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(ח) וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
(8) And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.
"ועשו לי מקדש" - ועשו לשמי בית קדושה
"Make for me a sanctuary" - Make for a holy place for the sake of My Name
ויקחו לי תרומה... פתחי לי אחותי רעיתי עד מתי אהיה מתהלך בלא בית...? אלא, עשו לי מקדש, שלא אהיה בחוץ:
"Open up for me, my sister, my friend" (Song of Songs 5:2). For how long must I travel without a home? So the Torah says: "make for Me a sanctuary" so that I need not be on the outside.
(א) וְעָשׂוּ אֲרוֹן עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (איוב לז, כג): שַׁדַּי לֹא מְצָאנֻהוּ שַׂגִּיא כֹחַ, אָמַר רַבֵּנוּ הַגָּדוֹל צְרִיכִין אָנוּ לְהַחֲזִיק טוֹבָה לְאִיּוֹב שֶׁכָּל מַה שֶּׁאָמַר אֱלִיהוּא בָּא הוּא וְהוֹסִיף עַל דְּבָרָיו, אָמַר אִיּוֹב לַחֲבֵרָיו מָה אַתֶּם סוֹבְרִים שֶׁכָּל מַה שֶּׁאֲמַרְתֶּם הוּא כָּל שִׁבְחוֹ, מִי יוּכַל לְסַפֵּר כָּל שְׁבָחָיו וּגְבוּרוֹתָיו שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, כָּל הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁדִּבַּרְתֶּם (איוב כו, יד): הֶן אֵלֶּה קְצוֹת דְּרָכָיו, בָּא אֱלִיהוּא וְאָמַר: שַׁדַּי לֹא מְצָאנֻהוּ שַׂגִּיא כֹחַ, מִי שֶׁשּׁוֹמֵעַ הַפָּסוּק הַזֶּה אוֹמֵר שֶׁמָּא חֵרוּפִים הוּא, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, אֶלָּא כָּךְ אָמַר אֱלִיהוּא לֹא מָצִינוּ כֹּחַ גְּבוּרָתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עִם בְּרִיּוֹתָיו, שֶׁאֵין הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בָּא בְּטַרְחוּת עִם בְּרִיּוֹתָיו, לֹא בָּא עַל הָאָדָם אֶלָּא לְפִי כֹּחוֹ, אַתָּה מוֹצֵא כְּשֶׁנָּתַן הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת הַתּוֹרָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אִלּוּ הָיָה בָּא עֲלֵיהֶם בְּחֹזֶק כֹּחוֹ, לֹא הָיוּ יְכוֹלִין לַעֲמֹד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ה, כב): אִם יֹסְפִים אֲנַחְנוּ לִשְׁמֹעַ וגו'. אֶלָּא לֹא בָּא עֲלֵיהֶם אֶלָּא לְפִי כֹּחָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים כט, ד): קוֹל ה' בַּכֹּחַ, בְּכֹחוֹ אֵינוֹ אוֹמֵר אֶלָּא בַּכֹּחַ, לְפִי כֹחוֹ שֶׁל כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד. דָּבָר אַחֵר, שַׁדַּי לֹא מְצָאנֻהוּ שַׂגִּיא כֹחַ, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמשֶׁה עֲשֵׂה לִי מִשְׁכָּן, הִתְחִיל מַתְמִיהַּ וְאוֹמֵר כְּבוֹדוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מָלֵא עֶלְיוֹנִים וְתַחְתּוֹנִים וְהוּא אוֹמֵר עֲשֵׂה לִי מִשְׁכָּן, וְעוֹד הָיָה מִסְתַּכֵּל וְרָאָה שֶׁשְּׁלֹמֹה עוֹמֵד וּבוֹנֶה בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ שֶׁהוּא גָּדוֹל מִן הַמִּשְׁכָּן, וְאָמַר לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא (מלכים א ח, כז): כִּי הַאֻמְנָם יֵשֵׁב אֱלֹקִים עַל הָאָרֶץ, אָמַר משֶׁה וּמַה בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ שֶׁהוּא יוֹתֵר וְיוֹתֵר מִן הַמִּשְׁכָּן שְׁלֹמֹה אוֹמֵר כֵּן, מִשְׁכָּן עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה, לְכָךְ אָמַר משֶׁה (תהלים צא, א): ישֵׁב בְּסֵתֶר עֶלְיוֹן, אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר רַבִּי סִימוֹן יוֹשֵׁב בְּסֵתֶר הוּא עֶלְיוֹן עַל כָּל בְּרִיּוֹתָיו, מַהוּ (תהלים צא, צ): בְּצֵל שַׁדַּי, בְּצֵל אֵל, בְּצֵל רַחוּם, בְּצֵל חַנּוּן, אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא בְּצֵל שַׁדַּי, בְּצֵל שֶׁעָשָׂה בְּצַלְאֵל, לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר: בְּצֵל שַׁדַּי יִתְלוֹנָן, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לֹא כְּשֵׁם שֶׁאַתָּה סָבוּר כָּךְ אֲנִי סָבוּר, אֶלָּא כ' קֶרֶשׁ בַּצָּפוֹן וְכ' בַּדָּרוֹם וְח' בַּמַעֲרָב, וְלֹא עוֹד אֶלָּא שֶׁאֵרֵד וַאֲצַמְצֵם שְׁכִינָתִי בְּתוֹךְ אַמָּה עַל אַמָּה.
