From Mishkan to Soul

How the Light of the Ein Sof Illuminates Our Holiest Work

When Moshe Rabbeinu was on the mountain receiving instructions regarding the building of the Mishkan, Hashem told him to warn the nation about the importance of keeping Shabbat (Shemot 31:13): וְאַתָּה דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר אַךְ אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ כִּי אוֹת הִוא בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם לָדַעַת כִּי אֲנִי יְיָ מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם (And you, speak to B'nei Yisrael saying, However, you shall keep My Shabbats, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I, Hashem, sanctify you). To make sure that we don't miss the point of the instruction, Rashi explains: וְאַתָּה אַעַ"פִּ שֶׁהִפְקַדְתִּיךָ לְצַוּוֹתָם עַל מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן אַל יֵקַל בְּעֵינֶיךָ לִדְחוֹת אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת מִפְּנֵי אוֹתָהּ מְלָאכָה (And you [Moshe], even though I have commanded you to command them regarding the construction of the Mishkan, do not consider it a light thing in your eyes to push off the Shabbat for that work).

Later, after Moshe came down the mountain, he conveyed Hashem's instructions as commanded (Shemot 35:2): שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תֵּעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי יִהְיֶה לָכֶם קֹדֶשׁ שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן לַייָ כׇּל־הָעֹשֶׂה בוֹ מְלָאכָה יוּמָת (Six days you shall work, and on the seventh day it will be for you the holy Shabbat, a complete rest for Hashem, all that do work on it shall be put to death). And once again, Rashi repeats what he had said earlier: הִקְדִּים לָהֶם אַזְהָרַת שַׁבָּת לְצִוּוּי מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן לוֹמַר שֶׁאֵינוֹ דוֹחֶה אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת (He preceded the commandment regarding the construction of the Mishkan with a warning to them regarding the Shabbat, to say that it must not push off the Shabbat).

Why did Hashem feel the need to instruct the people that the work of building the Mishkan should not push off Shabbat? There must have been a very compelling reason why the people would have thought just the opposite – otherwise, the warning wouldn't have made much sense. After all, if saving a life [פִּיקּוּחַ נֶפֶשׁ, pikuach nefesh], which heals every limb of man, pushes off Shabbat, and even circumcision [בְּרִית מִילָה, brit milah], which heals only a single limb of man, pushes off Shabbat, then surely, one would think that building the Mishkan, which would heal the entire soul of man, should push off Shabbat. No? No. Why not? To understand the answer to this question, we first need to understand the purpose of the Mishkan.

R' Nachman explains that one who involves himself in kiruv, i.e. helping lead others closer to the service of Hashem, must be very careful lest he fall from his place (Likutei Moharan 59:1): מִי שֶׁמִּשְׁתַּדֵּל תָּמִיד לְקָרֵב בְּנֵי אָדָם לַעֲבוֹדַת הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ צָרִיךְ לִשְׁמֹר אֶת עַצְמוֹ שֶׁלֹּא יִתְאַחֲזוּ בּוֹ הַקְּלִפּוֹת וְהָרָע שֶׁל אֵלּוּ בְּנֵי אָדָם (Someone who constantly works hard to draw people to the service of Hashem, may He be blessed, must protect himself so that the klipot and the evil of these people [that he's trying to help] not attach themselves to him). Nevertheless, despite this potential danger, the person who is dedicated to kiruv is involved in a very important and holy work. R' Nachman calls it building an aspect of the הֵיכַל הַקֹּדֶשׁ [Heichal ha-Kodesh, the Holy Temple].

As the name implies, there are two aspects to the Heichal ha-Kodesh, namely, the kodesh and the heichal. The kodesh aspect represents the souls of faithful individuals who remained attached to Hashem despite all the influences in this world that pull in the opposite direction, as it is written (Yeshayahu 4:3): וְהָיָה  הַנִּשְׁאָר בְּצִיּוֹן וְהַנּוֹתָר בִּירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם קָדוֹשׁ יֵאָמֶר לוֹ כׇּל־הַכָּתוּב לַחַיִּים בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם (And it will be that the one who is left in Tzion and the one who remains in Yerushalayim, it will be said about him 'Kadosh' [i.e. holy], all those written for life in Yerushalayim). And what does the heichal represent? It represents the honor [כָּבוֹד, kavod] due to Hashem, in the aspect of Tehillim 29:9: וּבְהֵיכָלוֹ כֻּלּוֹ אֹמֵר כָּבוֹד (And in His temple everyone says 'Kavod!'). Combining these two ideas into one, the Heichal ha-Kodesh represents the assembly of those people (or better, the souls of those people) who gather in Hashem's Temple to praise Him and give Him the kavod that is due His name.

