You shall make a Shulchan

The Ramban asks why the commandment to construct an Aron is stated in the plural — וְעָשׂוּ אֲרוֹן, they shall make an Aron — whereas the command to fashion the other vessels is directed to individuals — וְעָשִׂיתָ שֻׁלְחָן, You shall make a Shulchan.

Ramban answers this question by quoting the Midrash that states that the Aron needed everyone’s participation because it was the most sacred item in the Mishkan, the one that was the dwelling place of the Shechinah. The Aron had to be built by everyone, so that all the Jews should have the merit of attachment to the Torah (which is represented by the Aron). [Of course, it was not necessary for every person to be physically involved in the construction of the Aron; this participation could be accomplished by each person donating one gold article for use in making it, or by his rendering some small assistance to Bezalel. Indeed, Ramban states that the participation could even be done mentally, by the person directing his thoughts to the matter of the Aron’s construction.]

This shows us that the very heart of the Jewish nation is its connection to Hashem through the Torah. Regarding all the other important elements of the Mishkan, the donor could decide and choose which items he would like to contribute toward. But the Aron, which contained the source of our nation’s existence, the Torah, needed to be constructed with the participation of each and every Jew.

This concept — that the Torah must belong to each and every member of Klal Yisrael — brings to mind a story that is told about one of the great roshei hayeshivah who was collecting funds for an emergency building campaign. While doing so, he encountered a good-hearted wealthy person who offered to cover the cost of the entire project by himself. The rosh yeshivah thanked him profusely for his generous offer, but refused to accept it. He explained to the prospective donor that in order to build Torah, one must gather not only funds, but also the merits of the רַבִּים, the public, and this can be done only by collecting from many people. This concept is derived from the building of the Aron, the resting place for the Torah and the Shechinah, which, as we have learned, required some form of contribution from every single person.

This is an excerpt from the Daily Dose of Torah, an 18-minute-a-day learning program.
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