Parshas
Truma
The
Alter Rebbe
“And they shall
make for Me a Mikdash and I will dwell within them.” Hashem’s
Shechina dwells within the soul of every single Jew through the medium
of involvement in Torah and mitzvos, which correspond to the
vessels of the Mishkan and its curtains… The vessels of the Mishkan in
general stand for pnimiyus (inwardness), alluding to Torah, which
is the pnimiyus and “food” for the soul (as it is grasped by
man’s intellect in an internal way). The curtains of the Mishkan,
which are “makifim” (surrounding), allude to mitzvos,
which surround and envelop the soul (i.e., by doing a mitzva, a
garment is made for the soul).
Just as Hashem’s Shechina was drawn down
through the vessels and curtains of the Mishkan, so too the Shechina in
the personal Mishkan of every single Jews is drawn down through both the
“vessels,” meaning Torah study, and “curtains,” the fulfillment
of mitzvos.
(Torah
Ohr)
The
Mitteler Rebbe
“And they shall
take a gift-offering for Me; from every person whose heart motivates him
shall they take My gift-offering.” “Gift-offering” is
mentioned twice to allude to two types of offerings. The word
“gift-offering” (truma) has two meanings: 1) to set aside,
and 2) to elevate. So we can read the verse as follows: “And they
shall take truma for Me.” Through a person’s elevating
himself internally, he will automatically become a “person whose heart
motivates him,” and from him “they shall take my gift-offering.”
(Maamarei
Admur HaEmtza’i - Shmos )
The
Tzemach Tzedek
“Gold
and silver and copper ... shoham stones and stones for setting.” Rashi:
the thirteen items mentioned here were all needed in the building of the
Mishkan.
The commentaries are perplexed by this
comment because 15 items are actually enumerated in these verses.
Why then does Rashi say 13?
Rashi only counts those things needed to
build the Mishkan or the vessels. He does not count the oil and spice
because they are like the karbanos (sacrifices) of the Mishkan,
which were actually offered but were not part of the construction of the
Mishkan.
(Ohr
HaTorah - Shmos)
The
Rebbe Maharash
“Two
prongs (yados) for each board ... so shall you make all the boards of
the Mishkan.” The simple meaning
here is that there were two sockets under each board, and the two prongs
of the board went into the sockets. Spiritually, however,
this means: The boards of the Mishkan were made of atzei
shittim (cedar wood), which alludes to the transforming of negative shtus
(foolishness) into holy shtus d’kedusha (holiness that is
above the intellect). The way to accomplish this is through the “two
prongs,” which allude to the higher level of teshuva and the
lower level of teshuva. That is why they are called “yados”
(literally, hands) because a hand is used to hold things, and the two
types of teshuva “hold” or support the Divine service of the
boards, transforming the negative shtus to the shtus d’kedusha.
(Seifer
HaMaamarim 5630)
The
Rebbe Rashab
“And
you shall make the boards of the Mishkan of cedar wood, standing ... and
make forty silver sockets...” “Boards”
and “sockets” in the Divine service of man are explained as follows:
The purpose of the Mishkan was so that Hashem would have a home here on
earth. The boards allude to the part of the mind that grasps and
contemplates G-dliness. Generally speaking, the revelation of G-dliness
in the mind cannot provide enthusiasm in the performance of mitzvos;
only love and fear in the heart can give life to a deed.
But Hashem is kind and He connects the good
thought to the deed. This is what the sockets allude to, for they
connect the “boards” (the intellect) with the “ground” (the
deed). The sockets were, therefore, made of silver to allude to
Hashem’s kindness.
(Seifer
HaMaamarim 5678)
The
Rebbe Rayatz
“And
they shall make Me a Mikdash and I will dwell within them.” “Within
them” — within every single Jew.
(Reishis Chochma)
Within every Jew’s heart there is a
spiritual “Mikdash” which is the “pintele Yid” (the
essential spark, or “point,” of a Jew’s soul). This “point”
exists eternally, under any and all circumstances. A Jew must reveal it
and arouse it so that the spark is fanned into a great flame.
(Seifer
HaSichos 5703, p. 45)
The
Rebbe MH”M
Just as the location of
the Mikdash retains its holiness during Exile, as the Sages say: “The
Shechina never moves from the Western Wall,” for the churban (destruction)
only affected the building. So too with the personal “Mikdash”
within each one of us. The foundation is strong and pure, as it says in
Shir HaShirim: “I am asleep but my heart is awake.”
Any spiritual destruction is only in the
“structure” of one’s personal Mikdash, but the foundation remains
forever holy.
(HaYom
Yom 21 Tammuz)
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