I was talking to a friend last Shabbat and he told me that after his divorce, when he was really down he couldn’t just sit in his sadness and sought out something to do with his new free time. By chance, he decided to volunteer at a local soup kitchen. “You know, people say that when you are really feeling bad, serving others will make you feel better. That was true for me.”
This week’s Torah portion is called Terumah, which means gift in biblical Hebrew and donation in modern Hebrew. We read, “Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him.” (Exodus 25:2) Note here that these gifts are to be given willingly, as each person is moved to do so.
For the purpose of these donations is to create the Mishkan, a dwelling place for God, as we read, “And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8) God commands Moses and the Israelites to create a structure for God’s presence, but the Hebrew is interesting here. One would think that God would say, “let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in it,” not “that I may dwell among them.”
Commenting on this verse, the Midrash Tanchumah, a collection of rabbinic legends from the early middle ages, says, “for the Mishkan testifies to the fact that the Shekhinah is with Israel.” The Shekhinah is the feminine aspect of God that dwells among us.
This request for gifts given by free will and the idea that God dwells among us, teaches us that our actions are what brings God’s presence into the world. God can only act in the world through us. When we reach out to those in need, God is also reaching out. When we treat others kindly, then God treats them kindly. When we act justly then God acts justly. We are God’s agents; our actions and the gifts and talents we share are what make God manifest.
What have we each done today to bring God’s presence into the world? And if the answer is nothing today, we should remember there is still time for us to do something so that we can build a world that is God’s sanctuary.
Terumah, Exodus 25:1-27:19, Parshat Ha Shavua for Shabbat, Saturday, February 5, 2022
February 4, 2022 by Dean Kertesz • Drashot
I was talking to a friend last Shabbat and he told me that after his divorce, when he was really down he couldn’t just sit in his sadness and sought out something to do with his new free time. By chance, he decided to volunteer at a local soup kitchen. “You know, people say that when you are really feeling bad, serving others will make you feel better. That was true for me.”
This week’s Torah portion is called Terumah, which means gift in biblical Hebrew and donation in modern Hebrew. We read, “Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him.” (Exodus 25:2) Note here that these gifts are to be given willingly, as each person is moved to do so.
For the purpose of these donations is to create the Mishkan, a dwelling place for God, as we read, “And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8) God commands Moses and the Israelites to create a structure for God’s presence, but the Hebrew is interesting here. One would think that God would say, “let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in it,” not “that I may dwell among them.”
Commenting on this verse, the Midrash Tanchumah, a collection of rabbinic legends from the early middle ages, says, “for the Mishkan testifies to the fact that the Shekhinah is with Israel.” The Shekhinah is the feminine aspect of God that dwells among us.
This request for gifts given by free will and the idea that God dwells among us, teaches us that our actions are what brings God’s presence into the world. God can only act in the world through us. When we reach out to those in need, God is also reaching out. When we treat others kindly, then God treats them kindly. When we act justly then God acts justly. We are God’s agents; our actions and the gifts and talents we share are what make God manifest.
What have we each done today to bring God’s presence into the world? And if the answer is nothing today, we should remember there is still time for us to do something so that we can build a world that is God’s sanctuary.
~Rabbi Dean Kertesz