פירוש על שמות 29:46

לשכני בתכם means under the condition that I may dwell in the midst of them.

L’SHOCHNI B’THOCHAM’²²²Literally: “to dwell among them.” — “on condition that I dwell in the midst of them.” This is Rashi’s language. But the usage of the letter lamed [l’shochni] for a condition of this kind is not found [elsewhere in Scripture]! It is possible that He is stating: “and they shall know ‘when’ I dwell among them that I am the Eternal their G-d that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, for they will [then] know My Glory and believe that I brought them forth from the land of Egypt.” It is similar in usage to the verses: And David had great success ‘l’chol drachav’²²³I Samuel 18:14. Literally: “to all his ways.” [which is like b’chol drachav — “in all his ways”]; that thou hast chosen ‘l’ben Yishai’²²⁴Ibid., 20:30. Literally: “to the son of Jesse.” [which means b’ben Yishai — “the son of Jesse”]; because ye rebelled against My word ‘l’mei Meribah’²²⁵Numbers 20:24. Literally: “to the waters of Meribah.” [which means b’mei Meribah — “in (or ‘at’) the waters of Meribah”], and similar cases.
But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained [the verse to mean that] the purpose of My bringing them forth from the land of Egypt was only that I might dwell in their midst, and that this was the fulfilment of [the promise to Moses], you shall serve G-d upon this mountain.²²⁶Above, 3:12. He explained it well, and if it is so, there is in this matter a great secret. For in the plain sense of things it would appear that [the dwelling of] the Divine Glory in Israel was to fulfill a want below, but it is not so. It fulfilled a want above, being rather similar in thought to that which Scripture states, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.²²⁷Isaiah 49:3. And Joshua said, [For when the Canaanites… hear of it… and cut off our name from the earth,] and what wilt Thou do for Thy Great Name?²²⁸Joshua 7:9. There are many verses which express this thought: He hath desired it [i.e., Zion] for His habitation;²²⁹Psalms 132:13. Here I dwell; for I have desired it.²³⁰Ibid., Verse 14. And it is further written, and I will remember the land.²³¹Leviticus 26:42. “That is to say, the land is remembered in mercy. And I will remember is of the root The Eternal hath been mindful of us” (Psalms 115:12) (Ricanti).

אני ה׳ אלוקיהם, "I am the Lord their G'd." The reason the Torah repeats this after having said almost the same thing in verse 45 may be to remind us that even at a time when G'd's שכינה is not manifest amongst us, He still remains our G'd. Alternatively, G'd's being truly our G'd depends on our being aware of and recognising this fact. We are only worthy of bearing His name while we recognise Him as our G'd as mentioned at the beginning of this verse. Failing this, the result will be that the people will shake off the burden of the Torah, in which event they would "belong" to other gods.

הוצאתי אותם מארץ מצרים, in order to take up residence among them.

לשכני בתוכם, “for Me to dwell in their midst.” According to Rashi the meaning of the word לשכני is “in order for Me to reside.” Nachmanides understands the prefix ל in the word לשכני as similar to the prefix ב, i.e. “for I have taken up residence” (among them). The reason I did so is that they shall forever be aware that it was I Who has taken them out of Egypt.

V.46. Und diese besondere Gottesgegenwart in der Nation wird kein bloßer ideeller Gedanke bleiben, sondern erfahren werden sie diese besondere Gottesnähe, die ganze Gestaltung ihres inneren und äußeren Lebens wird ihnen diese Gottesnähe bezeugen, wie Gott es ausgesprochen, dass überall, wo Er seinem Namen ein Gedächtnis stiften wolle, d. h. überall, wo Er will, dass man erkennen und bekennen solle: ד׳ שמה, dass Gott da sei, da werde er zu uns kommen und uns segnen. In dem Segen unseres irdischen Daseins soll uns die Gottesgegenwart zum Bewusstsein kommen, בכל המקום אשר אזכיר את שמי אבוא אליך וברכתיך (Kap. 20, 21, siehe daselbst).

'וידעו כי אני' ה, “and they will know that I am the Lord.” They will know that the reason I have taken them out of Egypt was for this, that they construct a residence for Me on earth. This was what G-d had meant when he told Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3,12) תעבדון את האלוקים על ההר הזה, “you will serve G-d on this Mountain.”