Terumah: the displaced core

The parsha  starts by calling for contributions to the construction of a sanctuary, a holy place.  This mishkan will house the tablets  written by Gd.  They will be locked away in a  gilded coffin, constructed of wood ( perhaps from the trees of Life and/or Knowledge) , covered by( a sculpture of ) cherubim,  the beings that guard against eating from the tree of Life.  This cover, called  the kapores, evokes expiation from transgression.  A second curtain that blocks entry to the tablets, the parocheth,also contains  the cherubim image,  Parocheth is a rearrangement of thrse forgiving letters.  Lots of symbols.

How do symbols help? The true  and lasting location of the Mishkan  is in the heart of the reader.  The mishkan and the temple  that was modeled upon it, have not stood for thousands of years.  Even when they had a physical reality, the core, the holy of holies, was off limits to all but the annual Yom Kippur ( there is that word again) visit by the high priest.  And the ark itself  never had a scheduled opening.

 This symbol of the  undiscoverable  core is my message of the Mishkan.  There is a core within me that I am not permitted to uncover.  Like the ark, it is not (necessarily ) centrally located, it is displaced , on one side, like the heart  or the left side of the brain.  To remove the curtains and cover requires far more absolution and clemency than I can ordinarily muster, probably more than I can ever have. 

 That core contains the rules of my existence, it is more fundamental than my DNA.  I cannot approach it because I have broken the rules.  I cannot go there because I have confused myself, with opinions that I have  positied as knowledge.   But knowing that the core exists is a guide.  It directs me to minimize the stray. 

Truth is hidden, but I believe it exists