Mishkan shaped by heartfelt giving

בפסוק מאת אדנים למאת הככר.

On the pasuk: "A hundred sockets (adanim) for the hundred talents (kikar)."

The Sefas Emes opens with the verse describing the silver of the Mishkan — one hundred sockets made from one hundred talents of silver.

ולכאורה איפכא הול"ל מאת הככר למאת אדנים.

Seemingly it should have said the reverse: "a hundred talents for the hundred sockets."

By the natural order, the raw material (the talents of silver) is the means and the finished sockets are the goal — so the verse should have placed the talents first.

ונראה שכל הבנין למעלה הוא כפי הנדבה שנמצא בלבות בנ"י.

And it appears that the entire structure Above corresponds to the nedavah (the generous giving) found in the hearts of Bnei Yisrael.

The spiritual edifice built Above is shaped precisely by the inner devotion and willing donation in the hearts of Bnei Yisrael.

ולפי שהי' מאת ככר לכך הי' המלאכה מאת אדנים.

And because there were a hundred talents, therefore the work amounted to a hundred sockets.

The number of finished sockets flows from the measure of silver given — the result is determined by the giving, so the talents are mentioned first.

וכמו כן למטה נמצא כפי שהוא בשורש שזה ענין מחצית השקל כמ"ש במ"א.

And likewise below, [the structure] is found according to what it is at its root — and this is the matter of the machatzis hashekel (half-shekel), as I have written elsewhere.

What appears below is a reflection of its root above; the half-shekel expresses how each Jew's giving connects to its higher source.

ולכן כתיב מאת אדנים כו' ואח"כ כתיב ככר לאדן:

Therefore it is written "a hundred sockets," etc., and only afterward "a talent per socket."

The verse leads with the sockets to teach that the finished structure mirrors the giving at its root; the per-socket measure is stated after, since the building above is governed by the nedavah below.

Summary: The unusual order of "a hundred sockets for the hundred talents" teaches that the spiritual structure built Above is shaped entirely by the willing nedavah in the hearts of Bnei Yisrael. Just as the half-shekel ties each person's gift to its root, the finished Mishkan is a reflection of the devotion poured into it from below.