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Kavod and the Mishkan: Why Does an Infinite God Seek Honor?

![Uploading, please wait...]()Parsha Terumah is the first of many Torah portions dealing with the building of the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary and prototype of what will eventually become the Beit Hamikdash (aka The Temple.) There were several purposes for the Mishkan: a center point of holiness for the Jewish people, a place of the sacrifices, a place for prayer, where the festivals were celebrated, and most profoundly it was a dwelling place for Hashem’s presence known as the Shechinah.

But according to Ramban, the secret of the Mishkan is that the Divine Glory that rested on Mount Sinai at the giving of the Torah, should continue to dwell in the Mishkan as the verse states, “The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the Glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan.” (Shemos 40:34) If we look at Psalm 28:9, “While in his Temple (Mishkan) its entirety will proclaim Glory!” meaning the very function of the Mishkan was to express Hashem’s Glory.

What is this Divine Glory that is at the heart of the Mishkan’s purpose? The Hebrew word for glory or honor that Torah uses is Kavod. Does an All Powerful God need to be honored? You would think not except that the final Mishneh in Pirkei Avos (6:11) says ,”Everything that He, Hakadosh Baruch Hu, created in His world He did not create for any other reason than for his Glory (Kavod).” The Mishneh then references “Everyone who is called by My Name and whom I have created for My Glory (Kavod), whom I have fashioned, even perfected.” (Isaiah 43:7)
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So not only does God demand Kavod, that’s why He created the universe! Does God not seem like some pompous dictator who needs His ego stroked and demands constant honor? Why else would His Mishkan require donations of gold, silver, copper, turquoise and crimson wool, and the finest of linen and dyed ram’s skins? (Shemos 25:3-6)

But think about this. Can honor be imposed? Can you bribe or threaten someone into honoring you? No, not real honor. It must be a freewill expression because, the truth is, if you have to demand that you be honored then you don’t have it. But when we feel authentic awe for undeniable goodness, we automatically want to praise and honor that good. The sweet taste of victory. The joy of a wedding. The completion of a major project that is the culmination of years of research, toil, and sacrifice. These are all wonderful things that we not only have gratitude for, we had to lift ourselves in striving to achieve. Not only are they amazingly positive experiences, they changed us. Refined us. Elevated us.

In Hebrew, Kavod doesn’t just mean honor or glory, but also heavy and important. When a human being recognizes not only that Hashem is One and that nothing else exists, and also that Hashem wants what is best for us, it becomes clear that everything in existence is an expression of Hashem guiding us toward the important goodness we innately desire and know we are capable of achieving. It is this sort of good that Hashem wants to be honored for. What the deepest, most noble part of us wants, Hashem wants for us even more. Because that holy part of us is a spark of Hashem Himself. And He is ushering us towards our greatest most fulfilled selves, if we can just stop getting in our own way.

Hashem’s Kavod at Mount Sinai was that the Jewish people reached their full potential and understood how everything fit into the bigger picture. The Mishkan was a place where humanity could tangibly feel this truth again and realign to their purpose. The Kavod wasn’t demanded, it was freely given. Just like the Terumah offering of gold, silver, and finely colored wool this parsha is named after. “From every person whose heart moves them to give of a generosity of spirit.” (Shemos 25:2)

Unfortunately, we no longer have the Mishkan or Temple to realign our perspective and recharge our spiritual purpose. The donations we make today may be given nobly, but all too often are done so with the ulterior motive of achieving honor for ourselves. Is it wrong to want an Aliyah at Torah reading for sponsoring Kiddish? No. But perhaps, an anonymous donation, given with no strings attached, would be more in the “spirit of the heart moved to give” which our ancestors did for the construction of the Mishkan. Maybe from that we’d get a taste of Hashem’s Kavod once again.

Most of this blog post was inspired by ideas from a [Dvar Torah by Esther Wein](https://torahanytime.com/lectures/76479).