Shemot / Ex. 25:1–27:19
T’rumah or Terumah means “elevated offering“.
The Hebrew word Terumah is written with the same letters of the Torah, except for the mem of Mashiach, the Living Torah.
Rabbi Itzhak Shapira says: The only way to make a sanctuary for HaShem, and bring His Shechinah/presence, is to hold the Torah with Mashiach in the center.
Rab. Shaul says it this way in Romans 3:31:
“Does that mean that we abolish the Torah when we believe in Mashiach? No way! On the contrary, we confirm the Torah. “
This is how parshat Terumah begins:
וַיְדַבֵּריְהוָהאֶל־מֹשֶׁהלֵּאמֹֽר׃
דַּבֵּראֶל־בְּנֵייִשְׂרָאֵלוְיִקְחוּ־לִיתְּרוּמָהמֵאֵתכָּל־אִישׁאֲשֶׁריִדְּבֶנּוּלִבֹּותִּקְחוּאֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃
Vayedaber Adonay el-Moshe lemor.
Daber el-beney Yisra’el veyikchu-li trumah me’et kol-ish asher yidvenu libo tikchu et-trumati.
Adonai spoke to Moses saying, 2 “Tell Bnei-Yisrael to take up an offering for Me. From anyone whose heart compels him you are to take My offering.
Summary of the Parsha Terumah
Verses 10-22 The construction of the Ark or Propitiatory and two cherubs from one piece of gold.
Verses 23-30 The construction of the table where they will put the “Bread of the Presence” or “the Show Bread.”
Verses 31-40 The construction of the Golden Lampstand or “Menorah.”
Chap. 26 complete (37 verses), talks about the construction of the Sanctuary.
Chap. 27:1-8 The construction of the Bronze Altar or the Altar of Burnt Offerings.
And our Parashat ends with the instructions of what the courts should have (ver. 9-19).
1st Comment
“Then have them make a Sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell among them.”
Where does HaShem really dwell?
The people were asked to bring an offering from the bottom of their hearts to Moshe.
And it says that the purpose of the offering was to build a Sanctuary so that HaShem could dwell among them.
But if we read from the original language, that is, from Hebrew, it does not say that HaShem wanted to dwell “among them“, but “within them”, in Hebrew betokham, בתוכם
So, we can say that, since the beginning, HaShem wanted to dwell in the hearts of every son and daughter of Israel.
But remember, the offerings came from the hearts of those who loved the presence of HaShem.
2nd Commentary
Shemot / Ex. 26:3
“Five curtains will be joined one to the other; also, the other five curtains will be linked to each other. “
Did you know that the curtains of the Sanctuary are called women?
Why are the curtains called women?
In the Hebrew text, the curtains are called women and sisters.
The Hebrew text that was translated as “one with the other” – ishah el-achotah, אשה אל-אחתה – literally means “a woman with (or towards) her sister.”
Every curtain is compared to a woman and all curtains are sisters.
If we compare the heavenly things with the earthly things, we can say that in HaShem’s Congregation, women are sisters and must be united in a very strong way so that they can never be separated again.
3rd Comment
“At these two corners they must be double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both shall be like that.”
What do the boards symbolize?
The Tabernacle House was composed of three walls made of wooden boards that were placed vertically.
In the Scriptures, men, especially the righteous ones, are compared to trees (Ps 92:12).
In this way, we can make the comparison between the wooden boards in the Tabernacle and the righteous men that constitute HaShem’s Congregation.
In this text, it says that the boards had to be joined from below and joined from above.
The Hebrew text uses two different words to speak of the unity of the ones below and the ones above.
When he speaks of the unity below, he says “joined” – toamim, תאמם, with alef and without yud.
And when it speaks of the unity above it says “completed” – tamim, תמים, without alef and with yud.
The fact that the Torah uses two different words is indicating that there are two types of unity, one below and one above.
Also, the word used for unity above is the one that Scripture uses for perfection, to be complete and whole. Tamim, תמים
It is a perfect unity.
The letter aleph (א) has the numerical value of 1 and the letter yud (י) has the numerical value of 10.
This may indicate that the unity above, with yud, is ten times stronger than the one below with aleph.
Conclusion
First, if we want to be a Terumah for HaShem, we must have Torah and Mashiach as our center.
Second, HaShem made a Sanctuary to live in us.
Inside our hearts through Yeshua.
Third, there must be unity, sisterhood, among the sisters of HaShem’s Congregation.
And fourth, the unity below is mentioned before the unity above, which teaches us that, if we manage to unite below on earth, even if it is not a perfect unity, the influence and unity that this brings in heaven is perfect.
We must be united here below, even if we are not perfect, so that we are united above, where perfection is absolute, and so that HaShem’s power is manifested in us.
Shabbat Shalom Mishpochah!