פרשת תרומה
In this week’s parsha, we get the first instructions for building the Mishkan. Hashem implores us, “Build me a Mishkan and I will dwell inside you!” Chazal tell us that the purpose of the Mishkan was not merely to build a structure of grandeur for G-d, but to cultivate a relationship with Hashem so that He would feel welcome to dwell among us. How does this work? How does the Jewish People’s construction of the Mishkan lead to this elevated relationship with Hashem? Furthermore, we must ask what this has to do with us today? Is there any principle we can learn from here that we can apply to our own lives? Is it possible that we too are capable of having the Shechina dwell within us?
Rav Yechezkel Levinshtein says that we can find the answer to this question a few parshas from now where we hear how the Torah describes the making of the Mishkan. The Torah enumerates every detail of the construction of the Mishkan and then proudly proclaims that the Jews did it “just as G-d commanded.” After finishing the Mishkan “just as G-d commanded”, Moshe then blessed the people, expressing the hope that the Shechina would dwell among them and at that moment, the Shechina came down. Rav Yechezkel claims that it wasn’t merely Moshe Rabbeinu’s bracha that allowed the Shechina to rest on the entire Jewish people. It was more specifically the dedication displayed by the Jews and the exacting precision with which they built the Mishkan. The care for every single detail and the importance given to what others might consider insignificant minutia was so incredible that the Shechina viewed these individuals as fit for Its presence. Amazingly, it was precision in mitzvos purely for the sake of G-d that led to this glorious spiritual level. Many think that in order to create an intense connection to Hashem one must purify himself through separation from the physical or other atypical behaviors. However, according to what we observe in the building of the Mishkan, the ultimate way to connect to Hashem is just by wanting to do His will and taking the necessary steps to actualize that desire with the highest level of meticulousness. It is the sincere aspiration to fulfill Hashem’s will that will bring us closest to Him.
Rav Reuven Fine elaborates that it makes complete sense that if one is exacting in his practice of mitzvos, Hashem will be with him. The more a person shows how much he desires a connection to Hashem, the more Hashem is willing to give it to him. This is how the avos merited their closeness with HaKadosh Baruch Hu. The gemara in Kiddushin 82a says that Avraham Avinu kept the entire Torah before it was even given! Completely actualizing Hashem’s will in every way was so important to the avos that they didn’t even need to be commanded to do so. This explains why the Midrash in Breishis Rabba 62:6 testifies that the avos are Hashem’s chariot! They binded themselves so firmly to Hashem through precision in His mitzvos and a pining for the fulfillment of His will in every aspect, that Hashem’s Presence remained strongly with them their entire lives! Generations later, when the Jewish people accepted the Torah at Har Sinai, the declaration of “naaseh v’nishma” had a similar effect. Hashem specifically wanted to bestow the Torah on a people that desired this connection. No other nation in the world expressed such willingness. Only the Jewish people, by yearning to do G-d’s will in its entirety, merited the gift of the Torah. If we aspire to do the same, who knows what spiritual rewards await us as well?
Rav Aryeh Leib Shteinman adds that even though many great accomplishments in life take a long time to achieve, when one performs mitzvos it’s different. Even one mitzvah has the power to change someone in the blink of an eye and forever. All one needs to do is just do the mitzvah the way it’s supposed to be done. The gemara in Nedarim 32b says that after Avraham Avinu performed bris mila on himself, he merited complete control over his eyes, ears, and bris mila. From this moment on, he had the almost superhuman ability to use these limbs only for the service of Hashem without any other ulterior drives. Tosfos, commenting on this unique phenomenon, exclaims that we see from here the power of a mitzvah. Just the mitzvah of bris mila changed Avraham Avinu’s life entirely! Even though we may not be capable of performing mitzvos in as lofty a fashion as Avraham Avinu, every mitzvah we do to the best of our ability is changing us and deepening our relationship with G-d. The more we exert ourselves and apply ourselves to fulfilling every detail of our mitzvos, the more we can be assured that we will come closer and closer to Hashem.
There were many times when I was younger that I had the great privilege to visit Rav Gamliel Rabinovitch and to glean from his wisdom. I remember one time that a very serious young avrech came to visit Rav Gamliel and told him that he was applying himself fully in yeshiva, and it would definitely be fair to say that he was a “masmid.” Nevertheless, the avrech expressed a feeling of incompletion and the absence of the true joy and connection to Hashem that such learning is supposed to bring. Rav Gamliel gave a sly smile and then said, “I’ll tell you why you feel a lacking. It can only be because you are not medakdek enough in mitzvos. You should be making sure that everything that you do is l’chatchila according to the Shulchan Aruch.” The avrech accepted Rav Gamliel’s words wholeheartedly. The rabbi saw what was inside of him. Rav Gamliel comforted and encouraged the avrech, saying, “If you make this switch, it will make a big difference in shamayim,” said Rav Gamliel.
May we all be zoche to be exacting in our mitzvos and bring Hashem into our midst!!!