Parashat Terumah 5785, 2025: "Hashem’s Home"

Rabbi David Etengoff

ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ

“And one [of the Seraphim] called to the other and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the entire earth is full of His glory.’” (Sefer Yeshayahu 6:3) This is one of the most celebrated pasukim in Tanach, as it is recited twice every weekday, and at least three times a day on Shabbat, the Yamim Noraim, Yom Tov and Rosh Chodesh. It explicitly declares, “the entire earth is full of His glory.” As such, what need is there for the pasuk and mitzvah in our parasha: “v’asu Li mikdash v’shachanti b’tocham--And you shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them?” (Sefer Shemot 25:8) After all, if the entire universe is full of Hashem’s glory, what can the Mikdash, whether in the form of the Mishkan or the Beit HaMikdash, possibly add to kavod Hashem?

The Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194-1270) helps us answer this question in his introduction to our parasha. He opines that the Jewish people were a holy nation at this moment in time; accordingly, it was fitting “for there to be a Mikdash so that His Schechinah (Divine Presence) would infuse [its glory] among them.” (Commentary on the Torah, translation my own) In other words, beyond a doubt “the entire earth is full of His glory,” yet, this universal statement does not speak to the singular intimacy that Hashem sought to foster with b’nai Yisrael. In order to achieve this goal, Hashem knew He needed to make His Schechinah manifest among our people and, therefore, commanded us to build the Mishkan.

My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, was deeply influenced by the Ramban. Accordingly, he too asserts that the underlying purpose of the Mishkan was to enable Hashem’s Schechinah to permeate among them. At the same time, however, the Rav intriguingly states: “God wanted Moshe to build a Mishkan…because He wanted a home.” (This and the following quotations, Darosh Darash Yosef: Discourses of Rav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik on the Weekly Parashah, Rabbi Avishai C. David editor, page 180) Once again we can readily ask, if “the entire earth is full of His glory,” why would Hashem want a “home?” We are fortunate that the Rav addresses this question in a manner that sheds new light on the unique nature of the Mishkan:

God wanted a Mishkan that would attract and inspire the Jewish people. This could not be accomplished by means of hukotav (its decrees), but primarily through tzurotav (its form). The Mishkan had to radiate an aura of inspiration, beckoning the individual to reach out to new horizons. This is the real tzurah of the Mishkan.

The Rav’s answer is very profound. Of course, Hashem did not need a home for Himself. As Yeshayahu says, “the heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool.” (66:1) Instead, “God wanted a Mishkan [that is, a home] that would attract and inspire the Jewish people…beckoning the individual to reach out to new horizons.”

May the time come soon, and in our days, when we will experience the aura of inspiration of the rebuilt Beit HaMikdash, and may we be able to reach new spiritual horizons as we encounter the Almighty in His home once again. V’chane yihi ratzon.


Shabbat Shalom

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