TAKING ACTION WITH A THOUGHT
In this week’s Parsha, Trumah, HaShem instructs His people to build for Him a Mishkan, a Temple that will travel with them on their trek through the desert. The initial command from Hashem to us is “Take for Me a trumah (a designated gift) from every man whose heart wants to contribute, shall you take my trumah… and you shall make for Me a Mishkan and I will rest in them.”
What is the function of the Mishkan? To suggest that HaShem needs a home is absurd. The Creator of heaven and earth and all the cosmos down to the smallest nucleus and its components cannot be housed in a house no matter from what material it is made and no matter what dimensions it has. So what is the function of this Mishkan? Furthermore, it is noteworthy that HaShem says to build a Mishkan and I will rest in them, not in it. The implication is that by building the Mishkan we, ourselves, become HaShem’s resting place. If He wants His people to be His resting place what is the function of the Mishkan?
The mitzvos HaShem instructs us to observe are designed to help form us and prime us to be capable of receiving the goodness that He wants to give us. The goodness He has for us is so rich and so deep. However, we have no frame of reference by which to absorb His goodness. If He were to take us to His beautiful symphony hall to enjoy His 100 piece orchestra what value would it have if we have no appreciation of music? If He were to take us to hear a breathtaking lecture on the original force that caused the Big Bang what value would it have to us if we have no knowledge of physics.
To this end, HaShem gave us mitzvos. The observance of His mitzvos, when done the right way, has the power to change us in a way that we develop sensitivities and insights which serve as the containers necessary to ab-sorb His goodness. In our parallel example we used mu-sic and knowledge as the form of goodness. In the real example, HaShem’s ultimate goodness is not music it is His closeness to us. Being close to the source of Life itself is the most exhilarating goodness one can experience. However, if we are not properly prepared we will be unable to benefit from it.
There is an important notion that the Torah teaches us. When we express our thoughts in speech and in action those thoughts become part of us. Taking action on a thought makes that thought concrete and actual.
HaShem wanted His people to be His place of residence in this world. He therefore instructed us to take action on this thought by creating the Mishkan to be a home for His Presence. Under HaShem’s instruction that action successfully became a location where His Presence was actually experienced. By our creating a place where His Presence was actual, we turned our thought of becoming His resting place into action and hence we are now His resting place. Even with the Temple destroyed HaShem still has His resting place in the heart of every Jew. The Mishkan was the vehicle by which every Jew prepared himself to be a receptacle for Ha-Shem to reside within.
How fortunate we are to have been chosen by the Director of history to be His eternal headquarters!
Have a wonderful Shabbos.
Paysach Diskind