Chassidusחסידות

The Mishkan's Spiritual Dimensions

These sources explore the Mishkan and its components through mystical and philosophical lenses, interpreting the Tabernacle's structure and objects as symbols of divine emanation and the dwelling of the Shekhinah among Israel. The texts examine how the earthly sanctuary reflects supernal realities and conveys spiritual teachings about sustenance, life, and divine presence.

וְדָא אִיהוּ דַּרְגָּא לְתַתָּא, וּמִגּוֹ דָּא, נַטְלִין לְעֵילָּא

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What the sources say

The passages provided do not contain substantial Zohar discussion of the building of the Mishkan — the only Zohar passage surfaced (Zohar, Terumah) offers only a brief comment connecting the phrase וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה (Shemot 25:2) to the idea of receiving from a hidden level, as Yaakov did, and directs the reader elsewhere.

The remaining sources discuss the Mishkan from entirely different perspectives: the Ramban (Shemot 25:1) explains that the Mishkan was built to perpetuate the revelation of divine glory that had rested at Sinai, the Or HaChaim (Shemot 25:8) explores why the verse calls it a Mikdash and then a Mishkan, and the Noam Elimelekh (Terumah) reads the Aron, Shulchan, and Menorah as allusions to children, life, and sustenance — none of these passages constitute or present Zohar teaching on the construction of the Mishkan.

Source 1 · Rishonim
Verified

Ramban on Shemot — Introduction to the Mishkan

רמב"ן על שמות כ״ה:א׳

Ramban on Exodus 25:1

The Ramban opens his commentary on Terumah with his famous thesis that the Mishkan was a continuation of Sinai — a portable Sinai allowing the Divine Presence to dwell permanently among Israel, countering those who see it merely as an accommodation to sin.

וְסוֹד הַמִּשְׁכָּן הוּא, שֶׁיִּהְיֶה הַכָּבוֹד אֲשֶׁר שָׁכַן עַל הַר סִינַי שׁוֹכֵן עָלָיו בְּנִסְתָּר, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר שָׁם (שמות כ"ד:ט"ז) "וַיִּשְׁכֹּן כְּבוֹד ה' עַל הַר סִינַי", וּכְתִיב (דברים ה כא) "הֵן הֶרְאָנוּ ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֶת כְּבֹדוֹ וְאֶת גָּדְלוֹ", כֵּן כָּתוּב בַּמִּשְׁכָּן "וּכְבוֹד ה' מָלֵא אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן" (שמות מ':ל"ד). וְהִזְכִּיר בַּמִּשְׁכָּן שְׁנֵי פְּעָמִים "וּכְבוֹד ה' מָלֵא אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן", כְּנֶגֶד "אֶת כְּבֹדוֹ וְאֶת גָּדְלוֹ"; וְהָיָה בַּמִּשְׁכָּן תָּמִיד עִם יִשְׂרָאֵל הַכָּבוֹד שֶׁנִּרְאָה לָהֶם בְּהַר סִינַי.

See also

Source 2 · Rishonim
Verified

Zohar on Parshat Terumah

ספר הזהר, תרומה

Zohar, Terumah

The Zohar's extended discourse on Parshat Terumah explores the Mishkan as a microcosm of the supernal worlds, explaining how every component of the Tabernacle corresponds to a divine structure above, making the earthly sanctuary a reflection of the heavenly one.

וְדָא אִיהוּ דַּרְגָּא לְתַתָּא, וּמִגּוֹ דָּא, נַטְלִין לְעֵילָּא, בִּסְתִימוּ דִּרְעוּ, אֲבָל לָא בְּאִתְגַּלְיָא, כְּמָה דְּנָטִיל יַעֲקֹב, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה. עי' עליו לקמן דף קמ"ו ע"א) (שמות כ״ה:ב׳) וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה.

Source 3 · Acharonim
Verified

Or HaChaim — V'asu Li Mikdash

אור החיים על שמות כ״ה:ח׳

Or HaChaim on Exodus 25:8

The Or HaChaim offers multiple interpretations of 'they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them,' including a kabbalistic reading where the Mishkan's construction enables the Shekhinah to rest within every individual Jew.

וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְגוֹ׳. צָרִיךְ לָדַעַת לָמָּה קְרָאוֹ מִקְדָּשׁ, וְתֵיכֶף חָזַר בּוֹ וּקְרָאוֹ מִשְׁכָּן, דִּכְתִיב אֵת תַּבְנִית הַמִּשְׁכָּן. וְנִרְאֶה כִּי אָמְרוֹ וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ הִיא מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה כּוֹלֶלֶת כָּל הַזְּמַנִּים, בֵּין בַּמִּדְבָּר בֵּין בִּכְנִיסָתָן לָאָרֶץ בְּכָל זְמַן שֶׁיִּהְיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל שָׁם לְדוֹרוֹת.

Source 4 · Hasidic
Verified

Noam Elimelekh — Parshat Terumah

נועם אלימלך, ספר שמות, תרומה

Noam Elimelekh, Sefer Shemot, Terumah

The passage interprets the Ark, Table, and Menorah in the Mishkan as symbols representing life, children, and sustenance, explaining that the Ark alludes to life through Torah, the Table alludes to sustenance, and that weekdays are called "merit" (like glass) through which the righteous sees dimly, whereas Shabbat is called "fortune" (the upper world) corresponding to three seudos through which the righteous draws down life, children, and sustenance by means of three divine names that equal "fortune" in gematria.

ועשו ארון עצי שטים כו׳. נראה לפרש דהנה הארון והשולחן והמנורה הם רמז על "בני חיי ומזוני", דהיינו הארון רמז על "חיי", דע"י התורה הקדושה נמשכים חיים לעולם, כמ"ש "ואתם הדבקים בה' אלהיכם חיים כולכם היום", והשולחן הוא ממילא רמז על "מזוני", ואיתא בגמרא "חיי ובני ומזוני לאו בזכותא תליא מילתא אלא במזלא", ויש לומר הפירוש כך, דימי החול נקראים "זכותא" מלשון זכוכית, והוא מחמת שהצדיק רואה בהם באספקלריה שאינה מאירה היינו שהוא כעין חציצה ומחיצה קצת המפסקת, אבל קדושת יום שבת קודש נקרא "מזלא" דהוא עולם עליון, והוא בגימטריא ע"ח ג' הויות, והם כנגד שלש סעודות של שבת קודש, וע"י הצדיק ממשיך את השלש הנ"ל, דהיינו ע"י שלש הויות הנ"ל שהם בגימטריא מזלא, הוא ממשיך חיי ובני ומזוני, שבשבת קודש הצדיק בא בקדושה רבה וכאילו רואה באספקלריה מאירה שאין דבר חוצץ נגדו.

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