This week’s parashah discusses the holy mitzvah of creating a Mishkan, a holy edifice, a location where the Shechinah resides in this world. However, Chazal note that the pasuk doesn’t state וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכוֹ , “I will dwell in it” – in the Mishkan. The pasuk states וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם, “I will dwell in them”. Chazal explain that this means Hashem will dwell in the heart of every Yid. In addition to building the Mishkan or the Beis HaMikdash, Hashem wants every Yid to be a Sanctuary, a place where Hashem resides.
The blockage is the yetzer hara. Due to Adam HaRishon’s sin, the yetzer hara is within man’s heart, and the Shechinah won’t reside in a place where the yetzer hara has a stronghold. Therefore, the Torah writes, וְעָשׂוּ, that this spiritual Mikdash, in the heart of a Yid, must be constructed. It has to be made. A person must first remove the yetzer hara from his heart, and then the Shechinah will dwell there.
יצר (the yetzer hara) and רצון (desire) have similar letters, and they are both from the same root. This is because the definition of the yetzer hara is when a person carries personal desires in his heart– to attain pleasure, honor, wealth, etc. – and he doesn’t seek what Hashem desires for a Yid. These longings – which are the yetzer hara – prevent the Shechinah from residing with him because the Shechinah won’t reside together with the yetzer hara.
Therefore, the process to make oneself a Mishkan is to be give up at least one of his desires – and it should be a complete and total renunciation. That will banish the yetzer hara from his heart, and the Shechinah can now reside there. It is a sacrifice, but it removes the yetzer from his heart, and he can be an abode for the Shechinah.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
It is impossible to immediately cleanse oneself from all one’s personal desires. That would be an undertaking most people cannot do. Therefore, the advice is to choose one small desire and to make a decision that he will be give it up entirely for Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s sake. This will remove at least part of the yetzer hara from his heart. The light of the Shechinah that is now with him will help him take the next step. Gradually, and very slowly, he can become cleansed from the yetzer hara, and from all selfish desires. Throughout this process, he gradually and continuously becomes a more perfect abode for the Shechinah. This is the primary consideration, even though are other considerations to take into account.
“They shall make a Mikdash for Me – so that I may dwell in them” (Shemos 25:8)
