Terumah

 On God.

These words are sung in the Shabbat and holy day Musaf:  Holy, holy, holy, the universe is filled with His radiance.  

There is not quadrant or even an infinitesimal speck in the most remote regions of the cosmos that does not contain the essence of the Almighty.  The universe is filled with Him.  Yet we label the most proximate place of God as the Shechina.  Shechina is the “Place “ where the Holy One, blessed be He, can be most strongly felt.

In Terumah, there is an elaborate description on creating and maintaining a “place” or Mishkan where the presence of the Holy One can be found.  In fact the parsaha is devoted to sorting out the specific details of how to construct this dwelling place for God.

Question: Did we not just say that there is no place in the universe where Divine sparks cannot be found?  Why then build a Mishkan for God?

The decision to have a Mishkan, or dwelling place on earth, dedicated to God was a reaction against the Golden Calf in the wilderness.  Because the Jewish people acted on impulse to have an image of God, something they could point to as a physical presence of the Almighty, God responded by giving the specific dimensions of a Mishkan for the Shechina on earth thus satisfying this human need.

 

Midrash

A king had a daughter who fell in love and married a man from a distant town.  The king, happy at the wedding, made a single request of his daughter.  “I love you and will miss you.  There is a part of me that wishes I could stop you from moving away but I know you must follow your heart, your love.  Please set aside a room for me at your new home so that I may come to visit with you.”

This is the Mishkan.

 On people.  V-asu, and they will make, is in plural.  Every Jew was responsible to contribute toward the building of the Mishkan.  Further on, there is another opportunity to give more for the Mishkan.  This time, unlike the last, is optional.  The Torah states, from every person whose heart moves him you shall take My portion.” (25:2)


Idea.  Our self image is chiseled from the actions of our hands.  We find self-definition by the things we do.  When we act in harmony with God, when we choose the path of mitzvoth and going beyond the boundaries of tezedaka and reaching instead for gemiult hasadim, acts of righteousness, we form an positive self image that makes us happy.

Working in synchroncity with god brings joy.  Suggested by the Torah is that when we give our self toward a higher purpose our life becomes eleveated.

That is why the Torah also says “Viyikchu Li Terumah,” “Take for me a tithe.” Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l, explained that when we do an act of kindness our dark side or Yetzer Hara works against us  what the building of  Mishkan taught was that when we behave with generaosity and kindness we grow in stature.  That si why Feinstein interpreted thi and you will take as you will give.  When we give we also receive something far greater than what we have donated.


 What do we get in return for a willing contribution? “Everything is alluded to in the Torah,” Licha Midai D'lo Ramiza Beoraita. The Chatam Sofer finds an answer hinted to in the letters of three words in the next Pasuk Zahav Kesef Vinichoshet “gold, silver, and copper.”

The Gemara states, “Tanna Dibay Eliyahu Bishaa Sheamru Yisrael Naase Vinishma Miyad Amar Hakadosh Baruch Hu Viyikchu Li Terumah”  “When Bnei Yisrael said ‘We shall do and we shall hear’ immediately Hashem said ‘Take for me Terumah.’”  The Al Hatorah explains that one must learn this lesson of devotion to Hashem by immediately realizing that we are not givers but we are takers.

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