DG's Divrei Torah

In the beginning of creation, Hashem had placed Himself amongst the entire universe, from the heavens, all the way down to the earth. The Shechina had a personal resting place among the earth, and when Adam and Chava were created, his presence could be felt among them. After the Chait (sin of eating from the tree of knowledge), Hashem had separated His Shechina from the earthly realm, only remaining in the Heavenly world. In the times of our Avos (Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov), Hashem returned to the earth. However, He did not have a resting place amongst the earth. He only “hovered” above the earth. This brings us to speed with this week’s parsha, Parshas Terumah; in this week’s parsha, we talk about the splendor of the mishkan (tabernacle), and all the holy vessels that were used within its walls. The mishkan is a mini model of Hashems glory and presence. What does this mean? It means the mishkan represents the glorious presence of the Shechina. To further clarify this meaning, I will relate a mashal (parable) based on the writings of the Shlah (Shnei Luchos Habris).

A man once walked up to the Pallaza Vecchio and saw Michelangelo’s sculpture of David. This sculpture depicts the beauty of the human being in its finest form. The fact that a man had sculpted a being out of marble and created such a work of art fascinated this man, for it had captivated his attention. He then thought to himself, “I see mankind every day, why am I not fascinated by the way they look? There’s something that makes this sculpture more captivating than the real thing.

What can we learn from this mashal? How does it apply to the mishkan in this week’s parsha? Hashem created the universe, correct? And Klal Yisrael created the mishkan as a testimonial to the universe, correct? Just like you’re captivated by Michelangelo’s sculpture of the human form more than that real thing, so too, since it’s impossible to see the stretch of the universe in all of it’s beauty, the mishkan, a portrayal of the universe, was placed on earth to captivate you.