Where Does the Divine Presence Reside?

When commanding the Jewish People regarding the construction of the Mishkan, Hashem says:

וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם

They shall make for Me a Sanctuary, and I shall dwell in their midst.[1]

The commentators note that Hashem does not say He will dwell בתוכו — in it, i.e., the Mishkan, but rather בתוכם — in them, i.e., the Jewish People.[2] What is it exactly about the Mishkan that will cause the Divine Presence to dwell within the Jewish People?

The Vilna Gaon explains that the very fact that the people are united around the holy endeavor of building the Mishkan is what will cause the Divine Presence to dwell among them.[3] In other words, it is not the existence of the Mishkan per se that brings Hashem close to His people, but the fact that it serves as a focal unifying point around which they encamp and live their lives!

Moreover, this unification continues to a certain degree even if the Mishkan or Beis Hamikdash is not there.

There is a well-known halachah that when we pray we face toward Israel, and if we are in Israel we face toward Jerusalem. Why is facing Israel when we pray so important?

On a simple level, it is because of the special sanctity of the Land of Israel, making it the place through which we wish to direct our prayers to Hashem. However, the Vilna Gaon explains that here, too, the idea is that since everyone is facing toward the same place, Jews from all over the world are united in their prayer, which, as mentioned above, has the effect of bringing the Divine Presence close to us and helping to ensure that our prayers will be accepted.

This is a truly fascinating concept, for it is certainly very easy for someone to face toward Israel in an entirely personal and private capacity without it ever occurring to him that in so doing he is joining together with the rest of the Jewish People. According to the Vilna Gaon, he has missed the point.

With this idea we can appreciate why our strength or vulnerability as a people depend on whether or not we are unified. The source of the success and well-being of the Jewish People is their special connection with Hashem. This basic idea is so fundamental it literally runs through the entire Torah, Nevi’im, and Kesuvim. When Hashem is with us, we are unstoppable; when He is distant from us, we are vulnerable. Everything depends on our connection with Him. As we have seen, this connection is only meaningfully attained when the Jewish People are united as one, and this is why unity is such a crucial prerequisite for our national success.

This fundamental theme forms much of our path toward salvation in the Purim story, and is one we should endeavor to emulate as we seek to be victorious over those who harbor evil designs toward us – in those days, in our times!

[1] Shemos 25:8.

[2] See e.g. Commentary of Alshich to our verse.

[3] Vilna Gaon to Shir HaShirim 1:17.