ספר שמות

The dividing curtain between the Sanctuary and the Holy of ‎Holies separated an area of 10 by ten cubits, “the Holy of Holies,” ‎the sanctuary being 20 by 10 cubits. The length of the Tabernacle ‎‎(inside) thus was a total of 30 cubits. The number 30 equals 3 ‎times ‎י‎. These three ‎י‎ symbolize 1) “looking” in the direction of ‎G’d with faith, ‎אמונה‎, 2) looking in the direction of G’d with one’s ‎intellect, 3) looking at G’d after divesting himself of all elements ‎that connect one to one’s physical existence, to one’s body. The ‎difference between these three levels of holiness has been ‎explained in the introduction of the Raa’vad, ‎רבי אברהם בר ‏דויד‎ to the Sefer Yetzirah. The ‎י‎ third therefore is considered ‎on the highest level, or ‎קדשי קדשים‎ Holies of Holies. The ‎יריעות‎, ‎‎“carpet like coverings,” of the Tabernacle serving as part of its ‎roofing, that were made of blue wool, ‎תכלת‎, symbolize the original ‎light of the eyn sof, the light of G’d’s essence, undiluted, ‎this is the reason that its length was 28 cubits; (instead of 30 as ‎the other carpets covering the Tabernacle, which “incorporated” ‎the “toned down” original light that was too bright for the ‎human eye to behold without the beholder’s eyes sustaining ‎irreparable injury. They represented the two topmost levels of ‎the 10 sefirot, i.e. ‎כתר וחכמה‎, “crown and wisdom”. This has ‎been explained in the book Eitz Chayim by Rabbi Chayim ‎Vittal, (who recorded most of the Ari z’als wisdom in ‎writing). In that volume, the ‎יריעות‎ made from goats’ hair (26,7) ‎represent the peel or husk surrounding a fruit. Once a human ‎being has been equipped with such a protective peel or skin, he is ‎potentially capable of absorbing the most profound insights ‎emanating from the eyn sof; this is symbolized by these coverings ‎made of goats’ hair being 2 cubits longer than the ones made of ‎blue wool, ‎תכלת‎. This is also why there were 11 of these “carpets” ‎joined together, as explained in the Zohar.The Torah describes the extra length of these “carpets” (the ‎sixth) as being folded over, ‎וכפלת‎, (verse 9) [The Zohar ‎Pekudey, page 233 explains how adding something, such as ‎protective sheathing around the essence of G’d so that the ‎brilliance of His light does not harm the creatures exposed to it, ‎or in the case of the Tabernacle and its roofing, which after all ‎was G’d’s residence on earth, is actually not to be understood as ‎an addition (qualitatively), but as a diminution. Although the ‎carpets made of goat’s hair were 30 cubits long as opposed to the ‎‎28 cubits long blue woolen carpets, there were 11 of them instead ‎of 10 as was the case with the blue woolen carpets guarding the ‎interior of the sanctuary and the holy of holies. These carpets ‎made of goats’ hair represented the ‎חצוניות‎, i.e. ”exterior” part of ‎the Tabernacle, exterior in terms of kabbalah always ‎meaning something less than perfect. Our author, following this ‎thought, sees a repetition of the same idea in the word ‎וכפלת‎, ‎‎“you are to fold it over,” i.e. reinforce it so as to make it stronger. ‎‎[If something needed to be reinforced, it was evidently not ‎adequately strong enough originally. Ed.]‎Our author sees in these ‎קליפות‎ which are frequently viewed ‎as something negative,- a challenge which, when mastered, ‎results in the person who mastered it receiving a double portion ‎of reward. He quotes Rabbi Akiva in Chagigah 15 on the ‎subject, where that Rabbi explained that the very creation of evil ‎was designed to give man additional reward for rejecting evil, ‎something which at first glance had appeared to him as ‎attractive. Seeing that potentially, room is reserved for each of us ‎both in Gan Eden and in purgatory, depending on which we ‎qualify for, Rabbi Akiva claimed that the tzaddik who ‎overcame his evil inclination will gain two spots in Gan Eden, also ‎claiming a spot originally reserved for someone turned sinner.‎ ‎