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In this week's Parashah, Parashat Terumah, the Torah discusses the building of the Mishkan. The Parashah says “Ve’Asu Li Mikdash VeShachanti BeTocham,” “And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them” (Shemot 25:8). When the Pasuk says the word BeTocham and not BeTocho, it means that Hashem will not only rest in the Mishkan, but rather Hashem will rest within each and every one of us.
Continuing on in the Parashah, we see that there are no other mentions of us in regards to the Mishkan, and only the previous Pasuk mentions Bnei Yisrael. However, if you look deeper into the Mishkan, you can see that the entirety of it relates to us as people and as Jews. The Rabbeinu Bechayei says that there are three sections to the Mishkan and each part correlates to a different part of the Human body. The Kodesh HaKedashim and the Keruvim correspond to the brain and heart as they are the main function of our body. The Keilim correspond to the internal organs of a human, and while they are not the brain and heart they are extremely necessary just like the Kaylim. And the Chatzer relates to the Physical world and physical parts of your body.
The whole Parashah bears out the point by describing all the parts of our body and connecting them to the Mishkan. This not only connects us to the Mishkan but also gives proof in explaining that BeTocham is not misused; rather, it’s used to teach us that we have to be like a Mishkan and provide a place for Hashem within ourselves.
Rashi says that the Mitzvah of building the Mishkan is LeDorot, meaning for all generations. What does that mean? This means that throughout each generation, each and every person should have a metaphorical Mishkan inside themselves. Just because we aren’t the people who built the Mishkan, that doesn’t mean that this principle does not apply to us. And not only does the principle still apply to us, but also to all future generations.
Since the Mishkan parallels us, we must model ourselves like one and provide a place for Hashem. This requires tremendous change, but with Hashem’s help, we can develop ourselves into our own kind of Mishkan so that He can rest BeTocham, in every single one of us.