This week's Parsha starts with the Mitzva Hashem gave Klal Yisrael to build a Mishkan.
The Toldos Yaakov Yosef brings down from Rabbi Moshe Alshich that in the same way that Hashem is eternal so too the Mitzvos which Hashem gave us are eternal. The Toldos continues and asks that the Mitzva of building the Mishkan seems to be a Mitzva that isn't eternal. The Mitzva was a one time Mitzva to build the Mishkan and again later the Beis Hamikdash. But once they were built the Mitzva was done. And after the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash we cannot fulfill this Mitzva.
What makes this question even stronger is the fact that the Torah spends four Parshas (Teruma, Tezave, Vayakhel, Pikudei) on this Mitzva and goes into such great detail about a Mitzva which we can't even fulfill.
The Toldos answers the following. The Passuk starts off 'Ve'asu li Mikdash veshachanti besocham' - and they should make me a Mikdash and I will reside within them. This is the Passuk that commands to build the Mishkan and Beis Hamikdash. Chazal tell us that the Passuk should have written 'veshachanti besocho' and I will reside in it, the Mishkan. But the Passuk says 'besocham' in them, referring to Klal Yisrael.
Although the simple meaning of the Passuk is referring to the building of the Mishkan and Beis Hamikdash, there is a much deeper concept in this Passuk that is also part of the Mitzva, that Hashem should be able to reside in them, in Klal Yisrael. This means that every Jew has a Mitzva to make himself a Beis Hamikdash that Hashem can reside within him.
Mikdash stems from the word Kadosh, holy. The Mikdash was a holy place for Hashem's Divine presence. Similarly, for Hashem to rest His Divine presence in a person, the person has to prepare themselves and make themselves holy.
The Slonimer Rebbe writes in his Sefer Nesivos Shalom that the Passuk starts off by saying, ‘and they should make a Mikdash’, the plural refers to a husband and wife who have a home together have to aim that their home should also be a Beis Hashem, a home for Hashem to reside.
Whether referring to a person themself or their home, in order for Hashem’s Divine presence to reside there are certain conditions that are vital. If a person’s body, mind and soul are not clean but are contaminated with bad thoughts and bad desires, it will cause the Shechina to run away. And the same applies to a Jewish home.
The Mishkan Within Ourselves
The Aron refers to the Torah that a person has to learn and follow in their lives and their home. The Menorah and it’s lights refer to the light of Torah and holiness that shine into a person and their home. It also refers to the radiance that shines from a person through their behavior, that shines from a home that the Shechina resides there. The Shulchan refers to our Parnassa and the way we behave when we do business. It refers to the way we behave when we eat and what we eat. Similarly, the Mizbeach was where the Korbonos were sacrificed. Chazal tell us that in the times of the Beis Hamikdash the Korbonos atoned for us. But now that we don’t have the Beis Hamikdash, our table where we eat is our Mizbeach. When we eat properly, make Berochos properly, have in mind that we are eating in order to have the energy to serve Hashem, our eating becomes like Korbonos.
So we see that although we can’t fulfil the Mitzva of building a Mikdash but we have a Mitzva to turn ourselves and our home into a Mikdash worthy of Hashem residing.
The truth is that to build a Mishkan is far easier than working on ourselves to turn ourselves into a Mikdash. But the Passuk adds a hint that can direct us to understand and know what is our individual Avoda to sanctify ourselves.
The Parsha starts off that Hashem told Moshe to tell Klal Yisrael to bring donations from every person that their hearts are generous. Tzaddikim explain that if a person wants to donate generously to Hashem the way to do it is by donating their heart. Every person knows what their own heart desires, the things they want that isn’t what Hashem wants. But a person’s Avodah is to sacrifice their heart’s desires and forgo their desires. That sanctifies a heart, that makes a person become holy and worthy that the Shechina should reside in their heart.