פרשת תרומה

In this week’s Parsha, the Jews are commanded to construct the Mishkan so that Hashem would be able to dwell amongst the Jewish people. What exactly is the significance of the Shechina dwelling here on earth and on a practical level, what does this mean for us? The Midrash in Shir Hashirim says that before Adam Harishon sinned, the Shechina’s presence was located here on earth. But after Adam’s sin, the Shechina retreated from the world to the first area in Heaven. Later, when Kayin murdered his brother, the Shechina retreated even further, to the second level in Heaven. With the passing of generations, and the world becoming infatuated with idolatry, the Shechina eventually drew back to the seventh level in Heaven, which is the furthest from this earth. But when the seven righteous people from Avraham through Moshe acted with extreme piety and holiness, they successfully managed to bring Hashem all the way back down, culminating with the dedication of the Mishkan in which Hashem returned to the earth completely, like He was during the times of Adam.

R’ Chazkal Levinstein, the renowned Mashgiach of the Chevron Yeshiva used to ask what exactly this Midrash is trying to teach us. He would explain this esoteric Midrash by saying that Hashem originally created the world with the intent to dwell amongst its inhabitants. What does it mean for Hashem to dwell on earth? Isn’t Hashem by definition everywhere and all-knowing? Rather the term dwelling refers to Hashem’s constant desire to have a close relationship with the inhabitants of this earth. But He cannot do this if those inhabitants are wicked. Many of the great philosophers throughout the ages agreed that there was probably a creator, but they had difficulty with the concept that this creator would want to have an intimate relationship with His creations on a daily basis. They considered this to be too petty for something capable of creating something so massive. But the truth of the matter is that we are supposed to be a “throne” for God, so to speak, and foster an environment in which His holiness can be present and therefore allow Him to be close to us like He wants to, and this is what it means for Hashem to “dwell” amongst us.

The Tomer Devorah writes that each and every Jew has a responsibility to ensure that he is fitting for the Shechina to rest upon him, and to take precautions that he never fall to the level in which the Shechina is forced to withdraw from him. Such an attitude will certainly change a person’s entire lifestyle. The Ramchal in Derech Hashem (3:64) goes so far as to say that the primary reason why Hashem gives prophecy to his people is not so that they may know the future, or be privy to classified information, but rather so that the Jewish people can always maintain a direct relationship with their Creator. Even after the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed every Jew could still feel this through Ruach Hakodesh. In a way, the Beis Hamikdash was meant to be a public demonstration of our relationship with Hashem, and prophecy was meant to be a more personal way in which each and every Jew would have access to that type of connection with Hashem if they would only be willing to sanctify themselves. From these two giants it is clear how important it is that we make ourselves the kind of people who are befitting to have the Shechina rest upon us on a constant basis.

The Ramchal writes in a different place that when a person does a Mitzvah carefully, he draws a little bit closer to his Creator. To the extent that he is able to be sensitive to the intricacies of that Mitzvah, that is the extent that he will be able to remove all the barriers between himself and his Creator. It is clear from the words of the Ramchal that the purpose of a Mitzvah is not just to perform some service by wrote, but rather to use the Mitzvah as an opportunity to draw closer to God by performing it meticulously, and with great care to the exact letter of the law, thereby showing powerful regard for the one who commanded it. The Ramchal says further, that even though the Shulchan Aruch rules that the only intent which is required in performing a Mitzvah is the intent to do the will of God, there is another intent which is equally crucial in the performance of a Mitzvah. A person has a responsibility to consider the fact that the Mitzvah which he is doing will bring him closer to his creator. When one performs each and every one of his daily commandments with these two powerful considerations in mind, one can only imagine the type of relationship he will have with his Creator at the end of a day, or indeed, by the end of his life.

Two great ways to do this on a practical level are prayer and Torah study. Prayer is obviously a primary way to develop a relationship with Hashem. Through sincere prayer, by showing Hashem that we rely on Him, we bring Him into our lives and by definition, allow His presence to be more felt on this earth. And Torah study as well is the sincere search for what Hashem wants in this world. By carefully researching what exactly is incumbent upon us, and by trying to determine what precisely Hashem wants us, and the rest of the world to do, we succeed in fulfilling the purpose of creation that we described previously, just as the Mishkan did – we bring Hashem’s presence down to this earth and allow Him to be recognized by all creatures therein.

It is told about the Chofetz Chaim that his students noticed that when he would pray, he would not move at all, remaining completely still during the entire Amida, whereas everyone else in the world seemed to sway fervently during the entire prayer. When they asked an older student of the Chofetz Chaim how he could explain this anomaly, he responded with a parable. When a person swims in a lake, he does not feel the motion of the fish in that lake, because they swim so gracefully and naturally, that their motions are not felt, yet if a person were to jump into that same lake, his presence would be felt instantaneously. Similarly, explained the senior student, when we stand in front of God, we do not feel natural, and hence we need to perform all sorts of external activities to try to awaken ourselves to the importance of the task, but our Rebbi feels that he is constantly standing in front of his Creator, and so such behavior would be extraneous. We see from this story that a person does not need to perform external bizzarities, like so many newcomers may think, in order to get close to Hashem, but rather by doing exactly what He said to in the Torah, with the intent that we described, we will naturally form a close connection with Him, regardless of our outside appearance.

May we all merit to bring Hashem’s presence down into this world, and into our own lives!