The Tabernacle as Man

These (eileh) are the accounts of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony …                                                            Exodus 38:21

My father noted that the main purpose of the Tabernacle was to hold the tablets of testimony, that is, for Israel to appreciate the need to fulfill the mitzvot. The true testimony for Israel is its fulfillment of God’s will, which sanctifies the nation.

In a sense, the Tabernacle symbolizes man. Just as the Ark of Testimony is the essence of the Tabernacle, and not something external, so too, Torah must be an integral part of the Jew and dwell within him, becoming part of his essence. Thus, our Sages teach that the 248 positive mitzvot correspond to the 248 limbs of the human being, and the 365 negative mitzvot to the body’s 365 sinews.