Shabbat Teruma

"And you shall make me a Mikdash-Temple, and I will dwell among them." (Exd 25:8). God commanded the children of Israel to build a temple. A close reading of this verse would suggest that the verse ought to say "and I will dwell in it" rather than "I will dwell in them". The torah's wording, "I will dwell in them" clearly implies that God will reside in the hearts of Israel. If this is so, then why build an edifice at all? Can a structure of bricks and mortar be God's house? The Mechilata writes that the mitzvah to build a Mishkan was "in order to receive reward for making it." The mere fact that Israel built according to God's instructions merited them a reward. This explains why Israel was commanded to build a Temple-it was not for God's sake but for Israel's sake. The Tana deve Eliyahu writes: "When Israel said-Na'ase Venishma-we will do and we will hear, God immediately said, "Take for me an offering". From this we may understand a significant message in regard to the building of the Mishkan. God wants us to do Mitzvot in order to be physically occupied with his Torah. Once Israel had said "we will do and we will hear", once they had demonstrated their eagerness, readiness and belief in God, what could still be lacking? if they believed with their minds, what more was necessary? The answer is that while faith is certainly important, faith requires a physical embodiment. Our arms need the Tefillin, our legs need us to take us to the Synagogue/Bet-Midrash. Believing in a doctor and in his diagnosis is not sufficient; one must take the medicine.

A city hospital in financial straits was approached by a chemist who offered to supply the hospital with pills which contained all the nutrients of a normal, balanced diet. By using these pills, the hospital would be spared the expense of purchasing food and maintaining a kitchen staff. The hospital administration eagerly introduced the new system-only to find, to their dismay, that the patients became very weak and demanded ordinary food. The doctors realized then that the body needs food. The muscles, the teeth, the digestive system, all must be used in their normal manner if the body is to remain healthy. Likewise, the actual observance of Torah and Mitzvot is necessary for the nourishment of body and soul. Given a diet of abstract faith without observance, the soul will languish. This is the lesson of the verse, "I will dwell in them". When we build a Temple, when we occupy ourselves with the physical fulfillment of Mitzvot, then God will dwell in our hearts. Our Hachamin teach us, "Learning is not the main thing, but rather practice". The Mitzvot are a goal in and of themselves.