Terumah

 "They shall make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them. According to what I will show you, after the form of the Tabernacle and the form of all its vessels, and so shall you do." (Exodus 25:8) 

The Talmud comments that the end of the verse -- "so shall you do" -- means: "so shall you do through all the generations." (Sanhedrin, 16b)

This is the only parhsa not in the Book of Genesis in which the name of Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our Teacher) does not appear. One reason for this is that after the sin of the golden calf (next week's parsha) Moshe Rabbeinu prayed to Hashem (God) that He pardon the Jews for their sin. "...but if not, erase me from Your book" (Exodus 32:32). Though Hashem did forgive the sin, the words of a tzaddik are so powerful they have an affect even if predicated on a condition. And so Moshe Rabbeinu's name does not appear in the parsha.

Nochum of Chernobyl once lost sensation in his legs on Shabbat. He looked down and discovered he was still wearing his weekday trousers. The tzaddik soul was sensitive to Shabbat and the great division between the mundane and the kodesh.  the holiness that his Shabbat clothes provided for him.

The parsha devotes great attention to the details of the vestments of the Kohen Gadol.  Why is this so important?   Ramban stresses that kings also wore clothing that was not dissimilar to the Kohen Gadol. The Ramban notes that our dress gives definition to our stature in the eyes of other people.  In this instance, Bnai Yisrael became aware of the grandeur of its leader through his specified and ornate clothing.

One commentator, Benno Jakob, believed that clothing connotes something far more powerful than dignity. Remember that the Holy One, blessed be he, personally made clothes for primordial man in the Garden.  This act separated the man and woman from the beasts of the world.  While they wore only their natural fur, shell or skin humanity was now cloaked in vestments that were foreign to their body. The clothes differentiated humanity from beasts.  Of all the things that God could have given humanity – food, shelter, gifts of all sorts - He chose to make for them clothes. 

What Benno Jakob is telling us is that not only do clothes change the way we are viewed they also have an impact on how we view ourselves.  They separate us from animals.  They also separate us from animal instincts.  Judaism places great emphasis on dress.  

Modesty is one avenue of connection to the Divine.  Modesty means that we respect borders and privacy.  The way that we dress, for one example, is about limiting others from accessing our privacy.  It is the outward symbol of our desire to connect with other people positively and then as a result connect with the Divine One.  That is why the prophet Micah declares, to walk with modesty before God. 6:8

Moshe personally clothed his sibling, Aaron.  At that moment Moshe installed Aaron as the Kohen Gadol.  When people would see Aaron wearing his Kohen garb then would accept him for his powerful office and high status. At the same time, Aaron would also feel special because the clothing would remind him that he is different. 

The Kotzker Rebbe, Menachem Mendel spins the word, B`TOE`CHEM: "It says among them and not among it, to teach you that each person must build the Sanctuary in his own heart; then God will dwell among them."

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