Shabbat and the Worlds

And Moses assembled the entire nation of the Children of Israel, and said to them, "For six days you will work, and on the seventh day, it will be for you Holy." (Ex. 35:1-2)

We need to understand what the connection is between the building of the Mishkan, the subject matter of nearly the entire parasha, to the keeping of Shabbat, its opening verses?

The main goal of the building of the Mishkan is to prepare a place in this world for the dwelling of the Shechinah, as written in Parashat Terumah, "And make for Me a Holy Place, and I will dwell within it". (Ex. 25:8) Therefore, the Mishkan was composed from inanimate, vegetable, and animal products. The materials from the inanimate were the ground upon which it stood, and the vessels of gold, silver, and copper. From the vegetative were its boards and stakes. From the animal were the curtains of goatskin and Tachash (multicolored skins of a special animal), which were made to cover it.

All of these materials came to be part of the Mishkan in order to elevate to Holiness the material of this world, to ready it as a vessel for the dwelling of the Shechinah, which will descend from "above to below". This is opposed to Shabbat, as the ascent of the worlds on Shabbat is from "below to above".

On that day there is an ascent of the worlds, and even here in this world it is like "the world to come"; therefore, in this material world, work is then forbidden. All types of work which were performed for the Mishkan are forbidden on Shabbat, since the role of weekday work is to bring down Holiness to this material world. But, on Shabbat, there is no need for work and repair since the material world ascends to the spiritual worlds.

The Mishkan needed to be built like this world, which resembles the body of man. The brain corresponds to the Ark in the Holy of Holies, the Menorah and the Shulchan (Table) correspond to the heart and the lungs. The rest of the vessels correspond to the lower parts of the body. The Mishkan atoned for the sin of the golden calf, when they fashioned a material object and said it was Divine. The repair of this sin is to show that even though Holiness descends to the material, nevertheless Shabbat proves that Holiness is loftier than it. G‑d forbid for one to equate the material with the Holy!

The Mishkan was made from the tithes of all of Israel, so they all had a share in it, as is written in Parashat Teruma, "Take from yourselves tithes." This is similar to what is written in this week's parasha, "And Moses assembled [the people]," that through unity, the separation caused by the sin of the golden calf was repaired.

This is also the secret of our deliverance. By our fulfillment of, "And He assembled all of the nation of the Children of Israel," through national unity we will merit the complete deliverance, speedily in our days, Amen.

Delivered orally; translated by David Devor from his notes and extensively edited by KabbalaOnline.org staff.

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