(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ב) דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כָּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃ (ג) וְזֹאת֙ הַתְּרוּמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּקְח֖וּ מֵאִתָּ֑ם זָהָ֥ב וָכֶ֖סֶף וּנְחֹֽשֶׁת׃ (ד) וּתְכֵ֧לֶת וְאַרְגָּמָ֛ן וְתוֹלַ֥עַת שָׁנִ֖י וְשֵׁ֥שׁ וְעִזִּֽים׃ (ה) וְעֹרֹ֨ת אֵילִ֧ם מְאָדָּמִ֛ים 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׃
(1) And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: (2) ’Speak unto the children of Israel, that they take for Me an offering; of every man whose heart maketh him willing ye shall take My offering. (3) And this is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold, and silver, and brass; (4) and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’hair; (5) and rams’skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia-wood; (6) oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense; (7) onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate. (8) And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
(א) ועשו לי מקדש. ועשו לשמי בית קדשה:
(1) "Make for me a sanctuary" - Make for a holy place for the sake of My Name
R. Isaac Abravanel (15th cent. Spain)- Commentary on Exodus 25:8
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 HaChinuch (16 cent.)
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...
Malbim (19th cent. Eastern Europe)- Commentary on Exodus 25:8
...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.
(ה) קְח֨וּ מֵֽאִתְּכֶ֤ם תְּרוּמָה֙ לַֽה' כֹּ֚ל נְדִ֣יב לִבּ֔וֹ יְבִיאֶ֕הָ אֵ֖ת תְּרוּמַ֣ת ה' זָהָ֥ב וָכֶ֖סֶף וּנְחֹֽשֶׁת׃
(5) Take from among you an offering unto the LORD, whosoever is of a willing heart, let him/her bring it, the LORD’S offering: gold, and silver, and brass;
"The Spirit of Jewish Education"
Everything depends on the person who stands in front of the classroom. The teacher is not an automatic fountain from which intellectual beverages may be obtained. The teacher is either a witness or a stranger. To guide a pupil into the promised land, the teacher must have been there themselves. When asking themselves: Do I stand for what I teach? Do I believe what I say?, the teacher must be able to answer in the affirmative. What we need more than anything else is not textbooks, but textpeople. It is the personality of the teacher which is the text that the pupils read: the text that they will never forget. [Edited for gender neutrality]
- Abraham Joshua Heschel
Oh Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
And in thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for you.
Ve-asu li mikdash
Ve-shachanti be-tocham
Ve-a-nach-nu ne-var-ech Yah
May-atah ve-ad o-lam.