And in many respects, this aspect of the Heichal ha-Kodesh relates to Jews and non-Jews alike, for it is written (Tehillim 96:3): סַפְּרוּ בַגּוֹיִם כְּבוֹדוֹ בְּכׇל־הָעַמִּים נִפְלְאוֹתָיו (Tell the goyim about His kavod, among all the nations, His wonders). Therefore, the Zohar ha-Kadosh discusses at length (Parashat Yitro 67-69) what happened in the world when Yitro converted. In short, as he had been the most important High Priest of idolatry in the world at that time, his conversion, i.e. his acceptance of Torah and mitzvot, had massive consequences. It caused a big ruckus in the world. Many people began questioning the validity of their idolatries, and following Yitro's lead, also forsook their false religious systems and turned to Hashem. As a result, there was a big kiddush Hashem in the world at that time, all on account of one ger who converted! And if we have eyes to see it, this is an aspect of what we hope and pray for when we recite Kaddish: יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא בְּעָלְמָא דִּי בְרָא כִרְעוּתֵהּ (May His name be made great and exalted in the world that He created according to His will).

So what exactly was the Mishkan? As explained at length by R' Natan in Likutei Halachot, it was the primary vehicle for bringing people close to Hashem (Yoreh De'ah, Hilchot Ta'arovot 5:5): אַךְ הָעִנְיָן כִּי מְלֶאכֶת בִּנְיַן הַמִּשְׁכָּן וְכֵלָיו זֶה בְּחִינַת בִּנְיַן הֵיכַל הַקֹּדֶשׁ הַנַּ"ל, כִּי עַל-יְדֵי בִּנְיַן הַמִּשְׁכָּן שָׁרְתָה הַשְּׁכִינָה בְּיִשְֹרָאֵל וְנִתְקָרְבוּ יִשְֹרָאֵל לַאֲבִיהֶם שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם וְשָׁבוּ בִּתְשׁוּבָה (However, the thing is that the work of building the Mishkan and its vessels is an aspect of building the Heichel ha-Kodesh, as mentioned earlier, for by building the Mishkan the Shechinah rested within Yisrael and the Jews got close to their Father in heaven and did teshuvah). He goes onto explain that the Mishkan itself is not really a physical construction at all, but rather a physical and a spiritual one: כִּי כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּבְנָה הַמִּשְׁכָּן בְּגַשְׁמִיּוּת...נִבְנָה מִשְׁכָּן וְהֵיכַל הַקֹּדֶשׁ בְּרוּחָנִיּוּת מִנַּפְשׁוֹת יִשְֹרָאֵל שֶׁנִּתְקָרְבוּ לַה' יִתְבָּרַךְ עַל-יְדֵי מֹשֶׁה שֶׁהֶחֱזִירָן בִּתְשׁוּבָה (Just like the Mishkan was built with physical materials...the Mishkan and the Heichal ha-Kodesh was built with spiritual materials, from the souls of the Jews who got closer to Hashem, may He be blessed, through Moshe who caused them to do teshuvah).

It is explained further in Likutei Halachot how the work of the Mishkan is the most precious thing to Hashem: נִמְצָא שֶׁבִּנְיַן הַמִּשְׁכָּן הוּא בְּחִינַת בִּנְיַן הֵיכַל הַקֹּדֶשׁ שֶׁזֶּה הָעֵסֶק יָקָר וְחָשׁוּב מְאֹד מְאֹד אֵצֶל ה' יִתְבָּרַךְ יוֹתֵר מִכָּל הָעֲבוֹדוֹת שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם כִּי זֶה עִקַּר גְּדֻלָּתוֹ וּכְבוֹדוֹ שֶׁל ה' יִתְבָּרַךְ כְּשֶׁהָרְחוֹקִים בְּיוֹתֵר נִתְקָרְבִים אֵלָיו (It comes out that the building of the Mishkan is an aspect of building the Heichal ha-Kodesh, which is a matter that is precious and very, very important to Hashem, may He be blessed, more than all other forms of work in the world, for the essence of the greatness and kavod of Hashem, may He be blessed, is when those who are far away get close to Him).

Since no other human activity is more important to Hashem than building the Heichal ha-Kodesh and bringing people near in sincere teshuvah, then it would seem to follow that nothing should impede its progress. In other words, once everyone in the nation understood the significance of the Mishkan, they naturally concluded that their efforts to build it should push off Shabbat. Sounds logical, doesn't it?

It sounds logical, but it's incorrect, and that's why Hashem needed to instruct them otherwise. As we said above, the truth is that the building of the Heichal ha-Kodesh is not a physical activity at all, but rather a spiritual one. In fact, it is an aspect of Shabbat and directly subordinate to it. The only way for the building of the Mishkan to be a holy enterprise, i.e. for it to be an aspect of building the Heichal ha-Kodesh, is through keeping Shabbat. Without Shabbat, the building of the Mishkan just becomes any other ordinary, albeit Jewish, activity. A project, a program, an institute – call it what you like – even though it looks holy, it ceases to be an aspect of building the Heichal ha-Kodesh.

