Terumah
Exodus 25:1-27:19
I Kings 5:26-6:13
“They shall make me a Mikdash [sanctuary] and I will dwell among them.”
— Exodus 25:8
Our sages have produced myriad commentaries explaining the reasons for creating a sanctuary. They also observe how odd it seems that immediately after the revelation in which the Torah forbids us to assign physical attributes to our Creator, it issues a command that appears to confine G-d to a concrete area.
The Midrash Rabbah (Exodus 34) explains that the Torah always takes into account man’s limited ability to grasp abstract concepts. Man is limited by his five senses with which he perceives the world. He can no more transcend those senses than he could shed his own skin.
While we are commanded not to associate any picture with G-d, being human, we must nevertheless absorb that command in light of our own ability to understand it. Therefore, like a good teacher, when G-d speaks to us, He uses our language and concepts. He adapts the celestial concepts we need to suit our intellectual faculties.
The Spanish 15th century commentator Abarbanel views the erection of the Mikdash as a symbolic act. Its purpose was to instill in the Jewish people the knowledge that G-d resides not only in heaven (as some mistakenly believe) but on earth as well. He wants us to know that He dwells among us and constantly watches over us. Through the Mikdash that Israel was commanded to build, the Jewish people would be taught that G-d dwells in our midst. His providence accompanies us always and He observes our deeds. The symbolism of the sanctuary caused these concepts to take deep root in the Jewish psyche.
Rashi interprets the word “Mikdash” as a “house of holiness,” that is, a structure from which holiness will emanate to the nation.
Rashbam and Chizkuni understand Mikdash as a “house of appointment,” that is, a place set aside for meetings between G-d and man. “There I will meet with the Israelites.” (Exodus 29:43)
Or HaChaim deduces from Exodus 25:8 that the sanctity of the Mikdash takes hold immediately after it is built. Even before any worship takes place or before the Divine Presence resides in it, it is already holy.
The Chassidic literature notes the use of “And I will dwell among them” instead of “and I will dwell in it,” which would logically follow the first clause. The Mikdash can bring man so close to G-d that all can feel him within them.
The Sefer Ha Chinuch explains rationally as he does with other mitzvot why we must build a physical sanctuary for G-d. He explains that righteous acts perfect the heart spiritually. The greater the number and frequency of our good deeds, the more pure our thoughts become. By assigning such acts, G-d seeks to ensure man’s welfare.
Erecting a Mikdash and serving G-d in it represent sustained concrete acts through which we can be imbued with knowledge of G-d. Through our participation in such hands-on experiences, the human intellect is capable of absorbing the abstract.
In his book Or Rashaz, Rabbi Simcha Zissel of Kelme offers another explanation of the function of the Mikdash through an interesting metaphor. He states that since the discovery of electricity, we know that there is potential light everywhere, even in darkness. Nevertheless, to see this light, man must take action.
The Mikdash is the light of creation that is revealed through action taken by man. Like electricity, it proves conclusively that there is a spiritual force throughout the universe that needs only be activated. As in the metaphor of electricity, man, through thought and action, can make this force shine forth.
Shabbat shalom.
Rabbi Pinchas Lipner is dean of the Hebrew Academy in San Francisco.