OU TORAH Terumah 5778 By Rav Moshe Twersky, HY"D

There is a mitzvah to build a Mikdash, an abode, as it were, for the Shechinah. The Rambam, in Sefer Hamitzvos (mitzvah 20), describes the mitzvah as follows: “We are commanded to build a house of worship in which there will be sacrifices and a constantly-burning fire, and [will serve as] a central, go-to place [for] festival pilgrimage and [general] gathering year-round. As it says (Shmos 25:8), ‘and you shall make for Me a Mikdash’. This pasuk is referring to the building of the Mishkan, but it equally applies to the building of a Beis Ha’Mikdash as well.” This wording is a classic example of the Rambam’s style in which he enumerates the mitzvah and succinctly describes its practical application.