ספר שמות

Yet another aspect of the opening verse of our portion. ‎‎[Our author, as is his custom, endeavours to explore the ‎different meanings that the same word (root) has on different ‎occasions. Ed.]It is a fact that many people although ‎going through the motions of performing the commandments of ‎the Torah do not thereby achieve a spiritual level that provides a ‎תענוג‎, spiritually pleasurable experience, for their Creator. In ‎other words, although they have tried “to catch the train or ‎plane,” and establish a close connection with their Creator they ‎find that they have been left behind.‎It is necessary for a Jew,-seeing he is the beneficiary of the ‎Torah- to serve G’d in a manner that affords G’d the ‎תענוג‎ or ‎נחת ‏רוח‎, that we have discussed on numerous occasions. This is also ‎alluded to in the opening verse of our portion where the word ‎פקודי‎ refers to the connection or union of the parts of the ‎Tabernacle and by implication to the connection or union ‎between the creature and its G’d, seeing that we explained that ‎the Tabernacle was a miniature of the universe. If further proof ‎were needed for this interpretation, we need only look at the ‎word ‎משכן‎ itself to realize that is a slightly abbreviated form of ‎the word ‎שכינה‎, “Divine Presence.” The erection of the ‎משכן‎ in the ‎‎“lower” part of the universe, i.e. on earth, became the key to this ‎uninterrupted connection between the celestial and the ‎terrestrial part of the universe. The word ‎עדות‎ or a derivative of it ‎‎, i.e. ‎עדי עדיים‎ in Ezekiel 16,7 refers to the ‎נחת רוח‎, “wellbeing of a ‎spiritual dimension,” that G’d experiences when the Tabernacle ‎fulfills its function on earth as planned.‎