Dear Friends;
I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;
” Parsha in a Nutshell “
G-d commands Moshe to build a Mishkan (Sanctuary) which would serve as a “resting place” for Hashem’s presence amongst the Jewish people.
The Children of Israel are asked to contribute precious metals and stones, fabrics, skins, oil and spices. In the Mishkan’s outer courtyard are an altar for the offerings and a basin to wash these sacrifices. The Tent of Meeting is divided by a curtain into two chambers. The outer chamber is accessible only to the kohanim. It contains the table of showbreads (the 12 loaves of bread placed every Sabbath on a table as an offering by the priests to God), the menorah, and the golden altar for incense. The innermost chamber, the Holy of Holies, may be entered only by the Kohen Gadol, and only once a year, on Yom Kippur. In this section, the Ark is held which contains the Ten Commandments inscribed on the two tablets of stone that G-d gave to the Jewish nation on Mount Sinai.
All of the utensils and vessels, as well as the construction of the Mishkan, are described in great detail.
“ Dvar Torah “
At the beginning of Parashat Terumah, G-d tells Moshe to convey the following message to Benei Yisrael: “ They shall make a sanctuary for me — so that I may dwell among them….”. The rest of the Parsha and the next four Parashiot are dedicated to building of the “Mishkan”, the temporary house of G-d. But the question that comes to mind is, how can you make a house for G-d? He is bigger than anything we can imagine! King Solomon who built the first Temple said: “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain You. How much less this house I have built!” Not only it’s impossible to build a house for G-d, but it should be unnecessary too. The G-d who is everywhere and can be accessed from anywhere, should not be confined to one single location. So, why did Hashem command the Benei Yisrael to build a house for him?!
Well, the simple answer that the Chachamim give is as follows. God gave the commandment of building the Mishkan, after the sin of the golden calf. The people made the golden calf after Moses had been on the mountain for forty days to receive the Torah. So long as Moses was in their midst, the people knew that he communicated with God, and therefore God was accessible to them. But when he was absent for nearly six weeks, they panicked. Who else could bridge the gap between the people and God? How could they hear God’s instructions? Through what intermediary could they make contact with the divine presence?
That is why God said to Moses, “Let them build me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” The verb “to dwell” in Hebrew is Sh-kh-n. Shakhen in Hebrew means a neighbour, the person who lives next door. What the Israelites needed and what God gave them was a way of feeling as close to God as to our next-door neighbour. From the same root as sh-kh-n, came the word Mishkan meaning a sanctuary, and Shekhinah, the divine presence. So, the whole reason to build a house for G-d, was to get close to him.
But even if we are content with the reason why we need a house for G-d, the more difficult question is, how do we come to sense the presence of G-d even if we are in the house of G-d? How can we find G-d? Yes, when wehh go to a house of worship, or even to the Western Wall, we might be inspired with awe, but do we actually feel the presence of G-d? How can we get the feeling of “Shakhen”, a close neighbor?!
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks gives a beautiful answer to this question. The way the Mishkan was built, was by contributions. G-d said to Moses: “Tell the Israelites to take for me a contribution. You are to receive the contribution for me from every man whose heart desires.”——- The best way of encountering G-d is to give! The very act of giving is to acknowledge that what we give is part of what we were given. It is a way of giving thanks, an act of gratitude.
If G-d is present, it means that what we have is His. He created the universe. He made us. He gave us life. He breathed into us the very air we breathe. All around us is the abundance of God’s generosity. When life is a given, you acknowledge it by giving back.
But, what if G-d does not exist? What if the universe came into existence only because of a random fluctuation in the quantum field, if there is nothing in the universe that knows we exist, if there is nothing to the human body but a string of genetic code and electrical impulses in the brain, then it is difficult to feel gratitude for the gift of life. There is no gift if there is no giver. There is only a series of meaningless accidents, and it is difficult to feel gratitude for an accident.
The Torah therefore tells us something simple and practical. Give, and you will come to see life and its’ Creator. Rabbi Sacks says that you don’t need to be able to prove G-d exists. All you need is to be thankful that you exist – and the rest will follow.
That is how God came to be close to the Israelites through the building of the sanctuary. It wasn’t the quality of the wood and metals and drapes. It wasn’t the glitter of jewels on the breastplate of the High Priest. It wasn’t the beauty of the architecture or the aroma of the sacrifices. It was the fact that it was built out of the gifts of “everyone whose heart desires to give”!
Yes my friends, the best way to encounter G-d is by donating to the house of G-d. The Torah says donate anything your heart desires, which means the value is not important. It’s the act of giving is all that matters! When you give, it means that you are giving back some of what G-d has given. A sense of gratitude always brings closeness between the two parties, and makes you feel like close neighbors.
So my friends, whenever you get an urge to encounter G-d, or to see the hand of G-d, you don’t need to climb to the top of Mount Everest, or to see Niagara Falls, The Grand Canyon or any other wonders of the world. All you need to do is to donate to the house of G-d ………. and then, G-d will find you himself!!
Shabbat Shalom & Regards;
Martin