(1) ... Another explanation. “We have not found the Almighty great in power…” (Iyov 37:23) At the moment when the Holy One said to Moshe ‘make me a Tabernacle’ he was dumbfounded and said ‘the glory of the Holy One fills the upper worlds and the lower, and He said to make Him a Tabernacle?’ Further, he gazed into the future and saw that Shlomo would arise and build the Holy Temple which would be greater than the Tabernacle, and he said before the Holy One “But will God indeed dwell on the earth?” (Melachim I 8:27) Moshe reasoned: if in reference to the Holy Temple, which is so much larger than the Tabernacle, Shlomo said this - then when it comes to the Tabernacle all the more so. Therefore Moshe said “He who dwells in the hidden place of the Most High…” (Tehillim 91:1) R’ Yehudah bar R’ Simon said: The One who dwells in the hidden place is above all His creations. What does the continuation “…in the shadow of the Almighty,” mean? In the shadow of Gd (b’tzel el). It is not written as ‘in the shadow of the Merciful’ or ‘in the shadow of the Gracious,’ but rather ‘in the shadow of the Almighty.’ In the shadow which Betzalel made, that is why it says ‘in the shadow of the Almighty’. The Holy One replied to Moshe ‘I do not see things the same way as you do. Rather it says twenty in the north, twenty in the south and eight in the west. Furthermore, I will I will come down and contract my Presence within a space of one cubit by one cubit.’
Mankind, in his good deeds contributes to the point where he becomes a partner with the Holy One Blessed be He in the works of creation: Anyone who prays on Shabbat evening and recites the passage of vaykhullu, the verse ascribed him credit as if he became a partner with the Holy One, Blessed be He, in the act of Creation. As it is stated: “And the heavens and the earth were finished [vaykhullu].” Do not read it as: Were finished [vaykhullu]; rather, as: They finished [vaykhallu]. It is considered as though the Holy One, Blessed be He, and the individual who says this become partners and completed the work together. (Tractate Shabbat 119b) and every judge that judges truthfully, even for one hour, the verse ascribed him credit as if he became a partner with the Holy One, Blessed be He, in the act of Creation. (Genesis 10, 1). Man is a chairiot to the divine presence in the world, as it says I may dwell among them. (Exodus 25: 5) the whole world was not created except for this directive.
The matter is as follows: All the worlds were created only for Israel, as it is written (Isaiah 43:7), “for My glory have I created, formed and made it.” In other words, Creation, Formation and Action were created only for “My glory.” And “My glory” is Israel, for it is written “and I will dwell in them” (Exodus 25:8)—which our Rabbis, of blessed memory, expounded: It does not say “in it” but “in them,” to teach that the Holy One, blessed be He, causes His Divine Presence to dwell in each <and every> one of Israel. From this we see that each Jew is called a garment, and a garment is called glory, as Rabbi Yochanan would call his garments “my glorifiers” (Shabbat 113a) .
בעל צידה לדרך, מביא בשם "המפרשים":
לא אמר "ושכנתי בתוכו" אלא "בתוכם", להורות שאין השכינה שורה במקדש מחמת המקדש, כי אם מחמת ישראל, כי היכל ה' המה.
