Royal Treasures

The notion of royal vessels belonging to the King of Kings seems somewhat primitive and anthropomorphic. Does the Master of the Universe need a set of tableware? The Rabbis grappled with the question:

What was the purpose of...all of the holy vessels? The Jewish people said to the Holy One Blessed Be He: Master of the Universe, the kings of the nations have a palace, a table, a candelabrum, incense burners...these are appurtenances of kingship. Every king needs them, and You are our king, our savior, our redeemer; shouldn't you have these royal paraphernalia so that the entire world will know that You are king? He said to them, My sons, you are flesh and blood and so you have need of all this, but I have not need since I do not eat or drink, I need no light as my servants attest, since the sun and the moon illuminate the world and I shine my light upon them. I shall watch over well in the merit of your fathers.

The conclusion is clear: the vessels serve man, not God. But precisely because men so depend on material forms as symbols, their misuse – as in the case of Belshazzar – brings on catastrophe.