reeds (Yam Suf). Moreover, it was invisible to the vast majority of the Jewish people, since it was seen solely by the prophets that were among them. This was not the case in this instance [our parasha’s verse]: “For the cloud of Hashem was upon the Mishkan by day…before the eyes of beit Yisrael in all their journeys.” (Sefer Chumash HaGra, Parashat Ki Tisa 34:10, from Sefer Aderet Eliyahu, this and the following translations my own)
 
According to the Vilna Gaon, there were two essential differences between the original pillar of cloud that went before our people during the Exodus, and the one that rested upon the Mishkan: The Cloud of Glory of Yetziat Mitzrayim was temporary, whereas the cloud resting upon the Mishkan was permanent. Moreover, the Cloud of Glory of the Exodus was invisible to the majority of our nation, while the cloud that rested upon the Mishkan was visible to the entire people. What might account for these notable differences? Once again we can rely on the Vilna Gaon’s trenchant analysis:

These changes came about from the time of Moshe’s prayer [following the Chet HaEgel] and onward: “For how then will it be known that I have found favor in Your eyes, I and Your people? Is it not that You will go with us? Then I and Your people will be distinguished from every [other] nation on the face of the earth.” (Sefer Shemot 33:16) Then the Holy One answered Moshe: “And He said: ‘Behold! I will form a covenant; in the presence of all your people, I will perform wonders such as have not been created upon all the earth and among all the nations…’” (Sefer Shemot 34:10) [What was this?] This is what is meant by the expressions, [in our verse, “before the eyes of the entire house of Israel in all their journeys,”] and “the eyes of the entire Jewish people.” (Sefer Devarim 31:7, 34:12) And it is for this that we wait once again.
 
According to the Vilna Gaon, Moshe’s tefilah for reconciliation with Hashem following the Chet HaEgel altered the very nature of the Clouds of Glory. For the first time, the entire Jewish people could perceive the vision of the Cloud of Glory resting upon the holy Mishkan, and everyone could literally feel the Divine Presence of the Master of the Universe.

The Vilna Gaon’s words, “And it is for this we wait once again,” have resonated throughout the ages until our own historical moment. With Hashem’s boundless kindness, may we too witness the Cloud of Glory in the soon to be rebuilt Beit Hamikdash. V’chane yihi ratzon.
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Shabbat Shalom
 
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