Kedushah
How does one create a place for the Shechinah? Shach al HaTorah zt'l writes that the answer is found in the word מקדש. The pasuk doesn't state משכן לי ועשו; it states לי ועשו מקדש , a sanctuary. This implies that when one sanctifies himself, Hashem resides with him.
A photographer was offered a well-paying job to take pictures at a major event. He realized that he would have to compromise on some of his gedarim, boundaries, related to guarding his eyes, so he turned down the offer.
A few days afterward, he was at an event. Reb Chaim Kanievsky zt'l was there, and from a distance, Reb Chaim motioned for him to come forward. The photographer looked around, trying to understand who Reb Chaim was calling because he couldn’t imagine it was him. Reb Chaim motioned again to him, implying, "I mean you."
He approached the front table, and Reb Chaim told him, "I am jealous of you." The photographer asked, "Why? What did I do?" Reb Chaim replied, "They don't know. I know." The photographer understood that it was because he passed the test and turned down the lucrative offer to guard his eyes. He thought to himself, "If Reb Chaim knows, heaven certainly knows." His good deed wouldn't be forgotten.
This is an example of turning oneself into a Mishkan, a sanctuary for Hashem.
Reb Nisan Gaon tells the story of the holy baal teshuvah who became the tana Nosson Tzutzisa:
Reb Akiva once rode on a donkey with his talmidim and asked, "Who is riding there, in the distance, on a donkey? I see a light on the head." The students told Reb Akiva, "He is Nosson the baal aveirah, and we don't see anything on his head." Reb Akiva asked his talmidim to call him over. When he arrived, Reb Akiva told him, "I see a light on your head. How did you merit this?" Noson told him that he had encountered a difficult test, and he overcame his temptations and conquered the yetzer hara. Reb Akiva told him this was why a halo of light shone above his head. Reb Akiva said, "This is your portion in this world, and you will merit Olam HaBa." Nosson studied by Reb Akiva and became the tana Noson Tzutzitza.
We don't have an inkling of the greatness of a tana, but we can understand from this story that when one passes a test related to yiras shomayim, he reaches very high levels.
About creating the paroches, it states (26:31) כרבים אתה יעשה חשב מעשה, "The work of a master weaver he shall make it, in a woven cherubim design." The Chasam Sofer zt'l explains that a person that is cautious with his thoughts, חושב מעשה, becomes like the keruvim, like the malachim in heaven.