Baal Zida L'Derech, in the name of the commentaries
It does not say "and I will dwell in it" but rather "in them" to teach that the divine presence does not shine on the Temple because of the Templ, but rather only because of Israel, because they (Israel) of the Temple of God.
[י] ...בשעה שאמר לו ועשו לי מקדש (שמות כה:ח), אמ' משה לפני הקב"ה, רבונו של עולם הנה השמים ושמי השמים לא יכלכלוך ואתה אמרת ועשו לי מקדש, א' לו הקב"ה, משה לא כשאתה סבור, אלא עשרים קרש בצפון ועשרים קרש בדרום שמונה במערב ואני יורד ומצמצם שכינתי ביניכם למטן,
... The Holy One, blessed by He, said to Moses: If you pattern the tabernacle here below after the one in heaven above, I will leave My heavenly counselors, come down, and so shrink My presence as to fit into your midst below.
Gershom Scholem also provides the following references: Exod, Rabba to Exod. XXV, 10; Lev. Rabba to Levit. XXIII, 24; Pesikta de-Rab Kahana ed. Buber 20a; Midrash Shir Ha-Shirim ed. Gruenhut (1899), 15b.
רַבִּי יֹאשִׁיָּה פָּתַח (תהלים פט, טז): אַשְׁרֵי הָעָם יֹדְעֵי תְרוּעָה ה' בְּאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ יְהַלֵּכוּן, רַבִּי אַבָּהוּ פָּתַר קְרָא בַּחֲמִשָּׁה זְקֵנִים שֶׁהֵם נִכְנָסִים לְעַבֵּר אֶת הַשָּׁנָה, מָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עוֹשֶׂה מַנִּיחַ סַנְקְלִיטִין שֶׁלּוֹ מִלְּמַעְלָן וְיוֹרֵד וּמְצַמְצֵם שְׁכִינָתוֹ בֵּינֵיהֶם מִלְּמַטָּן, מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת אוֹמְרִים הָא תַּקִּיף הָא תַּקִּיף, הָא אֱלָהָא הָא אֱלָהָא, מִי שֶׁכָּתוּב בּוֹ (תהלים פט, ח): אֵל נַעֲרָץ בְּסוֹד קְדשִׁים רַבָּה, מֵנִיחַ סַנְקְלִיטִין שֶׁלּוֹ וּמְצַמְצֵם שְׁכִינָתוֹ בֵּינֵיהֶם לְמַטָּה, כָּל כָּךְ לָמָּה, שֶׁאִם טָעוּ בִּדְבַר הֲלָכָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מֵאִיר פְּנֵיהֶם, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: בְּאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ יְהַלֵּכוּן.
4 Rabbi Yoshayah opened [his discourse]: "Happy is the people who know the joyful blow; O Lord, they walk in the light of Your presence" (Psalms 89:16). Rabbi Abahu explained the Scripture [here] to be about the five elders that convene to make the year a leap year. What does the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He leaves His court above and descends and contracts His Divine Presence among them below. The ministering angels [then] say, "Where is the mighty One, where is the mighty One? Where is God, where is God - the One about whom it is written (Psalms 89:8), 'God who is lauded in the council of great holy ones,' leaves His court and contracts His Divine Presence among them below?" Why so much? So that if they err in a matter of law, the Holy One, blessed be He, enlightens their faces [to correct it]. This is [the understanding] of "they walk in the light of Your presence."
רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי בְּצַלְאֵל לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁנִּגְלָה לְבֶן בֵּיתוֹ בִּלְבוּשׁ נָאֶה שֶׁל מַרְגָּלִיטוֹן וְאָמַר לוֹ עֲשֵׂה לִי כָּמוֹהוּ, אָמַר לוֹ אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ וְכִי יָכוֹל אֲנִי לַעֲשׂוֹת כָּמוֹהוּ. כָּךְ אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמשֶׁה: עֲשֵׂה לִי מִשְׁכָּן, אָמַר לְפָנָיו רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם יָכוֹל אֲנִי לַעֲשׂוֹת כָּמוֹהוּ, אָמַר לוֹ: וּרְאֵה וַעֲשֵׂה, אָמַר לוֹ יָכוֹל אֲנִי לַעֲשׂוֹת כָּמוֹהוּ, אָמַר לֵיהּ: בְּתַבְנִיתָם, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁאַתָּה רוֹאֶה לְמַעְלָה עֲשֵׂה לְמַטָּה. עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים הַעֲמֵד אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא עוֹמְדִים, כִּנְתוּנִים בְּאִיסְטְרַטֵיאָה שֶׁל מַעְלָה, וְאִם אַתְּ עוֹשֶׂה לָזֶה שֶׁל מַעְלָה לְמַטָּה אֲנִי מַנִּיחַ סִנְקְלֵיטוֹן שֶׁלִּי שֶׁל מַעְלָה וְיוֹרֵד וּמְצַמְצֵם שְׁכִינָתִי בֵּינֵיכֶם לְמַטָּה, כֵּיצַד, מַה לְּמַעְלָה שְׂרָפִים עוֹמְדִים, אַף לְמַטָּה עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים עוֹמְדִים. מַה לְּמַעְלָה כּוֹכָבִים, אַף לְמַטָּה כּוֹכָבִים.