How come? Only by resting on Shabbat is one able to experience self-nullification to the Light of the Ein Sof – the Infinite Light – and one cannot build the Heichal ha-Kodesh without nullifying oneself to the Light of the Ein Sof (Hilchot Ta'arovot 5:5): כִּי שַׁבָּת הוּא בְּחִינַת בִּטּוּל גָּמוּר אֶל הָאוֹר אֵין סוֹף שֶׁשָּׁם תַּכְלִית הַמְּנוּחָה וְהַשְּׁבִיתָה (For Shabbat is an aspect of complete self-nullification [bitul] to the Light of the Ein Sof, from where emanates the ultimate goal of tranquility and rest). Therefore, without Shabbat there is no light, and without light, one's work is darkness.

But it is deeper than that. Self-nullification to the Light of the Ein Sof is only half the picture. Continuing on in Likutei Halachot: שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת הַצַּדִּיק הָאֱמֶת שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת שַׁבָּת כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בְּרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר יוֹחָאי, אַנְתְּ שַׁבָּת דְּכֻלֵּי יוֹמֵי (For this is an aspect of the true Tzaddik, who is an aspect of Shabbat, like it is said about R' Shimon bar Yochai, 'You are the Shabbat of all the days'). This is a reference to what is written in the Idra Rabbah (Zohar ha-Kadosh, Naso 144b): אָמַר רִבִּי אַבָּא אֲנָן שִׁיתָא בּוֹצִינֵי דְּנַהֲרָאן מִשְּׁבִיעָאָה. אַנְתְּ הוּא שְׁבִיעָאָה דְּכֹלָּא...רִבִּי יְהוּדָה קָארֵי לֵיהּ שַׁבָּת דְּכֻלְּהוּ שִׁיתָא מִנֵּיהּ מִתְבָּרְכִין דִּכְתִּיב שַׁבָּת לַיְיָ קֹדֶשׁ לַיְיָ מַה שַׁבָּת לַיְיָ קֹדֶשׁ אוּף רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן שַׁבָּת לַיְיָ קֹדֶשׁ (R' Abba said, We are the six lights which are lit from the seventh. You [R' Shimon] are the seventh of all...R' Yehudah called him [R' Shimon] 'Shabbat', for all the six are blessed from it, as it is written, 'Shabbat to Hashem', 'Kodesh to Hashem' – just as 'Shabbat to Hashem is holy', also R' Shimon, 'Shabbat to Hashem is holy').

What does it mean to say that the Tzaddik of the generation, i.e. the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu, is an aspect of Shabbat? How are we to understand this? Just as Shabbat is the source of all blessings, light and abundance [שֶׁפַע, shefa] that gets sent down to the rest of the days of the week, so too the true Tzaddik is the source of all blessings, light and shefa that gets sent down to the rest of B'nei Yisrael. Therefore, the Shabbat and the Tzaddik are actually two aspects of the same thing, the Light of the Ein Sof that illuminates the minds of men. And even as one must nullify oneself to the Light of the Ein Sof in the form of Shabbat, so too one must nullify oneself to the Light of the Ein Sof in the form of the true Tzaddik.

Although these are very deep matters, we are able to catch a glimpse of their awesome light from the words of R' Nachman in Likutei Moharan (II:67:2): כִּי שַׁבָּת שְׁמָא דְּקֻדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא, גַּם הַצַּדִּיק הוּא בְּחִינַת שַׁבָּת (For Shabbat is the Name of the Holy One, may He be blessed, also the Tzaddik is an aspect of Shabbat). And therefore, we can understand why it is that every place where the Mishkan is mentioned in the Torah, B'nei Yisrael is warned about Shabbat, such as in Vayikra 19:30: אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ וּמִקְדָּשִׁי תִּירָאוּ אֲנִי יְיָ (You shall keep My Shabbats, and My sanctuary you shall revere, for I am Hashem). As explained in L.M. II:67:2: וְכֵן בְּכָל מָקוֹם שֶׁהִזְהִיר עַל מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן הִזְהִיר מִקֹּדֶם עַל שַׁבָּת כִּי שַׁבָּת מֵאִיר לְהַבֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ (And so, in every place where He gave a warning about the construction of the Mishkan, He first gave a warning about Shabbat, for Shabbat provides illumination for the Beit ha-Mikdash).

In summary, by nullifying ourselves to the Light of the Ein Sof, i.e. by resting on Shabbat according to halachah and by following the advice of the true Tzaddik, the Light of the Ein Sof is drawn down into the work that we do during the other days of the week. Without that Light, the activities that we engage in during the week, even activities that purport to have great meaning and importance, will in the end come to nothing for they will have been done in spiritual darkness. Therefore, even in the important field of kiruv – which is, literally, the work of building the Mishkan, constructing the Heichal ha-Kodesh – if we want those beautiful souls to draw close to Hashem in truth, love, happiness and eternal serenity, we need to find the Tzaddik, for he is the key to our success.