Three Words That Startled Moses and the King's Daughter

Three things Moses heard from the mouth of the Almighty, and he was alarmed and recoiled backward. At the time He said to him, "And let them make Me a sanctuary," Moses said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the universe, it is written, "Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You" (1 Kings 8:27), and You say, "And let them make Me a sanctuary"? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Moses, it is not as you suppose, but twenty boards on the north and twenty boards on the south and eight on the west, and I will come down and contract My Presence below, as it is written (below, verse 22), "And I will meet with you there and speak," and so on. And at the time He said (Numbers 28:2), "My offering, My food," Moses said: if I bring in all the beasts in the world, there is in them but a single offering up, or all the trees in the world, there is in them but a single kindling, [as it is written] (Isaiah 40:16), "Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: it is not as you suppose, but (Numbers 28:3), "This is the fire-offering which you shall bring to the LORD: lambs," and not two at once, but (ibid. 28:4), "the one lamb you shall offer in the morning." And at the time He said (Exodus 30:12), "And they shall give every man a ransom for his soul," Moses said: who can give the redemption of his soul? "No man can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him, for the redemption of their soul is precious" (Psalms 49:8-9). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: not as you suppose, but (Exodus 30:13), "This they shall give" - like this they shall give. A parable: to a king who had a young daughter. Before she grew up and reached the signs of maturity, he would see her in the marketplace and speak with her, in the alleys he would speak with her. Once she grew up and came to the signs of maturity, he said: it is not fitting for my daughter's honor that I should speak with her in public. Rather, make me a pavilion that I may speak with her within it. So too at first, "When Israel was a child, then I loved him" (Hosea 11:1) - in Egypt they saw Him, "And I will pass through the land of Egypt" (Exodus 12:12); at the sea they saw Him, "And Israel saw the great hand" (Exodus 14:31); at Sinai they saw Him, "Face to face the LORD spoke with you" (Deuteronomy 5:4). Once they received the Torah at Sinai and became a complete nation to Him, He said: it is not fitting for these people's honor that I should speak with them in public, but rather "let them make Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them." This is what Scripture says (Psalms 3:3): "Many say of my soul" - these are the nations of the world, as it is written (Isaiah 17:12), "Ah, the multitude of many peoples." "They say of my soul" - a nation that heard "I am the LORD your God" and at the end of forty days made the calf, does it have salvation? "There is no salvation for him in God, selah." Israel said: "But You, O LORD" - You agreed with them and said (Exodus 22:19), "He who sacrifices to gods shall be utterly destroyed," "are a shield about me" (Psalms 3:4), for You shielded me by the merit of my fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; "my glory," for You caused Your Presence to dwell among us, as it is said, "And let them make Me a sanctuary," and so on; "and the lifter of my head" - in place of our owing You the lifting of the head, You gave us a raising of the head through Moses and said (Exodus 30:12), "When you take [lift] the head."