Three brokers connecting us to Hashem

גם פי' ועשו לי מקדש בימי המעשה.

A further explanation of "And they shall make for Me a Mikdash (sanctuary)" — this refers to the weekdays (yemei hama'aseh).

The Sefas Emes reads "make for Me a sanctuary" as the avodah of the six working days: the effort of building, of laboring to make a dwelling for Hashem, belongs to the weekday.

ושכנתי הוא בש"ק.

And "v'shachanti" (and I shall dwell among them) — that is on Shabbos Kodesh.

The actual indwelling of the Shechinah — the "and I shall dwell" — is realized on Shabbos, the fruit of the weekday's labor.

כי הארה המתגלה בשבת הוא לפי תיקון ימי המעשה.

For the illumination that is revealed on Shabbos is according to the rectification (tikkun) of the weekdays.

The light that shines forth on Shabbos is measured by how one prepared and sanctified the preceding weekdays; the avodah of the week determines the Shabbos revelation.

וכ' ככל אשר אני מראה כו' תבנית המשכן כו' וכן תעשו.

And it is written, "According to all that I show you... the form of the Mishkan... so shall you do" (Shemos 25:9).

Moshe was shown a heavenly pattern of the Mishkan and commanded to build accordingly — the earthly making must conform to the supernal model that is first revealed.

פירשנו כי לעולם כן הוא.

We have explained that this is always the case.

This is not a one-time instruction about the Mishkan but a permanent pattern of avodah that applies in every generation and every week.

עושי דברו לשמוע בקול דברו.

"Those who do His word, to hearken to the voice of His word" (Tehillim 103:20).

The verse places "doing" before "hearkening": through the deed performed below, one merits afterward to "hear" — to receive the higher revelation. Action draws down understanding.

וכפי תיקון העשי' כתבנית אלה הכלים.

And according to the rectification of the doing — in accordance with the form of these vessels —

To the degree that one's deeds are properly fashioned, matching the supernal "form" of the kelim, one becomes a fitting vessel for the light.

מתגלה בש"ק בחי' מרע"ה.

— there is revealed on Shabbos Kodesh the aspect (bechinah) of Moshe Rabbeinu.

When the weekday "making" is rectified, Shabbos reveals the dimension of Moshe Rabbeinu — the channel of da'as and connection to Hashem that Moshe embodies.

אשר אני מראה אותך כו' וכן תעשו.

"...which I show you... so shall you do."

The same pattern repeats: what is "shown" from above on Shabbos becomes the model for the "doing" of the coming week.

שמהארה המתגלה בש"ק צריכין לקבל מזה לקדש ימי המעשה שאח"כ.

For from the illumination revealed on Shabbos Kodesh, one must receive in order to sanctify the weekdays that follow.

Shabbos is not an end in itself; its light is to be drawn down and carried into the following weekdays, infusing them with kedushah.

ואז זוכין בשבת השני להתגלות מחדש.

And then one merits, on the next Shabbos, a renewed revelation.

When the Shabbos light is properly carried through the week, the following Shabbos brings a fresh and higher revelation — an ascending spiral.

כי לעולם אין הפסק לאלה המדרגות.

For there is never any cessation to these levels.

This rising sequence of weekday-effort and Shabbos-revelation has no end; one ascends from level to level without interruption.

וז"ש רש"י וכן תעשו לדורות ודו"ק כי קצרתי בעבור שמעין זה כתבתי במקום אחר.

And this is what Rashi means, "'So shall you do' — for the generations"; study this carefully, for I have been brief, since I have written something similar elsewhere.

Rashi's comment that "so shall you do" applies "for the generations" supports this reading — the pattern is eternal. The Sefas Emes notes he is keeping it short, having developed the theme elsewhere.

וזה שמבקשין במוצאי שבת ויהי נועם כו' הוא הארה המתגלה בש"ק ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו לקבל הארה זו שישאר גם לימי המעשה.

And this is what we request at the conclusion of Shabbos, "Vihi noam..." (May the pleasantness of Hashem be upon us) — this is the illumination revealed on Shabbos Kodesh — "and establish the work of our hands upon us," to receive this illumination so that it remain also for the weekdays.

On Motzaei Shabbos we pray that the "noam Hashem," the sweet light of Shabbos, be established upon "the work of our hands" — that the Shabbos illumination carry over and endure into the coming week's labor.

ועי"ז ומעש"י כוננהו.

And through this, "and establish the work of our hands" (the second time).

The verse repeats "establish the work of our hands" — for when the Shabbos light is received into the week, it leads in turn to the next renewal.

פי' התגלות נועם ה' מחדש בשבת השני.

Its meaning: the renewed revelation of the noam Hashem on the following Shabbos.

The second "establish the work of our hands" alludes to the fresh disclosure of Hashem's pleasantness that comes on the next Shabbos, completing the cycle.

וכן לעולם.

And so it is forever.

This cycle of receiving and renewing repeats endlessly, week after week.

כי השבת הוא הדרך שע"י יש התקשרות לבנ"י בהקדושה.

