Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him. And these are the gifts that you shall accept from them: gold, silver, and copper; blue, purple, and crimson yarns, fine linen, goats' hair; tanned ram skins, dolphin skins, and acacia wood; oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the aromatic incense; lapis lazuli and other stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.
Exodus 25:1-8


The Children of Israel are asked to donate gifts for the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) so that God may "dwell among them." The items God seeks are listed in great detail, as each is an important part of the elaborate architectural plans Moses is to follow. It is to be a deliberate process, with each element of the finished Mishkan deemed worthy of the Divine Presence.

The creation of the world is described in 34 verses and takes up more than one chapter of the book of Genesis. Yet the building of the Tabernacle, makes the Creation story seem brief; the passage dedicated to the description of the blueprints alone is nearly three times as long!

Why the painstaking attention to detail? Some commentators suggest that this difference in narrative length reflects the difficulty of the human challenge to build a sanctuary within our own hearts in which God can dwell. Another explanation has to do with the challenge of cooperation: according to the creation story we read, God created the world alone, while the Mishkan was meant to be work completed by many people. A midrash (commentary on the Torah) reminds us of the importance of such cooperation; all must work together on the building of the tabernacle, all must participate in the holy work of creating a dwelling-place for God, in order for our people to merit the receiving of the Torah.

What does this mean for us? The challenges mentioned above are not to be taken lightly. We have two ways in which we must build. The first: within ourselves, we must construct a space for God’s Presence to dwell. The second: outside of ourselves, we must work together to create holy space.