Chasidut para sa Exodo 25:8

From amidst the Children of Israel, to be priests for me: This is, at first glance, all extra. And it should have said, "Aharon your brother and his sons, Nadav, etc." However from the angle that we wrote adjacently, it is because Moshe had to bring him close, since Aharon was embarrassed and afraid to approach, to take greatness and majesty with this. But lest one say the opposite, that he had to bring Aharon close because of the great amount of work with the service that was given to him, and Aharon did not want to approach until Moshe brought him close with his hands - for at first glance, what is the greatness that is given to him with this, is he not giving him slavery - that is why Scripture says it is not like this. For this coming close is 'from amidst (mitokh) the Children of Israel.' And at first glance, it would have been enough to say, "from the Children of Israel." However it is an indication about the interior (tokh) of the Children of Israel, which is their internality, their goodly lifeforce and the light that streams within them. For is not God among them? And the Sages, may their memory be blessed, said (see Alshikh) about the verse (Exodus 25:8), "And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them" - "it does not say, 'in it,' but rather, 'among them." This is saying that the Divine Presence dwells among each and every one. So it comes out that the interior of the Children of Israel is filled with amazing lights which come to them from the King of the worlds, blessed be He and blessed be His name, due to their great holiness. And with all of their importance, I did not choose one of them to stand before Me to serve Me besides he that I chose from the interior of the Children of Israel. For is there not 'a high one who watches over him that is high; and there are yet higher ones over them?' So the dwelling of His Divine Presence, may He be blessed, flows much more in him than in them, for there is no measure (limit) to the dwelling of His Divine Presence, may He be blessed. So you will find that the Sages, may their memory be blessed, said (Sanhedrin 39a) "The Divine Presence dwells with every group of ten." But they [also] said (Berakhot 6a), "The Divine Presence is even with one person who sits and involves himself with Torah." And in the Temple, there was [also] the dwelling of the Divine Presence. But certainly the one is not like the other. For the dwelling of His Divine Presence, may He be blessed, in the House of of our God is certainly not similar to His dwelling among ten Jews and to one! And it is similar (see the words of the Sages, may their memory be blessed, there in Sanhedrin) to that which a heretic asked Rabban Gamliel, "You said that the Divine Presence is with every group of ten, etc. How many Divine Presences do you have, etc." And he compared it for him to the light of the sun which gives light through a hole, a window, a doorway and a patio; and similarly the shine that comes through the hole is dissimilar to the shine that comes through the window and the doorway and that which is similar (see there). Hence behold from the interior of the Children of Israel, I have elevated a small selection; with My holy oil - which indicates kingship - have I anointed him. And it is all "to serve me as a priest." And kohen (priest) is an expression of elevation, as in, "the kohen of Midian" (Exodus 18:1). And this is [the meaning of] a kohen for Me - for Me Myself, to enter before Me and inside, to perform the special service for which no one else is allowed to enter there. And from all of these things, any understanding ear will understand this authority and greatness that has no comparison. All the more so Aharon, the holy one of the Lord - he certainly understood this and more! So he certainly would have run to this thing with all the efforts of his strength, with the literal giving up of his life, were it not for his great humility that he had and his great understanding of this greatness. Such that he was embarrassed to approach until Moshe actively brought him close. And Scripture says, "Open your eyes and see his importance that I have commanded more and more!"

(Second night) It is written "the candle of Ad-nai is the soul of a person, searching all one's inner parts" (Prov. 20:27). And in the Gemarah: "a search from candles. One candle from one candle" "I will search Yerushalayim with candles" (Pesachim 7b and Zeph. 1:12) see there. The issue is that the Tabernacle and the Temple are found inside every person in Israel, just as the verse "and I will dwell in them" (Ex. 25:8). And according to what a person clarifies for themselves, that all aliveness of the soul, about which we say every day "the soul You gave me is pure" - that is, that there is one pure point inside every person of Israel, just that this point is truly hidden and concealed. And in the time that the Temple was standing, it was revealed that all aliveness comes from the Holy One of Blessing. And this is the issue of the inspiration of the Shechinah, which is a proof that the Holy One of Blessing soaks Israel completely. And now, that the Tabernacle is hidden, in any instance a person can find this through searching with the candles, as explained. And the explanation is that the candles are the mitzvot, as explained above, and when we search with all our heart and soul [exert ourselves] to do a mitzvah with all aliveness, since the candle [ner] is soul, spirit and also the 248 parts of the body with which we do a mitzvah with awe and love, since the gematria of candle [ner] is as above, then this preparation and strength enables a person to find through the aspect of Tabernacle, and to arrive to that hidden point we spoke about before. And all the more so in those days, in which miracles were made that lights were kindled through a miracle, even though the aspect of candles was then missing from the Children of Israel. And also now, there is an immediate help through the mitzvah of the Hanukkah light to find, through the aspect of hidden [light], since the essence of hiddenness is darkness, in which we need candles to search and find, as explained. And the book Kedushat Levi explaines that Hanukkah is in the aspect of Koh, since Moshe received his prophetic powers through this word, and it is the most clarified inspiration. And the prophets in "Koh", even though it is concealed, it is a lens that is not seen. And in Hannukah there is a revelation also of the aspect Koh, which is set also in the dark and hidden place, as explained. And in any instance, since it is written "I will search ... with candles" it is explained that one can find, even today, the aspect of the Temple and Yerushalayim through searching. And so it is written "from 'no one seeks her' can be inferred that it requires seeking" (Sukkah 41a quoting Jeremiah 30:17). And this happens through the strength that a person has when they do mitzvot with all their aliveness, they will awaken the inner aliveness that is the pure point, and about which is said "searching all inner parts", that one is able to find with the force of innerness the Hidden Light that is in all inner parts, as explained. [And this is the issue of "one should consider oneself as having a holy object in one's innards" (Taanit 11b). And when a person fixes themselves like this, the verse about them is "and they will make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in them" (Exodus 25:8). In them, really, as explained.]

Even in these days, everyone, even one who does not merit God speaking with him prophetically, should still perform the avodah of prophecy. Then God’s light and holiness will merge in everyone’s hearts and bodies alike. This is why, when it came to the receiving of the Torah, God did not merely command them with signs that the commandments issued from God (as He did in Egypt, where He gave them the first sign and then the second sign so that the people should believe that God appeared to Moses). Rather He spread forth His light until “and God descended unto Mount Sinai before the eyes of the entire nation...and they saw the God of Israel...and they envisioned God...and the glory of God (appeared) before all of Israel...”²⁰⁷See Exodus 24: 9-11, 16-17.and afterwards till “and they shall make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst,” as the Sages expounded “it does not say in it but rather in them (b’tokhom),” that the Holy One resides in the heart of each Israelite.²⁰⁸See Exodus 25:8. The interpretation, that God promises here to dwell within the people Israel themselves (rather than merely among them), is common in hasidic exegesis.