The weight of names
held on the heart
Carry me on your heart
Carry my deeds on your head
Eternal memory engraved
Opening up
in a burst of glory
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From the structure and furnishing, we move to the human component
of the Dwelling. The translation of Sinai into material also involves the translation
of divinity into the human artisans: “And now you will speak to all the wise-hearted, whom I have filled
with a spirit of wisdom.” These spirit-full artisans can create the clothing
that will “consecrate [Aaron] that he may minister to Me.”
The “heart” of the artisans, filled with divine wisdom,
becomes thematic: it is the heart that is the seat of connection to God, with
Aaron “carrying the names of the Children of Israel on his heart as an
eternal remembrance.” The head, by contrast, deals with sin, not connection: “And
Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things that the Children of Israel
shall hallow.”
Consecration and holiness sees directly linked to the
connection t to material, to the things that are “carried” (naso—the other
leitword of this chapter), The material clothes consecrate their bearers, making
them holy. Aaron must bear the names and memory of Israel upon his heart,
engraved into stones. The breakdown
within consecration must be “born” (naso) on Aaron’s forehead.
The human, living element of the Dwelling adds an undertone
of menace. The blurring of boundaries between divine and human is dangerous. The
“iniquity” that Aaron must bear is part of a larger, darker theme: “that they
bear not iniquity and die” is the refrain.
The danger of being overly-intimate closes the chapter, as
we return to the initial presentation of the altar with the creation of the
trousers: Do not expose your nakedness to the altar.]
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