Ten miinutes to countdown. All the technicians check and recheck every little detail of the space shuttle's machinery. All of a sudden, one of the department heads calls out: "Hey, what's going on here? They used the wrong alloys on the outer plating of the wings!" All motion comes to a halt as everyone comes over to witness the accusing document, testifying to the fact that the lab supplied the wrong material for this critical part of the ship.
As the Jewish Nation was approaching the Promised Land, they were instructed to erect twelve massive stones covered with lime, and on them to write the whole Torah in seventy languages. As a national historic monument, it would have been impressive, but these stones were more than that. They served as their passport, without which they would not be allowed in to the land they had been waiting so long to return to.
What would have happened if they had covered the stones with something else instead of lime? We do not know for certain, but neither do we know what would have happened to the space shuttle if it had been sent up with the wrong alloy.
What is the special significance of the lime? Its secret lies in its Hebresw letters, Shin Yud Dalet, the same letters as Hashem's holy Name, Shin Dalet Yud. This Divine Manifestation controls the influx of holiness into the world and allows the world to exist as a 'separate' entity. This was also the function of the lime on the stones, to separrate the letters of the Torah from the stones. Without this necessary ingredient, the Holy Land would not have been able to accept the twelve tribes of mortals who wished to dwell in her midst.
We do not always know why the Torah insists on cerain details, and even what we know is only the tip of an iceberg. Let us humble ourselves and observe the Torah's commandments simply and wholeheartedly.
Adapted from Rabbi Vali's book on Dvarim. Questions and subscriptions can be mailed to: the Yeshiva
Chag Kasher Vesameach