For Shabbos is the pathway by which Bnei Yisrael have a connection to kedushah.

Shabbos serves as the conduit, the road along which Bnei Yisrael are bound to holiness.

והוא בחי' מרע"ה כדאי' במד' יש לך מקח שא"י מה לקח כו' הסרסור נתוודע כו'.

And this is the aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu, as is brought in the Midrash: "Is there such a purchase, where one does not know what he has bought?... The broker (sarsur) made it known..."

The Midrash compares Torah to a purchase, and Moshe to the "sarsur," the intermediary broker who makes the transaction known. Moshe is the connecting agent between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael.

כי מרע"ה הי' הממוצע כמ"ש אנכי עומד בין ה' וביניכם והוא הסרסור בבחי' נפש.

For Moshe Rabbeinu was the intermediary, as it is written, "I stand between Hashem and you" (Devarim 5:5); and he is the broker in the dimension of "nefesh" (soul).

Moshe is the mediator who stands between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael. In the framework of "olam-shanah-nefesh" (world-year-soul), Moshe is the connecting broker on the plane of nefesh, the soul.

והשבת הוא הסרסור בבחי' שנה.

And Shabbos is the broker in the dimension of "shanah" (year/time).

On the plane of time, it is Shabbos that serves as the intermediary connecting Bnei Yisrael to kedushah.

והמשכן ובהמ"ק בבחי' עולם.

And the Mishkan and the Bais Hamikdash are the brokers in the dimension of "olam" (world/space).

On the plane of space, the Mishkan and the Bais Hamikdash are the intermediaries that link the world to holiness. Thus there are three "brokers" — one for each of soul, time, and space.

וע"י אלו הדברים זוכין לדעת.

And through these three, one merits da'as (knowledge/awareness).

By means of these three intermediaries — Moshe, Shabbos, and the Mikdash — Bnei Yisrael attain true da'as, an inner knowing of Hashem.

כמ"ש ע"י הסרסור נתוודע.

As above, "through the broker it became known."

The role of each intermediary is to "make known" — to bring about the awareness and connection that would otherwise remain hidden.

וכ"כ בשבת אות הוא ביני וביניכם כו' לדעת כו'.

And so it is written regarding Shabbos, "It is a sign between Me and you... to know..." (Shemos 31:13).

Shabbos is explicitly called a "sign... to know," confirming that its function as broker is to bring Bnei Yisrael to da'as of Hashem.

וכן המשכן שנק' העדות.

And likewise the Mishkan, which is called "the Testimony" (ha'eidus).

The Mishkan too bears a name of "knowing" and witnessing — it is "the Testimony," for it makes Hashem's presence known on the plane of space.

והכל ענין א' כמ"ש.

And it is all one matter, as explained.

Moshe, Shabbos, and the Mishkan are three expressions of a single idea — the intermediary that connects Bnei Yisrael to Hashem and brings them to da'as.

וג' סרסורים הנ"ל נרמזים בכתוב כמ"ש בזוה"ק מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו הם הצדיקים שבוחר הש"י בהם ע"ש.

And these three brokers are hinted at in the verse, as brought in the Zohar Hakadosh: "from every man whose heart moves him" — these are the tzaddikim whom Hashem chooses.

The Zohar reads the call for contributions to the Mishkan "from every man whose heart moves him" as referring to the tzaddikim — the chosen individuals who serve as channels of light.

והם סרסור להאיר לכל הנפשות.

And they are the broker to illuminate all the souls.

These tzaddikim — the bechinah of Moshe — are the intermediary on the plane of nefesh, drawing the light down to every soul.

אשר תקחו מאתם מאת זימני ושבתי הם סרסור בבחי' השנה.

"Which you shall take from them" — "mei'as zimni v'Shabbasi" (from My appointed times and My Shabbos) — these are the broker in the dimension of time (shanah).

The Sefas Emes reads the words hinting at the festivals and Shabbos as the intermediary on the plane of time, the sanctified moments that connect us to kedushah.

ועשו לי מקדש סרסור בבחי' העולם שמבהמ"ק יצא אורה לכל המקומות:

"And they shall make for Me a Mikdash" — the broker in the dimension of space (olam), for from the Bais Hamikdash light went forth to all places.

The command to build the Mikdash is the intermediary on the plane of space, for the Bais Hamikdash was the source from which Divine light radiated out to the entire world — completing the trio of brokers across soul, time, and space.

Summary: "Make for Me a Mikdash" is the weekday avodah, and "I shall dwell" is the Shabbos revelation, whose light is measured by the week's tikkun and must be carried back into the coming weekdays in an endless ascending cycle — the inner meaning of "Vihi noam" said on Motzaei Shabbos. Shabbos is the pathway binding Bnei Yisrael to kedushah, one of three "brokers" (intermediaries) corresponding to soul, time, and space: Moshe Rabbeinu (the tzaddikim), Shabbos and the festivals, and the Mishkan/Bais Hamikdash — all hinted in the verses of Terumah, and all serving the one purpose of bringing Bnei Yisrael to da'as of Hashem.