Rashi notes the double use of the word, Mishkan. Why the redundancy? He explains that Hashem took the Mishkan away from the midst of the Jews twice as a result of their deficient behavior. Had He not taken the Mishkan, it would have been incumbent upon Him to execute a more definitive punishment. Rashi adds that the words Mishkan HaEidus, Mishkan of the Testimony, alludes to the Mishkan serving as a testimony that Hashem tolerated the sin of the Golden Calf and allowed the Jewish People to live. Rashi’s sequence — first saying that the word, Mishkan, means collateral, alluding to the fact that one day Hashem could take the Mishkan as collateral for their lives — indicates an egregious sin on the part of the Jews, a sin that catalyzed the destruction of the Temple. This exposition is followed with the statement that the presence of the Mishkan indicates Hashem’s forgiveness of Klal Yisrael for building the Golden Calf. This demonstrates that the Presence of Hashem still reposes within the Jewish People. Should it not have been the opposite? First, the Mishkan is here to attest to the Presence of the Shechinah following the sin of the Golden Calf. Then, the Mishkan serves as a collateral for the nation’s sins. Those sins for which the Mishkan was collateral followed the sin of the Golden Calf, for which they required atonement.
The Ha’Drash v’Ha’iyun explains that when the Temple was built in all of its glory, its beauty was resplendent for all to observe. Then, when Hashem rested His hallowed Presence within the Temple, it was clear that Hashem was not doing this due to the physical beauty of the Temple. Hashem has all of the world as His domain. Why “confine” Himself to a physical edifice – regardless of its beauty? Obviously, Hashem rested His Presence in the Temple out of an abiding love for Klal Yisrael. This is something of which our People are aware. The rest of the world has no clue that Hashem is present out of a sense of love. They think it is due to the beauty of the Mishkan.
When was it clearly revealed that the Presence of Hashem was with us as a result of His love? When did it become known to all of the world that the command to construct the beautiful Temple was due to His love of people – not His love of structure? This was indicated when we sinned egregiously, when we deserved to be wiped out for our mutinous behaviors, when our sins caused the Temple to be buried in the ground, to be twice destroyed. Then it was clear to the world that it was not the edifice that Hashem sought – it was the People Whom He loved. Thus, as long as we remained worthy of His Presence, He “stayed” in the Temple. Once we rebelled, Hashem destroyed the Temple, banished His People, taking the Temple as collateral until they would become worthy to return home.
Therefore, Chazal (as cited by Rashi) are teaching us the perfect sequence. First, the pasuk reiterates the word, Mishkan, to teach that the Temple would twice be taken as collateral for our sinful behavior. Second, the word eidus, testimony, attests to the fact that Hashem loved the Temple – not due to its physical beauty– but because Hashem wanted to reside among the Jews, because they were so special; His love for them was so great that He resided among them. Therefore, once they began to slide backward and were no longer deserving of His Presence, He destroyed His home – until the time in which they would become worthy of His return.
