Constructing a Temple in One’s Heart
G-d works with the system of reciprocation. When we had the Bais Hamikdash in Jerusalem it inspired us to create a Sanctuary in our own hearts. Conversely, when we create the internal Sanctuary, it generates the cosmic energy that facilitates the building of the Third Temple TERUMAH TERUMAH
CONSTRUCTING A TEMPLE IN ONE’S
HEART
Build Your Own Sanctuary!
This week’s Torah portion Terumah features the commandment to build a sanctuary for G-d. This sanctuary the Jews built in the desert was known as the Mishkan, while the Temple they later built in Jerusalem is called the Beis Hamikdash.
Our sages noted the manner in which the Torah commanded them to build this sanctuary:
And they shall build for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell within them.
Commentators point out the obvious anomaly in this verse. If G-d asked them to build Him a sanctuary so that He, G-d, could dwell in it, it should have used the singular expression TERUMAH “in it.” Why does the Torah employ the plural form “in them?”
Our sages answer that the mitzvah to build a sanctuary goes beyond the construction of the physical Sanctuary in the desert and the Temple in Jerusalem. In this verse, G-d has instructed the Jewish people to build a sanctuary within each and every one of them. By emulating the service in the Temple, we can bring G-d’s presence into our own hearts and minds.
Why the Need for a Sanctuary of Gold and Silver?
This explanation, however, begs the question: If each and every one of us has the capacity to create his or her own personal sanctuary, why did the Jews have to build a Temple out of stone and gold? Why do we pray three times a day for the restoration of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, if every one of us can have his/her own Temple?
The answer lies in a better understanding of the function of the Temple in Jerusalem (and the Mishkan in the desert).
TERUMAH
One of the primary services in the Temple was the offering of sacrifices. In Hebrew, the word for this offering is korban, the root of which does not mean sacrifice but to get close. When this service was performed in the Temple it had an effect on the entire world. Every korban, comprised representations of all aspects of creation: an animal, plant, mineral as well as the human Kohein-Priest who offered it – brought the whole world closer to G-d.
By contrast, when we emulate the process of the korban in our own lives and bring ourselves closer to G-d, we can only affect ourselves. And though no effort – no matter how small – should be undervalued, our individual korban cannot match the universal and cosmic effects the service in the Temple – G-d had chosen – had.
Moreover, the services in the physical Temple generated spiritual inspiration that empowered us to create their own individual Sanctuary.
In truth, it also goes in the other direction. The more we endeavor to create a Sanctuary TERUMAH for G-d in our own minds, hearts and bodies, the closer we get to the construction of the Third Bais Hamikdash.
In matters of spirituality, whatever affects the macro world also affects the micro world and vice versa.
In the absence of the Temple, we have no choice and must try to compensate for its loss by doing all we can to make our own lives more pure, holy and G-dly.
No Need to Find Substitutes for the Temple
We have been assured by our prophets and sages that through all of our individual efforts, we will finally bring about the realization of the hopes and dreams of millennia of Jews. We will finally see the rebuilding of the third Temple in Jerusalem, which will enhance our own individual efforts at bringing ourselves and the entire world closer to G-d. In a world imbued with the spirit of G-d, we will experience true peace and harmony.
TERUMAH
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Terumah by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
