The Prophet Jeremiah conveyed to the people of his generation the following Divine message:



"Thus said HaShem, God of the hosts of creation, God of Israel: Improve your ways and your deeds and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust the false statements that say, 'The Sanctuary of HaShem, the Sanctuary of HaShem!' The Sanctuary of HaShem are they!" (Jeremiah 7:3-4)



'Your social lives are to be guided by My wisdom; your social lives should be a revelation of My spirit.'



Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch discusses the above passage in his commentary on the Torah, and he writes:



"A later generation sought to reduce the whole substance of their relationship to God to the life of the Sanctuary and its offerings. Even when they were rebuked for their social degeneration, they took cover behind the cry, 'The Sanctuary of HaShem, the Sanctuary of HaShem!'  The Prophet then thundered against them: 'The Sanctuary of HaShem are they! - They themselves should be the Temple of God!'" (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Commentary on Exodus 6:7)



The people failed to realize that they, as a community, are to become the Sanctuary of HaShem. As Rabbi Hirsch explains: "When God says, 'I will take you to Myself as a people' (Exodus 6:7), it means: Your social lives are to be guided by My wisdom; your social lives should be a revelation of My spirit." (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Commentary on Exodus 6:7)



Our society should therefore become the Sanctuary of HaShem; however, our society is composed of each of us. We will therefore discuss a related teaching which reveals that each one of us is to become a Sanctuary of HaShem.



Rabbi Chayim Volozhiner was a leading sage who was a close disciple of the Vilna Gaon. In his classical work, Nefesh HaChayim, Rabbi Chayim discusses the metaphysical significance of the Mishkan (the Tabernacle which was built in the wilderness) and the Beis HaMikdash (the Temple in Jerusalem).



He discusses various metaphysical insights regarding how the construction of the Mishkan corresponds to the creation of the universe, in general, and the creation of the human being, in particular. He then discusses how the human being can become a Sanctuary for the Shechinah - Divine Presence - through observing all the mitzvos of the Torah. He finds a reminder of this goal in the following Divine statement concerning the People of Israel, which was conveyed to us by the Prophet Jeremiah: "The Sanctuary of HaShem are they!" (Jeremiah 7:4)



The people are to realize that the purpose of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem is to inspire them to become a Mikdash HaShem - a Sanctuary of HaShem. Rabbi Chayim notes that the above Divine statement is in the spirit of the verse in which HaShem says: "They shall make a Sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell within them." (Exodus 25:8)



Rabbi Chayim points out that this verse does not refer to the Shechinah dwelling in the Sanctuary, but within the people - "within each and every one of

The existence of the Mishkan and the Beis HaMikdash were contingent on Israel's realizing its potential as a community.

them." (Nefesh HaChayim 1:4) With this statement, explains Rabbi Chayim, HaShem is saying: 'Do not think that My ultimate intention is the construction of the Sanctuary edifice; rather the entire purpose in desiring the Mishkan and its vessels is merely so that you should infer from it how to mold yourselves; namely that through your deeds you should be as desirable as the Mishkan and its vessels - all of you holy, fitting, and prepared to be receptacles for My Shechinah in a literal sense.'



Rabbi Chayim also explains that the existence of the Mishkan and the Beis HaMikdash were contingent on Israel's realizing its potential as a community of sanctuaries. He writes:



"And so did HaShem, Blessed is His Name, tell Shlomo (Solomon) after the completion of the Beis HaMikdash: 'This Temple that you build - if you follow My statues, fulfill My social laws, and safeguard all My mitzvos... then I shall dwell in the midst of the Children of Israel, and I will not forsake My people Israel.' (I Kings 6:12-13) Therefore, when they ruined the inner Mikdash that resided within their beings, then the external Mikdash was of no use and its foundations were razed."



When we yearn for the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash, we are yearning for the renewal of the Sanctuary of HaShem in Zion which can help each of us and all of us to become the Sanctuary of HaShem.