It states (25:8) בתוכם ושכנתי מקדש לי ועשו, "They shall make for me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in their midst."
The Alshich states that the pasuk doesn't state בתוכו ושכנתי, "I will dwell in it (in the Mishkan)." It states בתוכם, "in them". This means Hashem will dwell in every single person.
Someone asked a gadol, how can Hashem dwell in a human being, made of earth? How can a person elevate himself to this high level that the Shechinah will dwell in him, as if he was a Beis HaMikdash?
The gadol replied, "After Shovavim, it is possible." Indeed, this parashah, which states בתוכם ושכנתי, is the first parashah which we read after Shovavim. During Shovavim, people sanctify themselves, each person according to his ability, and then he can reach the level that the Shechinah will reside in him.
When someone hears such a vort, he often says, "I wish I knew that before Shovavim. But how does it help me now? Shovavim has passed."
In response to this feeling, pay attention to the following story, which Reb Tzvi Meir Zilberberg Shlita told. He heard it from a talmid chacham who used to travel to Rebbe Itzikel of Pshevorsk zy'a. During these trips, he also enjoyed learning from the wisdom and holiness of Rebbe Itzikel's son-in-law, Rebbe Yankele of Pshevorsk. Once, this man traveled to the Pshevorsker Rebbe, discussing something with Rebbe Yankele of Pshevorsk. The conversation brought them to a Gemara (Chagigah 4.). The man repeated the Gemara, which says, לו שנותנים מה כל המאבד ,שוטה איזהו, "Who is a fool? It is someone who loses everything that is given to him."
Rebbe Yankele said, "You repeated the Gemara incorrectly. The Gemara says איזהו לו שנותנים מה המאבד ,שוטה, 'Who is a fool? It is someone who loses what is given to him.' When you repeated the Gemara by heart, you added the word, כל."
The man replied, "I said כל because the Gemara says כל!" They checked the Gemara, and they saw that indeed, the Gemara says כל. (Afterwards, they checked Shulchan Aruch, Yorah Deiah 1:5, and there, indeed, it is written without the word כל. It states there, המאבד לו שנותנים מה, but the Gemara wrote it as the man said, with the word כל.)
The Yid explained, "Don't think that I am an expert in Shas. Not at all. I am not even an expert in one Masechta. But when I learned this Gemara, I felt a chalishas hadaas and yeush. I asked myself, perhaps I am a shotah, a fool, because I sometimes lose what is given to me. Sometimes I lose my tabak pushke, a pen, and the like. Right now, I am trying to remember where I put my eyeglasses and the towel I took to the mikvah. I forget some things; perhaps I am also called a שוטה? But then I saw that the Gemara says לו שנותנים מה כל המאבד, and I was comforted. For losing only one thing, a man isn't called a שוטה. He is a fool only when he loses everything, and I don’t lose everything."
Reb Yankele praised him for being so truthful.
Sometimes, we squander opportunities and are upset, but we must remember that we didn't lose everything. There were many opportunities that we grasped, and that should give us comfort and hope.
Rejoice with what you can gain, because you didn't lose everything.
A husband and wife were very tired on the seder night, so they decided to go to sleep for a half-hour and then begin the seder. When they awoke, it was morning. The man, not knowing what to do, ran to the beis medresh of the Shefa Chaim, the Klausenberger Rebbe, zt'l, he cried to the rebbe, "This year, I didn't have matzah, maror, four cups of wine, sipur yetzias Mitzrayim, and Hallel; I slept the entire night. What should I do?" The Klausenberger Rebbe replied, "What should you do? You daven Shacharis," Even if you missed out on a tremendous opportunity, you must remain focused on the present, and gain whatever you can.
The Chofetz Chaim said that if a person realizes when he gets to שלום שים in Shemonah Esrei that he said the entire Shemonah Esrei without kavanah, he should begin davening with kavanah now. He should grasp whatever he can.
The Chofetz Chaim compared this to a girl selling apples, and a thief came by and turned over the table with the apples and everyone started grabbing the apples for themselves. She stood there, crying. A wise person told her, "Everyone is grabbing, go grab as well." Because even if you incur a steep loss, you don't have to lose everything. Salvage whatever you can.
We return to our vort, that with Shovavim, one can reach the level of בתוכם ושכנתי, that a person can make himself like a Beis HaMikdash, where the Shechinah resides. We asked how a person can achieve this level. We answered that with Shovavim, it is possible. We asked, but how does this vort help us now, after Shovavim has passed? Here are three approaches:
- Although Shovavim has passed, we didn't lose everything. We did many good things in Shovavim that purified us immensely, to be worthy of being a Mishkan for Hashem.
- The Arizal says that Shovavim includes Terumah and Tetzaveh. (Some say that it is only during a leap year, but the Arizal says that this applies to every year. It is called Shovavim Ta"t – Ta"t referring to תרומה תצוה.) So, Shovavim isn't over yet. Even if we lost some opportunities, we didn't lose everything. It is still Shovavim, and we can rectify ourselves.
- Our third response is based on a lesson from the Chasam Sofer zt'l. The Chasam Sofer discusses two pesukim that discuss the yomim tovim. The two pesukim are similar, but there are differences between them. One pasuk states (Vayikra 23:2) ָםאֹת ְ רְ אוִּּקת ֶרֲׁשא 'ה ֵיֲדמוֹע ָיֲדמוֹע ֵםה ֵלֶּהא ֶׁשקֹד ֵיָאְרִקמ, "Hashem's holidays that you shall designate as holy occasions. These are My holidays." A couple of pesukim afterwards, it states (23:4) ֶׁשקֹד ֵיָאְרִקמ 'ה ֵיֲדמוֹע ֵלֶּהא ָםֲדבְּמוֹע ָםאֹת ְ רְ אוִּּקת ֶרֲׁשא, "These are Hashem's holidays, which you shall designate in their designated time." The second pasuk doesn't refer to the holidays as מועדי, "My holidays." Also, the second pasuk states ָםֲדבְּמוֹע, "in their designated time", which isn't written in the first pasuk.
The Chasam Sofer says that the first pasuk we mentioned discusses when a person turns a regular weekday into a holiday. A day that one invests in avodas Hashem is a regular day that becomes a holiday for him. It isn't ָםֲדבְּמוֹע at a set time of the year, yet, the Torah says, ָיֲדמוֹע ֵםה ֵלֶּהא, these are My yomim tovim. These are the days that are most precious to Me.
Shovavim is a special time to rectify us from severe aveiros, but the potential to attain purity and kedushah isn't solely on these days. Even regular days can be very holy and special before Hashem when we use them for avodas Hashem.
In response to the question, how can one merit that the Shechinah will reside on him? The answer is with Shovavim it is possible. But it isn't solely on Shovavim. On any day of the year, when a person acts with kedushah...