Building the Mikdash within through ratzon and emunah

ברש"י ויקחו לי תרומה יפרישו לי מממונם נדבה כו'.

In Rashi: "And they shall take for Me a terumah" — they shall set aside for Me from their money a free-will offering (nedavah), etc.

The Sefas Emes opens with Rashi's comment on the command to bring terumah for the Mishkan: each person sets aside a portion of his own property as a nedavah for Hashem.

פי' שצריך האדם לתת מכל דבר חלק להשי"ת.

The meaning is that a person must give a portion of everything to Hashem Yisbarach.

The deeper lesson is that from every aspect of one's life and possessions, a share must be dedicated to Hashem.

ואף שדברי עוה"ז הם רחוקים מאוד.

And even though the matters of this world are very distant [from holiness].

Even though worldly, physical things seem far removed from Hashem and kedushah.

אבל הרצון צריך להיות להשי"ת.

Nevertheless, the will (ratzon) must be directed to Hashem Yisbarach.

Regardless of how physical the object is, a person's inner ratzon — his intention and desire — must be aimed toward Hashem.

כמו שכ' רש"י נדבה רצון טוב.

As Rashi writes: "nedavah" means good will (ratzon tov).

Rashi himself defines nedavah as a matter of ratzon — the giving flows from a good and willing heart, not the physical gift alone.

וזה עצמו הנדבה הרצון להיות הרצון תמיד להשי"ת.

And this itself is the nedavah — the will: that the will should always be directed to Hashem Yisbarach.

The true "offering" is the ratzon itself — the constant orientation of one's will toward Hashem is what one is really giving.

והרצון גובר המעשה.

And the will overpowers the deed.

The inner ratzon is more potent than the external act — it is the will, not merely the physical deed, that carries the real force.

כי כל מעשה האדם מעורר בעליונים והרצון ברצון עליון.

For every deed of a person arouses [an effect] in the upper realms, and the will [arouses] the supernal will (ratzon elyon).

A person's actions awaken corresponding effects above, but his inner will reaches even higher, awakening the supernal ratzon of Hashem.

וידוע כי ברצון השי"ת מתהפך הכל ברגע.

And it is known that through the will of Hashem Yisbarach, everything can be overturned in an instant.

Since Hashem's ratzon governs all reality, the entire situation can be transformed in a single moment by His will.

ולכן צריך האדם להאמין כי הכל תלוי ברצונו.

Therefore a person must believe that everything depends on His will.

This calls for emunah: recognizing that all of reality hinges on Hashem's ratzon, and so aligning one's own will with His is the deepest avodah.

ובזוה"ק פירש ענין המשכן על תפלת האדם בכל יום.

And in the Zohar HaKadosh it explains the matter of the Mishkan as referring to a person's daily tefillah.

The Zohar reads the building of the Mishkan as a model for daily prayer — each person constructs a "dwelling" for the Shechinah through his tefillah.

והוא שצריך האדם לברר השראת השכינה בכל דבר.

And this is that a person must clarify (lvarer) the resting of the Shechinah in everything.

The avodah of tefillah is to reveal and bring to light the presence of the Shechinah within every single thing.

כי וודאי מלא כל הארץ כבודו.

For certainly "the whole earth is full of His honor" (Yeshayahu 6:3).

In truth Hashem's glory already fills all of creation — there is no place truly devoid of Him.

אבל כפי אמונת האדם יוכל להרגיש השראת השכינה.

But according to a person's emunah, he is able to feel the resting of the Shechinah.

Though Hashem's presence is everywhere, the degree to which a person actually senses the Shechinah depends on the strength of his emunah.

ובבהמ"ק הי' הדבר בפועל.

And in the Bais Hamikdash this was actual [revealed in practice].

In the Bais Hamikdash the indwelling of the Shechinah was openly manifest and tangible.

ועתה הוא על ידי אמונה כנ"ל.

And now it is through emunah, as above.

In our time, without the Bais Hamikdash, that same revelation is accessed through emunah rather than open sight.

וכל התפלה ע"ז שמעיד האדם כי הכל מחיות השי"ת.

And the whole of tefillah is about this — that a person testifies that everything is from the life-force of Hashem Yisbarach.

The essence of prayer is bearing witness that all existence draws its chiyus from Hashem alone.

וכפי מה שנתברר להאדם כן יוכל לברר בכל דבר.

And according to how much has become clarified to a person, so is he able to clarify it in everything.

The clearer this truth becomes within himself, the more he is able to reveal Hashem's presence in everything around him.

וכפי מה שאדם רוצה באמת לברר מלכותו ית'. כן יוכל להטות כל הדברים אליו ית'.

And according to how much a person truly wills to clarify His kingship, so is he able to incline all things toward Him.

The sincerity of one's ratzon to reveal Hashem's malchus determines the extent to which he can turn and direct all things back toward Him.

כי לדברים גשמיים. אין להם רצון.

For physical things have no will of their own.

Inanimate, physical objects possess no ratzon — they cannot orient themselves toward anything.

וכל דבר צריך להיות לו רצון כי זה העיקר.

And every thing needs to have a will, for this is the essential point.

Yet ratzon is the central, essential element of existence — the directing toward Hashem is what everything ultimately requires.

ומזה הוכחה כי דברים אלו תלוים בהאדם שיש לו רצון.

And from this there is a proof that these things depend upon man, who possesses a will.

Since physical things lack ratzon and yet need one, this proves they depend on man — the being endowed with will — to supply that directing of them toward Hashem.

וברצונו יוכל להטות הכל אליו ית' כנ"ל.

And through his will he is able to incline everything toward Him, as above.

By means of his ratzon, man lifts and directs all the physical things of the world back toward Hashem.

וז"ש ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם בתוך כל אחד.

And this is the meaning of "And they shall make for Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them (b'socham)" — within each and every one.

He reads "b'socham" ("within them") not as "within it" (the Mishkan), but within each individual — the true Mikdash is built within every person.

וכמ"ש ז"ל שמרע"ה שאל איך יוכלו לעשות משכן לכבודו ית'. והשיבו השי"ת כי אף א' מישראל יכול לעשותו.

And as the Sages said, that Moshe Rabbeinu asked how they could possibly make a Mishkan for His honor; and Hashem Yisbarach answered him that even a single one of Bnei Yisrael is able to make it.

Moshe wondered how a finite, physical structure could contain Hashem's honor. Hashem's answer: even one individual Yid can "build" it — because the true dwelling is forged within the person himself.

והוא השראת השכינה בכל דבר להיות האמונה קבוע שחיות הכל למעלה מהטבע וזה מקדש כנ"ל:

And this is the resting of the Shechinah in everything — that the emunah should be firmly established that the life-force of everything is above nature (l'maaleh mei'ha'teva); and this is [the] Mikdash, as above.

The real sanctuary is the indwelling of the Shechinah in all things, accomplished by firmly fixing within oneself the emunah that the vitality of everything is supernatural — rooted above nature in Hashem. That settled faith is itself the Mikdash.

Summary: The command to bring terumah teaches that from everything a person must dedicate a portion to Hashem — and the true offering is the ratzon itself, the constant directing of one's will toward Him. Since the inner will reaches higher than the deed and arouses the supernal ratzon, and since everything depends on Hashem's will, the avodah is emunah: bearing witness through daily tefillah that all chiyus comes from Hashem. Physical things have no will of their own, so man, who possesses ratzon, must incline them all back toward Hashem. This is the meaning of "I will dwell within them" — within each individual — for even one Yid can build the Mikdash by fixing within himself the emunah that the life-force of everything stands above nature.