[רנא] ע"י החשק הוא כלי קבול להשראת שכינת הש"י בקרב לבו. וזהו תרומת המשכן מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו דנדיבות הלב דבנ"י עי"ז הוא בנין המשכן דשכינת הש"י בתחתונים ובזה הוא כל חד לפום מה דמשער בלבי' שאינו דומה הרגשת א' משכן הר"י בלבו לחבירו. כי כפי נדיבת לבבו בתגבורת חשקו להשיג כך הוא שכינת הש"י.
[251] Through desire [a person] can become a vessel for the resting of God's Presence in his heart. This is the the reason for the offerings for the Tabernacle from "Each person according to the giving of his heart" (Exodus 25:2), that through the giving of the heart of the Israelites comes the building of the Tabernacle, bringing God's Presence below. Thus it is according to what each person develops in their heart, as one person's feelings are not comparable to his fellow's. For according to the giving of the heart and strength of his desire to grasp is the dwelling of God...
(ג) וְזֹאת֙ הַתְּרוּמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּקְח֖וּ מֵאִתָּ֑ם זָהָ֥ב וָכֶ֖סֶף וּנְחֹֽשֶׁת׃ (ד) וּתְכֵ֧לֶת וְאַרְגָּמָ֛ן וְתוֹלַ֥עַת שָׁנִ֖י וְשֵׁ֥שׁ וְעִזִּֽים׃ (ה) וְעֹרֹ֨ת אֵילִ֧ם מְאׇדָּמִ֛ים וְעֹרֹ֥ת תְּחָשִׁ֖ים וַעֲצֵ֥י שִׁטִּֽים׃ (ו) שֶׁ֖מֶן לַמָּאֹ֑ר בְּשָׂמִים֙ לְשֶׁ֣מֶן הַמִּשְׁחָ֔ה וְלִקְטֹ֖רֶת הַסַּמִּֽים׃ (ז) אַבְנֵי־שֹׁ֕הַם וְאַבְנֵ֖י מִלֻּאִ֑ים לָאֵפֹ֖ד וְלַחֹֽשֶׁן׃ (ח) וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
(3) And these are the gifts that you shall accept from them: gold, silver, and copper; (4) blue, purple, and crimson yarns, fine linen, goats’ hair; (5) tanned ram skins, dolphin skins, and acacia wood; (6) oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the aromatic incense; (7) lapis lazuli and other stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. (8) And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell in them.
...Each one of us needs to build G-d a Tabernacle in the recesses of our hearts, by preparing oneself to become a Sanctuary for G-d and a place for the dwelling of G-d's glory.
(Dr. Erica Brown In the Narrow Places: Daily Inspiration for the Three Weeks)
[The Divine is not revealed] through prophetic revelation alone, but only accompanied by the revelation by means of worship. Even if there are meditations for each mitzvah, nonetheless, any good comes only with the physical fulfillment of the Mitzvah, and for instance, should one just think of the meditations to put tefilin, and not put them, nothing was really done...
The same was the case in the construction of the Tabernacle. Betzalel made it, for Moses only commanded it, and Israel gave gifts for Betzalel and his men to construct it in actuality. Therefore, more was revealed to [Betzael regarding the details of the Tabernacle [than Moses]...
...It is taught in the holy Zohar, "fortunate is the one who makes a dwelling for [the Divine Presence] in his heart..." And as it is explained in parashat Terumah, "I will dwell in them [betokham]" (Exodus 25:8). And the rabbis z"l explain "it does not say 'in it [betokho]" since the Holy One of Blessing dwells amongst each and every person, not only for the benefit of the Jewish person, but also for the sake of the Divine Presence as well because of God's great love for Israel. However it is God's will to be revealed, and revelation is through action, as explained...
And this is also the issue of the souls after they were in this world, they go to a higher level in the Gan Eden than they were in this world, because the essence of private revelation of the Holy One of Blessing is through this world and through the action of mitzvot, in practice, and therefore besides saying Kaddish and learning Mishnayiot for their passing, it is also good for the souls when we remember them at the time of doing the mitzvah and of learning Torah, not only remembering them but also when we connect them while we do the mitzvah of learning Torah together ... and if the Holy One of Blessing wants to, as it were, dwell inside every single Jewish person, all the more so it is beautiful for the souls, after their departing, that they are able to see and to be part of God's dwelling, and that Torah and mitzvot are being done with them.
(1) 'ושכנתי בתוכם ככל אשר אני מראה אותך וגו, “I will dwell among them permanently in order to receive their prayers and their sacrificial offerings in a manner similar to the way I displayed My presence at the mountain.” Henceforth My presence will be manifest between the two cherubs on the lid of the Holy Ark as part of the overall structure called the Tabernacle. [I will paraphrase from here on in. Ed.]The author perceives of different degrees of holiness, just as the kabbalists perceive holiness in the extra terrestrial world as consisting of spiritually progressively higher different levels. The outer structure known as תבנית המקדש, “the format,” visual image, lead up to the cherubs in the innermost part of that structure. The very concept of the Tabernacle leads the intelligent viewer to conclude that hidden deep within it, G’d’s presence, שכינה must be manifest. The prophet Isaiah 6,2 phrased this as the שרפים עומדין ממעל לו, the types of angels of a rank known as “Seraphim” were in attendance above G’d’s throne. This was the closest to G’d’s essence that the prophets were shown in their visions. The terrestrial Tabernacle, if viewed as parallel to G’d’s throne in the celestial domains, contained different sections of progressively higher levels of sanctity which progressively restricted the type of people allowed to approach those levels. The Torah itself, for which the Holy Ark served as repository, was in an ark constructed of wood but overlaid with gold on the inside and on the outside, to reflect the saying of our sages in Yuma 72 that every Torah scholar whose external appearance did not reflect his internal stature is not a Torah scholar at all. The levels of sanctity in the Tabernacle, beginning already with the courtyard around it, were not sealed off from one another, but, on the contrary, were connected to one another all the way to the innermost sanctuary to demonstrate that sanctity is attainable progressively. On top of the physical box containing the spiritual teaching, the Torah, there was placed a lid also made from pure gold which symbolised the image of G’d. [in the sense that man was created in the image of G.d.] This lid was not linked, attached, to the ark itself at all. The detached nature of this “lid, כפורת,” symbolised that at a certain level of holiness there is no longer a physical bond with the human body, with the terrestrial domain, a domain which is essentially mortal, i.e. requiring regeneration from time to time. The description of the cherubs on top of the כפורת facing each other (verse 20) symbolises the interaction of the spiritual message contained in the Torah and its transmission to the human being studying it. The cherubs themselves are described as facing the lid, i.e. facing the Torah that is beneath that lid. As a result of such an attitude to Torah, i.e. looking to it for inspiration, the cherubs are then described as spreading their wings in an upward direction, as if reflecting that they had received spiritual inspiration enabling them to fly. This description of the cherubs’ posture reflects what Solomon described in Proverbs 15,24 אורח חיים למעלה למשכיל, “for an intelligent man the path of life is upward.” As a result of our relating to Torah in the manner described, we will merit what Isaiah 66,2 describes as ואל זה אביט, when he refers to the prerequisite character traits necessary to merit Divine inspiration. (2) And so should you make [it]. Hashem’s presence would dwell among them only by means of the Tabernacle. This was a step down from what He had promised them before the sin of the Calf, “In every place that I permit My Name to be mentioned I will come to you and bless you” (20:21).