This week’s Parasha describes among other things the Ark of the Covenant, or aron haberit. The Ark was inside the Qodesh HaQodashim, the most sacred area of the Mishkan or tabernacle.
What was inside the Ark of the Covenant? Among other things: a scroll of the Tora, a sample of the man and the rod of Aron haKohen. The Ark also contained the two Tablets with the Ten Commandments. But what happened with the first set of tablets that Moshe broke when he saw the People of Israel worshiping the golden calf?
What happened with the remains or pieces of the broken first Tablets? Our Rabbis assert that the fragments of the first tablets were also placed inside the Ark, next to the second Tablets (לוחות ושברי לוחות מונחים בארון).
And what can we learn from the fact that both the new Tablets and the remains of the first Tablets were in the same sacred place, same category?
1. We learn that an element that had qedusha (holiness) cannot be discarded in a dishonorable way. This is why religious objects that carry the name of HaShem – say a Sefer Tora, Tefilin, a Mezuza – when can no longer be used they cannot be thrown away. We keep them until they can be buried. That is why in every synagogue there is a Geniza, usually a large box, where these and other religious objects or books that are no longer used are placed. And eventually all these elements will be taken to a cemetery where they are buried. According to Shulhan Arukh, a sefer Tora that has some unfixable imperfection (pasul) should be buried next to a Talmid Hakham.
2. The Hakhamim also learned a great lesson from the fact that the remains of the old Tablets were kept next to the new tablets. If a respected Tora scholar is affected by Alzheimer or senility, and loses his knowledge and wisdom he should still be treated with the same respect. This individual is like the old broken Tablets. The content is gone and the wisdom completely shattered. And still we should not stop honoring him!
We learn from the fact that the Ark contained in the same place the new and the old “broken” tablets that we owe this person the same respect and honor that we gave him before.
“Am Israel” is a leading example in terms of how much values honor parents, scholars and elders, regardless of their present mental condition. It is important to keep this in mind because we live in a society that appreciates and honors people, only when they are useful.
Our Tora teaches us to honor not just what a person is but also what a person was.