[ג]...ר' יהושע דסיכנין בשם ר' לוי בשעה שאמ' הקב"ה למשה עשה לי משכן היה לו להביא ד' קונטיסין ולמתוח את המשכן עליהן, אלא מלמד שהראה לו הב"ה למשה למעלה אש אדומה אש ירוקה אש שחורה אש לבנה ואמר לו עשה לי משכן. אמר לו משה להקב"ה רבון העולמים וכי מניין לי אש אדומה אש ירוקה אש שחורה אש לבנה, א"ל בתבניתם אשר אתה מראה בהר (שמות כה:מ). ר' ברכיה בשם ר' לוי למלך שנגלה לבן ביתו בלבוש אולו מרגליטון. א"ל עשה לי כזה. א"ל אדושם המלך וכי מניין יש לי לבוש אולו מרגליטון, א"ל אתה בסימננך ואני בכבודי. כך אמר הב"ה למשה, משה אם אתה עושה מה של מעלה למטה אני מניח סנקליטין שלי של מעלן ויורד ומצמצם שכינתי ביניכם למטן. מה למעלה, שרפים עומדים (ישעיה ו:ב), אף למטן, עצי שטים עומדים (שמות כו:טו). מה למעלה ככבים אף למטה קרסים.
וַהֲלֹא כְּבָר נֶאֱמַר, הֲלוֹא אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ אֲנִי מָלֵא (ירמיה כג, כד). אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ דְּסִכְנִין בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי לֵוִי, מָשָׁל לִמְעָרָה שֶׁהִיא נְתוּנָה עַל שְׂפַת הַיָּם, גָּעַשׁ הַיָּם, נִתְמַלֵּאת הַמְּעָרָה וְהַיָּם לֹא חָסַר כְּלוּם. כָּךְ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא יִתְבָּרַךְ זִכְרוֹ, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁכָּתוּב וּכְבוֹד ה' מָלֵא אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן (שמות מ, לד), אַף עַל פִּי כֵן, הוֹדוֹ עַל אֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִם (תהלים קמח, יג). וְלֹא תֹאמַר, שֶׁצִּמְצֵם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שְׁכִינָתוֹ בְּתוֹךְ הַמִּשְׁכָּן, אֶלָּא אַף בְּתוֹךְ הָאָרוֹן שֶׁעָשָׂה בְּצַלְאֵל, צִמְצֵם שְׁכִינָתוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: הִנֵּה אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית אֲדוֹן כָּל הָאָרֶץ (יהושע ג, יא), זֶה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּחַ הוּא שֶׁהָיָה בְתוֹכוֹ. וּמִי עֲשָׂאוֹ. בְּצַלְאֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיַּעַשׂ בְּצַלְאֵל.
Has it not already been stated: Do I not fill heaven and the earth (Jer. 23:24)? R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi: This may be compared to a cave situated at the edge of the sea. Though the sea rushes forth and fills the cave, the sea lacks nothing. Similarly with the Holy One, blessed be He, may His name be blessed, for though it is written: And the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle (Exod. 40:34), nevertheless His glory is above the heaven and the earth (Ps. 148:13). You should not say that the Holy One, blessed be He, compressed His Shekhinah only into the Tabernacle. He likewise compressed His Shekhinah into the ark that Bezalel had made, as it is written: Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth (Josh. 3:11). This indicates that the Holy One, blessed be He, was within it. Who other than Bezalel could have made it, since it says: And Bezalel made the ark?
