Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh - In my heart I will build a Sanctuary

We are in the midst of several parshiot describing in great detail the requirements for building the mishkan, portable tabernacle or sanctuary, that would accompany the Israelites along their journey. The entire mishkan was made up of pieces that were easy to assemble/disassemble except for the poles that were attached to the ark itself and that were used to carry it around. The purpose of the attached poles was to provide a material illustration of what the Hebrew letter "bet" in Exodus 25:8  illustrates.

וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּש וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם:

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

Hashem said that she wanted the Israelites to build Her a sanctuary so that She could dwell among them, not so that She could dwell in the sanctuary. The sanctuary would serve as a focus point for the people to use in prayer - to help them remember that the Divine Presence is always among them, travels with them wherever they are, where ever they go. Therefore the only part of this portable Mishkan that actually needs to be permanent is the poles for they facilitate the travel.

Today we no longer have a portable Mishkan. We no longer have a Temple in Jerusalem. Many of us do not even have a formal Mikdash M'at in the form of a synagogue or house of study. But even for those of us who do, that might not be enough. We need something more to sustain us, to inspire us, to feed our faith, to warm our imaginations, to make our spirits soar.  Something for which we would be willing to sacrifice part or all of our bodies or souls.    ~In my heart I will build a Sanctuary    ~בִּלְבָבִי מִשְׁכָּן אֶבְנֶה, לַהֲדַר כְּבוֹדוֹ

May we all find what we need in order to make a Mikdash M'at of ourselves, to turn our very bodies which themselves are gifts from Hashem into containers for the eternal flame of our faith/inspiration/soaring neshamot~souls.

Shabbat Shalom - rabba arlene

בִּלְבָבִי

Source: Sefer Chareidim by R' Elazar Azkari

בִּלְבָבִי מִשְׁכָּן אֶבְנֶה, לַהֲדַר כְּבוֹדווֹ,

וּבַמִּשְׁכָּן מִזְבֵּחַ אָשִׂים, לְקַרְנֵי הוֹדוֹ.

וּלְנֵר תָּמִיד אֶקַּח לִי, אֶת-אֵש שׁהָעֲקֵדָה, 

וּלְקָרְבָּן אַקְרִיב לווֹ אֶת נַפְשִׁי,  אֶת נַפְשִׁי הַיְּחִידָה

Bil’vavi mishkan evneh, la-hadar k’vo’doh
u’va’mishkan mizbei’ach ah-sim, l’karnei hodo.
u’l’ner tamid ekach li, eit aish ha-akeda,
u’l’korban a’kriv lo et nafshi, ha’yi’chida.

    In my heart I will build a Sanctuary, to glorify G-d’s Honour/Awesomeness
    and in the Sanctuary I will place an altar,
    to  glorify/enhance G-d’s splendor.
    And for the eternal light I will take, the fire of the Akedah (binding of Isaac),
    and for a sacrifice I will offer up my soul, my unique soul.