This week's Torah portion, Teruma

This week's Torah portion, Teruma, speaks about the traveling tabernacle (Mishkan) and its vessels which the Children of Israel constructed while in the Sinai desert. The portion contains the verse "They shall make for Me a Mikdash (Sanctuary) and I will dwell in their midst." Our Sages noted, "In their midst, not in its midst, meaning within each and every Jew."Thus, G-d assured us that not only would His Presence rest within the material walls of the Sanctuary (and Holy Temple in the future), but within the heart of every Jew.
When does the Divine Presence rest within the Jew? When he transforms even the physical aspects of his being into a Sanctuary for G-dliness. When a Jew observes mitzvot (commandments), studies Torah, and imbues even his most mundane affairs with holiness, G-d rests within him.
The Holy Temple in Jerusalem, G-d's "dwelling place," was built of physical components and was situated in an actual physical location. When the individual Jew erects a Sanctuary to G-d and causes the Divine Presence to rest within him, even the lowest levels of existence are transformed into a "dwelling place" for G-dliness. In this manner the world becomes permeated with holiness, and G-d's true will is fulfilled.
The physical Holy Temple was built of various materials: wood, stone, silver, gold, etc. Yet these physical components were not merely the "vessels" for containing G-d's presence; the materials themselves were transformed into holiness. The actual structure of the Holy Temple was sacred.
This must also be the case when we construct a spiritual Holy Temple in our hearts. It isn't enough to bring holiness into the physical aspects of our lives; all of our affairs and concerns, even the most mundane, must be transformed into holiness!
With the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people, the connection between the higher and lower worlds, between G-d and His creations, was established. This connection was continued and strengthened when many of the actual mitzvot were commanded, for the mitzvot are the means through which the Jew connects himself to G-d. This week's portion, Teruma, however, goes even further; it speaks of a connection between the Jew and G-d that transcends even the performance of mitzvot, a bond we can achieve in the realm of permissible action.
Everything a Jew does, even those actions which are not strictly mitzvot, are a means by which he can attach himself to G-d and erect a Sanctuary. In this way all his deeds are transformed into holiness, and the Divine Presence will rest within.

Adapted from Likutei Sichot, vol. 3