(ח) וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
(8) And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.
Rabbi Isaac Abravanel (15th CE Spanish Commentator):
Why did [God] command the erection of the tabernacle, when [God] said “that I may dwell among them,” as if God were an object demarcated and limited in space—which is the opposite of the truth!... After all, God himself spoke these words through the prophet Isaiah (66:1): “The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what kind of house can you build for me?”
Why did [God] command the erection of the tabernacle, when [God] said “that I may dwell among them,” as if God were an object demarcated and limited in space—which is the opposite of the truth!... After all, God himself spoke these words through the prophet Isaiah (66:1): “The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what kind of house can you build for me?”
Sefer ha-Hinukh (13th CE Spanish Torah Commentary)
Know, my child, that any commandment that God requires of humankind comes only out of God’s desire to benefit us....
God’s command to build the Tabernacle, for us to offer therein our prayers and sacrifices, comes not out of God’s needs to dwell in an earthly dwelling among humankind, but rather [out of God’s awareness that we need] train our own selves.
Know, my child, that any commandment that God requires of humankind comes only out of God’s desire to benefit us....
God’s command to build the Tabernacle, for us to offer therein our prayers and sacrifices, comes not out of God’s needs to dwell in an earthly dwelling among humankind, but rather [out of God’s awareness that we need] train our own selves.
Moshe David (Umberto) Cassuto, (20th CE Professor of Bible at Hebrew University):
In order to understand the significance and purpose of the Tabernacle, we must realize that the children of Israel, after they had been privileged to witness the Revelation of God on Mount Sinai, were about to journey from there and thus draw away from the site of the theophany. So long as they were encamped in the place, they were conscious of God’s nearness; but once they set out on their journey, it seemed to them as though the link had been broken, unless there were in their midst a tangible symbol of God’s presence among them. It was the function of the Tabernacle (literally, ‘Dwelling’) to serve as such a symbol. Not without reason, therefore, does this section come immediately after the section that describes the making of the Covenant at Mount Sinai. The nexus between Israel and the Tabernacle is a perpetual extension of the bond that was forged at Sinai between the people and their God. The children of Israel, dwelling in tribal order at every encampment, are able to see, from every side, the Tabernacle standing in the midst of the camp, and the visible presence of the Sanctuary proves to them that just as the glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, so He dwells in their midst wherever they wander in the wilderness. This is the purpose of Scripture (25:8), when it states: “And let them make Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.
In order to understand the significance and purpose of the Tabernacle, we must realize that the children of Israel, after they had been privileged to witness the Revelation of God on Mount Sinai, were about to journey from there and thus draw away from the site of the theophany. So long as they were encamped in the place, they were conscious of God’s nearness; but once they set out on their journey, it seemed to them as though the link had been broken, unless there were in their midst a tangible symbol of God’s presence among them. It was the function of the Tabernacle (literally, ‘Dwelling’) to serve as such a symbol. Not without reason, therefore, does this section come immediately after the section that describes the making of the Covenant at Mount Sinai. The nexus between Israel and the Tabernacle is a perpetual extension of the bond that was forged at Sinai between the people and their God. The children of Israel, dwelling in tribal order at every encampment, are able to see, from every side, the Tabernacle standing in the midst of the camp, and the visible presence of the Sanctuary proves to them that just as the glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, so He dwells in their midst wherever they wander in the wilderness. This is the purpose of Scripture (25:8), when it states: “And let them make Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.
Rabbi Yosef Bekhor Shor (12th CE French commentator):
In their encampment around the Tabernacle, the Israelites were like the heavenly angels surrounding the “actual” presence of God in his Divine Throne of Glory. Thus, the Tabernacle, in the Israelite camp not only reminds the Israelites of God’s continuing presence among them, but also teaches them their own role and responsibility vis-à-vis God: just as the heavenly angels "up above" praise and laud God, so too do we worship God down on earth “below.”
In their encampment around the Tabernacle, the Israelites were like the heavenly angels surrounding the “actual” presence of God in his Divine Throne of Glory. Thus, the Tabernacle, in the Israelite camp not only reminds the Israelites of God’s continuing presence among them, but also teaches them their own role and responsibility vis-à-vis God: just as the heavenly angels "up above" praise and laud God, so too do we worship God down on earth “below.”
Rabbi Moshe Alshikh (16th CE Commentator from Safed):
They will take... That the Blessed one said, “See My affection for you. For isn’t [this contribution] from what is actually mine?! [Nevertheless] I will credit you abundantly as if you had done it.” .... So it is said, “They should take from that which is Mine for a contribution”...
And you might say, if that is so (and the contents of the contribution already belong to God) then what are they giving? That’s why [the verse] says, from each person whose heart is inspired by generosity, which is the generous heart and good will, from that you should take My contribution. Meaning, granted that the contribution belongs to Me and not to them, you are “like” takers, even the generous heart that is with them, and therefore it does not say “their contribution” and instead says, My contribution.
They will take... That the Blessed one said, “See My affection for you. For isn’t [this contribution] from what is actually mine?! [Nevertheless] I will credit you abundantly as if you had done it.” .... So it is said, “They should take from that which is Mine for a contribution”...
And you might say, if that is so (and the contents of the contribution already belong to God) then what are they giving? That’s why [the verse] says, from each person whose heart is inspired by generosity, which is the generous heart and good will, from that you should take My contribution. Meaning, granted that the contribution belongs to Me and not to them, you are “like” takers, even the generous heart that is with them, and therefore it does not say “their contribution” and instead says, My contribution.
Malbim (19th CE European Commentator):
Each one of us needs to build God a Tabernacle in the recesses of our hearts, by preparing oneself to become a Sanctuary for God and a place for the dwelling of God’s glory.
Each one of us needs to build God a Tabernacle in the recesses of our hearts, by preparing oneself to become a Sanctuary for God and a place for the dwelling of God’s glory.
שמות רבה (וילנא) פרשת תרומה פרשה לג, א
'ויקחו לי תרומה'-
משל למלך שהיה לו בת יחידה בא אחד מן המלכים ונטלה ביקש לילך לו לארצו וליטול לאשתו אמר לו בתי שנתתי לך יחידית היא, לפרוש ממנה איני יכול, לומר לך אל תטלה איני יכול לפי שהיא אשתך אלא זו טובה עשה לי, שכל מקום שאתה הולך קיטון(=חדר) אחד עשה לי שאדור אצלכם שאיני יכול להניח את בתי
Shemot Rabbah (Vilna) 33:1:
“Take for me an offering”—
It is analogous to a king who had an only daughter. One of the kings came and took her and wanted to take her to his land and to take her as his wife. He said to him: “This daughter that I have given to you is my only daughter, I can’t separate from her. I also can’t tell you not to take her because she is your wife. So do this favor for me, wherever you go make me a small room so that I can live with you, since I can not leave my daughter.”