Revealing the Shechinah in every act

בפסוק ועשו לי מקדש כו' ככל אשר אני מראה כו' תבנית המשכן כו' כליו וכן תעשו כו' כבר כתבנו מזה במ"א ושורש הדברים ע"פ מאמר הגמ'.

On the pasuk "And they shall make for Me a Mikdash... according to all that I show you... the form of the Mishkan... its vessels, and so shall you do..." — we have already written of this elsewhere, and the root of the matter is based on the statement of the Gemara.

The Sefas Emes returns to the command to build the Mishkan "according to all that I show you," noting he has discussed it before, and grounds his explanation in a teaching of the Gemara cited next.

הרוצה שיתקיימו נכסיו יטע בהן אדר שנא' אדיר במרום ה'.

One who wishes that his possessions should endure should plant in them an "adar," as it says, "mighty (adir) on high is Hashem."

The Gemara teaches that to make one's property lasting, one should "plant an adar" in it; the Sefas Emes reads adar/adir as connecting one's possessions to Hashem, "the Mighty One on high."

כי בוודאי כל הנבראים יש בהם נקודה פנימיות להש"י כמ"ש הכל לכבודו ברא.

For surely all created things have within them an inner point (nekudah penimius) belonging to Hashem, as it says, "He created everything for His honor."

Every created thing contains a hidden inner point that is bound to Hashem, since all was created solely for His glory — this penimiyus is the divine spark within all of creation.

ובאמת ע"י האדם יכול להתברר ולהתגלות השראת השכינה בכל דבר.

And in truth, through a person it is possible for the resting of the Shechinah to become clarified and revealed in every thing.

It is the human being who has the power to reveal this concealed inner point, drawing the hashraas haShechinah (resting of the Divine Presence) into every object and every act.

וז"ש ועשו לי מקדש כו' תבנית המשכן כו' פי' שבכל מעשה יהי' רצון האדם כדי להשלים רצון הבורא ית'.

And this is the meaning of "they shall make for Me a Mikdash... the form of the Mishkan..." — that in every act a person's will should be directed toward fulfilling the ratzon of the Creator, may He be blessed.

"Make for Me a Mikdash" is not limited to the physical Mishkan: in every single deed a person should aim his ratzon at completing the ratzon Hashem, turning all his actions into a dwelling place for the Shechinah.

ולהיות נעשה מזה מבוקש הש"י אותו דבר שמרומז בזה המעשה כי בכל דבר יש רמז בשמים.

And that there should be brought about from this the thing that Hashem desires, the matter hinted at in that deed, for in every thing there is a hint Above.

Each act here below corresponds to and arouses something Above; every physical deed is a remez (allusion) to a heavenly reality, so directing it properly accomplishes what Hashem desires in the upper worlds.

וז"ש תבנית המשכן.

And this is the meaning of "the form (tavnis) of the Mishkan."

The "form of the Mishkan" signifies that every earthly act is patterned after a supernal blueprint, mirroring a heavenly form.

ואף שאין האדם יודע בפרטות תיקון כל מעשה.

And even though a person does not know in detail the rectification (tikkun) of each act —

A person cannot possibly know the precise supernal tikkun that each of his deeds effects.

מ"מ ע"י שכוונתו לשמים ורוצה לעשות כרצון הבורא עי"ז מעורר כח הבורא ית' והוא השראת השכינה כ"א לפי מדרגתו ועי"ז זוכה אח"כ לעשות באמת הכל כראוי וז"ש וכן תעשו.

Nevertheless, since his intention is for the sake of Heaven and he wishes to act according to the will of the Creator, through this he arouses the power of the Creator, may He be blessed — and that is the resting of the Shechinah, each one according to his level — and through this he afterward merits to truly do everything as is fitting; and this is the meaning of "and so shall you do."

Lack of detailed knowledge is no obstacle: the sincere kavanah leShem Shomayim itself awakens the divine power and draws the Shechinah according to one's level, and this in turn empowers a person eventually to perform everything properly — "and so shall you do."

מקודם כ' ככל אשר אני מראה כו' ולא כ' כל רק ככל שא"י עדיין לעשות ממש תבנית המשכן.

Beforehand it is written "according to all (ke'chol) that I show you," and it does not write "all" (kol) but rather "according to all," for one is not yet able to actually make the form of the Mishkan.

The Torah's precise wording — ke'chol ("like all") rather than kol ("all") — signals that at first a person cannot yet literally accomplish the full "form of the Mishkan"; he can only approximate it.

רק ע"י הרצון והמבוקש ועושה כל דבר לש"ש להתדמות לדבר המרומז כי כל המצות הם רמזים לדברים עליונים עי"ז אח"כ וכן תעשו.

Only through the will and the longing, doing everything for the sake of Heaven so as to resemble the matter hinted at — for all the mitzvos are hints to supernal things — through this, afterward, "and so shall you do."

Through sincere ratzon and yearning, performing each act leShem Shomayim to mirror the supernal reality it alludes to (since all mitzvos are remazim to higher realities), one eventually reaches the stage of "and so shall you do" — full, fitting accomplishment.

כן הוא לשון אמת כמו כן בנות צלפחד דוברות.

"So" (kein) is an expression of truth, as in "the daughters of Tzelafchad speak rightly (kein)."

The word kein connotes truth and correctness, as when Hashem affirmed that the daughters of Tzelafchad spoke "kein" — rightly — so "ve'chein ta'asu" means doing things in their true, correct form.

כנים אנחנו.

"We are honest (keinim)."

Another instance of the same root denoting truth, as in the brothers' words "we are keinim (honest)" — reinforcing that kein expresses authenticity and truth.

וע"י אמונה מקודם שהוא ככל כו' תבנית כו' עי"ז אח"כ וכן תעשו.

And through the emunah at first — which is "according to all... the form..." — through this, afterward, "and so shall you do."

The initial stage demands emunah: believing that one's sincere acts approximate the supernal "form"; that very faith is what brings a person to the later stage of truly fitting deeds.

וזה עצמו הפי' יטע בהן אדר שצריך לראות עכ"פ לנטוע כל הדברים להיות להם קצת התדבקות בעץ החיים היינו להיות בכל דבר קצת מכוון להש"י וזה הכח והחיזוק של המעשה והוא השראת השכינה כנ"ל והבן:

And this itself is the meaning of "he should plant an adar in them" — that one must see, at the very least, to plant all things so that they have some attachment (hisdabkus) to the Eitz HaChaim, that is, that in every thing there be at least a little directed toward Hashem; and this is the power and the strengthening of the act, and it is the resting of the Shechinah, as explained — and understand.

This is the inner meaning of "planting an adar": rooting all of one's affairs in a connection to the Eitz HaChaim by directing at least a small part of every act toward Hashem. That bit of holy intention is what gives an act its enduring strength and draws the resting of the Shechinah — making one's "possessions" truly endure.

Summary: Building a Mikdash for Hashem means revealing the inner divine point latent in every created thing; even without knowing the precise supernal tikkun of each act, a person who directs his ratzon leShem Shomayim arouses the resting of the Shechinah and is eventually empowered to do everything properly. Through the initial emunah ("according to all") one reaches genuine fulfillment ("and so shall you do") — the deeper meaning of "planting an adar," rooting all of life in some attachment to Hashem and the Eitz HaChaim, which gives every deed its lasting strength.