In this week’s Torah portion, G-d commanded the Jewish people to build Him a Mishkan – a sanctuary- in the desert. “Make me a sanctuary, and I shall dwell within them.” The wording of the command is confusing. It would make sense to write,  ..,and I shall dwell within it… not them. From this we understand that G-d dwells within every Jew, and that our physical bodies are dwelling places, sanctuaries, for Divine light.

The Torah goes on to give us the specific blueprints for the construction of the Mishkan and the vessels within. G-d has given us clear direction for our mission in this world as Jews. As we study the blueprints for the Mishkan, we study the blueprint of our souls.

The Menorah, the candelabra in the Mishkan, was beautifully designed. One of the elements of the Menorah was its goblets. The goblets were formed to be wide at the lip and narrow at the base. The goblets were upside down on the Menorah, with the lip facing downward and the base facing upward. The message there is that we as Jews contain infinite Divine light within us, therefore, we must share our light with those around us and the world at large.

The Ark, which contained the Tablets Moses brought down from Sinai, was constructed of three layers. The inner and outer layers were made of gold, and the middle layer was made of wood. The inner layer, which was clearly not visible to a person observing the Ark, could have easily been constructed of wood. From this we understand that we as Jews must be authentic, and our words and deeds must reflect our Divine soul. When we encounter parts of ourselves that feel inauthentic, we are presented with an opportunity to look inwards and reassess that which we are encountering. The Divine truth is there within us for us to access, if we take a moment of introspection, G-d’s infinite truth will shine forth into our lives and the world around us.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Zushe Cunin