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Why does the Rambam (רמב"ם) cite two different pesukim for the mitzvah (מצוה) of building the Beis Hamikdash? The shiur develops the yesod that the Mishkan serves two distinct purposes: a place for avodah and the seat of HaKadosh Baruch Hu's malchus. Achashverosh's party attempted to transfer that malchus to the nations, but Purim (פורים)'s kabbalas HaTorah b'ratzon restored our eternal claim.
The shiur opens with a fundamental question on the Rambam (רמב"ם). In Hilchos Beis HaBechira, the Rambam brings the pasuk "Asu li mikdash v'shachanti b'socham" (Terumah) as the source for building the Beis Hamikdash, while in Hilchos Melachim he cites "U'shichno sidreshu u'vasa shama" (Re'eh). The Lechem Mishneh finds this difficult to reconcile, since in Hilchos Beis HaBechira the Rambam discusses the entire history from the Mishkan through the Beis Hamikdash, yet he seems to reserve the pasuk for the Beis Hamikdash specifically for Hilchos Melachim. Additionally, the Rambam counts building the Beis Hamikdash as an independent mitzvah (מצוה) (mitzvah #20 in Sefer HaMitzvos), bringing the Sifrei that Klal Yisrael was commanded three mitzvos upon entering Eretz Yisrael. The Ramban (רמב"ן) argues that this cannot be a separate mitzvah, since the Mishkan and its vessels are merely the infrastructure needed to perform the avodah. Once you count the Menorah, Mizbeach, and other vessels as separate mitzvos, why count the building itself separately? It's just the vessel for those mitzvos.
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Megillas Esther; Parshas Terumah (Shemos 25:8); Parshas Re'eh (Devarim 12:5); Rambam Hilchos Beis HaBechira, Hilchos Melachim, Sefer HaMitzvos #20
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