A monumental insight

“And you shall not erect for yourself a monument that the Lord your G-d despises.” (16:22).

Rashi explains that the Torah specifies that sacrificial offerings must be brought specifically upon a mizbeach (altar) and not a matzeiva (monument).

A mizbeach is an altar comprised of numerous stones, whereas a matzeiva is a single stone.

One of the reasons why the Torah insists on using only a mizbeach, Rashi says, is because the pagans made a practice of sacrificing to their deities on single-stone structures.

The Netziv, in his commentary Ha’amek Davar, suggests a different explanation, claiming that mizbechot were used in the service of a deity, whereas the matzeivot were actually worshipped. The Torah banned sacrificing on monuments because they were looked upon as a kind of deity, as opposed to altars, which were used in pagan worship but were never accorded divine stature.

Great, but how does all this relate to us?

A possible basis for the Torah’s attitude toward monuments versus altars is the following:

It’s easy to erect a matzeiva. It consists of a single stone and it becomes a monument simply by being positioned in a prominent place and formally designated a religious symbol. A mizbeach, by contrast, must be assembled. A large collection of stones must be gathered and then formed into an altar.

This gives us a fundamental spiritual insight. Many people think that they need to have some life-changing encounter to develop an awareness of or dedication to spirituality. A person may believe that spiritual elevation or connection is like a big rock.

We look for these “rock-star” moments. We look for a maztav – an experience!

This may be true for our spiritual connection, or just life in general.

“And you shall not erect for yourself a monument that the Lord your G-d despises,” teaches us to tune into the subtleties of life, and look at each moment like the strings on the harp of King David.

A meaningful life isn’t about looking for those big stones, rather it’s about being able to savour every stone no matter their size, bringing them all together to form a mizbeach.