It is the aim of the Mishkan to become the dwelling place of holiness. More specifically the Mishkan is associated with the Shechinah which is the interface so to speak of that holiness wherever we encounter it.
Think about it this way. There had to be a way in which a corporeal being would become aware of its own divinity, that is the connection to divinity through the agency of a quality that is unsurpassed in the normal course of our daily affairs.
This unsurpassing reminder of our divine connection had to be built into the system. At the same time it was important indeed crucial for time bound creatures to awaken to this idea through their own observations.
There is a world of difference between telling someone that their origin and purpose is divine and having that same recognition of the awareness of that innate divinity. On the one hand this would be something to aspire to and on the other hand it is a purpose that may be subsequently acted upon.
This purpose then becomes defined immediately within Terumah as the Mishkan is described. What is actually being described however, is our own point of connection within where we enter into the supreme awareness of the unity of being.
The Zohar expands upon this idea and the whole pattern of creation that is being reflected now in the building of the Mishkan. What we must keep in mind is that this pattern is not only the pattern of the Mishkan but is also as well the pattern that represents Creation in regards to its totality of operation
Zohar Terumah 2:126b Rabbi Shim'on said, "We have learned that when the blessed Holy one created the world, He carved engravings of mysteries of faith within radiancies in supernal mysteries. He engraved above, He engraved below, all in on mystery of engravings of the Holy Name (YHVH) ruling through its letters above and below. Through this mystery worlds were consummated, the upper world and the lower word.
This carving and engraving reminds us of similar passages that are found in the Sefer Yetzirah or the Book of Formation. In this book is found a formula for what is and what is becoming. The Zohar uses this shorthand kind of reference to place us into the realm of the Sefer Yetzirah and its mysteries of Creation.
When we come to a conclusion about a belief or even a thought we've been thinking the result is that it is carried to another level of awareness where there is consideration and then a grooving of this idea and the feelings that it embodies as well as its spiritual artifacts.
Engraving above refers to the Sephiros of Binah, Chokmah and Keter by extension. The engravings below refer to the lower seven Sephiros or Zeir Anpin and Malchus.
In this way we are shown that holiness acting through the agency of the Shechinah brings forth below what is conceived above and unifies this information so that it not only seems to be a single unity of measure, it is beyond a shadow of a doubt a point of connection that may be always referred to. B"H
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