The older Kabbalists had a much simpler conception of the cosmological process. According to them, it begins with an act in which God projects His creative power out of His own Self into space. Every new act is a further stage in the process of externalization, which unfolds, in accordance with the emanationist doctrine of Neoplatonism, in a straight line from above downwards. The whole process is strictly one-way and correspondingly simple.
Luria's theory has nothing of this inoffensive simplicity. It is based upon the doctrine of Tsimtsum, one of the most amazing and far-reaching conceptions ever put forward in the whole history of Kabbalism. Tsimtsum originally means "concentration" or "contraction," but if used in the Kabbalistic parlance it is best translated by Withdrawal" or "retreat." The idea first occurs in a brief and entirely forgotten treatise which was written in the middle of the thirteenth century and of which Luria seems to have made use," while its literary original is a Talmudic saying which Luria inverted. He stood it on its head, no doubt believing that he had put it on its feet. The Midrash--in sayings originating from third century teachers-occasionally refers to God as having concentrated His Shekhinah, His divine presence, in the holiest of holies, at the place of the Gherubim, as though His whole power were concentrated and contracted in a single point. Here we have the origin of the term Tsimtsum, while the thing itself is the precise opposite of this idea:
to the Kabbalist of Luria's school Tsimtsum does not mean the concentration of God at a point, but his retreat away from a point.
What does this mean? It means briefly that the existence of the universe is made possible by a process of shrinkage in God. Luria begins by putting a question which gives the appearance of being naturalistic and, if you like, somewhat crude. How can there be a world if God is everywhere? If God is 'all in all,' how can there be things which are not God? How can God create the world out of nothing if there is no nothing? This is the question. The solution became, in spite of the crude form which he gave it, of the highest importance in the history of later Kabbalistic thought. According to Luria, God was compelled to make room for the world by, as it were, abandoning a region within Himself, a kind of mystical
primordial space from which He withdrew in order to return to it in the act of creation and revelation.“ The frst act of En-Sof, the Infinite Being, is therefore not a step outside but a step inside, a movement of recoil, of falling back upon oneself, of withdrawing into oneself. Instead of emanation we have the opposite, contraction.
The God who revealed himself in firm contours was superseded by one who descended deeper into the recesses of His own Being, who concentrated Himself into Himself, and had done so from the very beginning of creation. To be sure, this view was often felt, even by those who gave it a theoretical formulation, to verge on the blasphemous. Yet it cropped up again and again, modified only ostensibly by a feeble 'as it were' or so to speak.'
Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism by Gershom Gerhard Scholem pp 260-261
John Scotus Erigena. He makes it definitely clear that he takes the expression ex nihilo to mean from the essence of God. His reasoning on this subject falls into four stages. First, he tries to show that nihil in the traditional expression creation ex nihlo means "the privation of the total essence. Second, he explains that by the phrase the privation of the total essence'" he means the universal negation of all habitude, essence or substance and accident, and, in general, the negation of all that can be spoken of or thought of." Third, he maintains that such a "universal negation'" applies only to God, inasmuch as only God is He who cannot be spoken of or thought of." Fourth, from all these premises he concludes that the expression the world was created from nothing' means that the world was created from God: the nothing from which the world was created means God to whom alone may be applied the negation of all that can be spoken of or thought of.
Studies in the history of philosophy and religion by Wolfson, Harry Austryn, 1887-1974 The Meaning of EX NIHILO in the Church Fathers, Arabic and Hebrew Philosophy and St. Thomas
For Luria, in other words, tzimtzum yields divine absence; for the sages, in contrast, it yields intensified presence. On one level, these ideas are plainly contradictory. Scholem states simply that Luria inherited the Rabbinic idea and “stood it on its head.”
God is radically present while still making space for us. Since the Torah commands us to “walk in God’s ways,” this paradox can teach us about the kind of human relationships to which we should aspire—we must be present while making space, make space while remaining present. So often in life, we are tempted to seize one pole at the expense of the other—to be present in such a way that we leave no space for the other, or to allow so much space that we cease to be present at all. Our goal, then, should be to steer a course between narcissism and abandonment. All deep human relatedness depends on a capacity to be present while making space.
Held, Shai. The Heart of Torah, Volume 1: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion: Genesis and Exodus . The Jewish Publication Society. Kindle Edition.