Terumah

God is Elevated by the Gift of Our Talents
Rabbi Len Levin

“Speak unto the Israelites, that they take for Me an elevation-offering (terumah); from each person, as his heart moves him, shall you take My terumah.” Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev commented: Every person is obligated to serve his or her Creator through deed and thought, for the person’s intention and holy thought, s/he raises the Shekhina up from the dust, and through the deed s/he raises herself up and does good on her own behalf” (Kedushat Levi on Ex. 25:2).

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak presumably knew Hebrew well enough to know that the word terumah meant simply an offering. Why was a word from the root rum (“raise high”) used to designate this? Perhaps because when a person brought an offering to the priest, he would perform the gesture of raising the basket of produce or small animal as a token of formal presentation. Read More >

Parashat Terumah
Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky

By Rabbi Jaron Matlow

On the Shabbat before Purim we read the special Maftir reminding us of our obligation to FORGET AMALEK. On Shabbat Zakhor, the Sabbath of remembrance, we read (Deuteronomy 25:17-19):

Remember what Amalek did to you by the way, when you came forth out of Egypt; how he met you by the way, and struck at your rear, all who were feeble behind you, when you were faint and weary… Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around… you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget it.

The name Amalek carries a special meaning in Jewish tradition. It is used to refer to the arch-enemy of the Jewish people at the time in question. We have a tradition that that Haman is a descendent of Amalek. We have referred to Hitler (yimah shemo Read More >

By Rabbi Greg Schindler

“You’re not listening to me, are you?

The words cut me to the quick. I, in fact, have no idea what was being said for the last minute or so.

We’ve all been there — a family member or friend is talking to us, and what are we doing? We are daydreaming, checking our cell phone, or thinking about what we intend to say next. What we’re not doing, is listening. Read More >

By Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Tell the Israelites to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him… let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” (Ex. 25:1-2, 8)

Specific details for building the mishkan, the Tabernacle, in the desert follow. The sanctuary the Israelites are to make is physical, built from “gold, silver, and copper; blue, purple, and crimson yarns, fine linen, goats’ hair; tanned ram skins, dolphin skins, and acacia wood…” But it is built so that “I (G!d) may dwell” – v’shakhanti, which has the same Hebrew root as Shekhinah, the Divine Presence – “among them.”

“That I may dwell among them.”

Menachem Mendel of Kotzk taught that it says “among them” and not “in its midst” to teach that every person must build the Sanctuary in Read More >

Doug Alpert

This week’s parashah, Terumah,is arguably one of the less enthralling parashot in the Torah. God instructs Moshe Rabeinu, Moses Our Teacher, regarding the building of the Mishkan-the Holy Tabernacle. The ensuing instructions are provided in exhaustive detail challenging the reader, as well as many of our great Biblical exegetes to derive meaning and purpose from the mere form of the text-i.e., that it is so detailed, much less as to the content of the instructions. For me form does matter, and it says much about who we are as a people. (And besides, as this is the parashah of my Bar Mitzvah I do confess to a special affinity for Terumah. Probably a good early lesson for me on why there is no parcel of Torah that is devoid of great meaning, purpose and wealth.)

One of many areas in which this level of detailed instruction plays out is in the Read More >

By David Ian Cavill

I think that when most of us look at Exodus 25:8 “And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” (New JPS) it reads as a commandment from God. We see instruction and a promise from God to be present among the people if the mikdash (sanctuary) is constructed in a certain way. I’d like to suggest that this is not a commandment but rather a question. Moreover, I’d like to propose that it is in fact Moses, who speaks these words, and not God.

The first nine verses of the parashah form their own discreet unit of text. In my opinion, these verses summarize the rest of the reading. Furthermore, every verse in this section has a parallel later on in the text. Each of the gifts that God deems acceptable in verses 3-7 is revisited later on in the Read More >

By Peggy de Prophetis

‘You shall make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be
made of hammered work; its base and its shaft, its cups, calyxes, and
petals shall be one piece. Six branches shall issue from one side of
the lampstand and three branches from the other side of the lampstand.
On one branch there shall be three cups shaped like almond-blossoms,
each with calyx and petals, and on the next branch there shall be three
cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals, so for
all six branches issuing from the lampstand.’ (Ex. 25:31’33)

Parashat Terumah is a blueprint for the construction of the
Tabernacle and its fittings, provided by the Lord in His words to
Moses. The description of each item begins with ‘You shall make . . Read More >