Referencing God   Moshe Ben-Chaim   The very last sentence in parshas Naso (Numbers 7:89) reads, "And when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with 'him', and he heard the voice speaking to him from atop the Kaporess on the Ark of testimony from between the two cherubim speaking to him."   Who is the first "him" referring to? It makes no mention of anyone previously in the chapter. Additionally, this passage seems out of context. As the preceding verses are dealing with the twelve princes' offerings, why does it state that Moses spoke with "him" immediately following the sacrifices of the Tabernacle's inauguration?   Its clear that the "him" mentioned is referring to God, as there is no one else in the Tabernacle when Moses entered. Why then did God go out of the way and avoid using a direct reference to His name? God could have written, "And when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with God...."   I believe God used the word "him" to teach the following: this is the one geographical location where there is no mistaking that it pertains exclusively to God. When in the tabernacle, the term "Him" suffices to teach with whom Moses was talking. It is only "God's House". It is impossible to refer to any other being in this location, as it is exclusively God's domain, "And make for Me a temple and I will dwell among you". (Lev. 25:8). The Torah therefore points to this exclusivity by using the term "Him" in place of the name God.   What then is the importance of our knowing this fact, that this place is exclusively God's? Perhaps the answer is that there is no one else who could be the source of wisdom - the definition of the Tabernacle and Temple. As the ark is the focus of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle's distinction is derived from the Ark's unique character as the "Torah's container". Additionally, Moses heard the voice emanating from between the two cherubim which is directly above the Ark to embellish on the point that such prophecy was directly from God, the Creator of the Torah. Perhaps for this reason, miracles surrounded the Ark which housed the Torah - the object of God's exclusive creation which He made before the universe. Through miracles, the Ark was intimately tied to the Divinity of Torah as it housed both it and the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments also carried the miraculous feature of being written legibly from both sides of each tablet - one of the objects mentioned as being created on the primordial Friday at sunset. ( See our article on this topic: All Miracles Were Part of Creation ). Miracles then seem to be used in connection with the Ark to underline the Torah's Divine nature and origin.   Why is the term "the voice" used, and not "God's voice?" Simply put, God has no voice. Meaning, we don't find statements which attribute corporeality to God. A passage such as "God's voice......" referring to actual verbalization - not a message - is impossible for the Torah to state, as it implies human qualities. (An acceptable instance would be something like "listen to His voice", meaning, follow His commands. Such a statement is not conveying that God has a voice, so it does not oppose Torah principles.)   The reason this verse comes right after the completion of the inaugural sacrifices is to teach that the sacrifices are not the essential aspect of the Tabernacle and the future Temple. The essence of these structures' purposes is that man have a connection with God - the Source of all knowledge. To demonstrate this, God wrote that Moses spoke with Him subsequent to the sacrifices to show the real goal of the Temple. If this parsha concluded with the sacrifices, one might be led to believe an inherent importance to sacrifice as an ends. Really, sacrifice is a means. Knowledge of God, Torah study is the goal of the Torah. See Talmud Moad Katan, 9b at the very top of the page where Torah and mitzvos are compared by Rav Shimon bar Yochai's students, questioning which is the preferred activity.   (See our article on the Tabernacle where we explained that the articles contained in the Holy of Holies serve to illustrate that in these four objects, we witness God's exclusive, ultimate knowledge.)