T’rumah
Ex. 25:1-27:19
Précis: As the Israelites continue their journey through the wilderness, God tells Moses to ask the people for gifts to build the Tabernacle. “T’rumah” (voluntary donations) of fine metals, yarns, skins, and woods are offered by the People. God gives Moses precise instructions as to the interior and exterior construction of the mishkan (tabernacle). Specific items include an altar for burnt offerings, a curtain (parochet) to separate the main room from an inner sanctum, elaborate candlesticks, incense burners, and other tools. There will be a special Ark to be placed in an area called the Holy of Holies to house the tablets of the Ten Commandments. Precise measurements are given for all spaces as well as specific materials designated for the composition of the mishkan.
Ex. 25:8 “Let them build Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.”
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks pointed to a critical paradox relating to the building of the mishkan (Covenant and Conversation, 2/23/23). How can we build a house for God? God is bigger than anything we can imagine, let alone build.
It should also be unnecessary. God is everywhere, so why should we build a place for God to “dwell?” Sacks suggests that God does not dwell in buildings, but rather in the builders.
Most of the Sages suggest that the mishkan was ordered to be created immediately following the episode of the Golden Calf. Moses had been the intermediary between the People and God, and when he was gone up the mountain, they built the calf as an alternative. That is why the command in this verse appears. The key word is “dwell” which had never before been used in connection with God. The same Hebrew root is found in the term “Shechinah” (meaning the Divine Presence).
While the leading characters of Genesis saw God as a benevolent neighbor, the Israelites of Exodus saw God as a distant, miraculous entity. For God to become accessible to them, they needed something finite, not infinite. How could they experience God in a mundane, everyday existence? Here we find the key to the name of the parasha: voluntary donations or contributions. The best way to encounter God is to give. The gift is an expression of gratitude for what we have been given.
The command to give leads to the idea that life itself is a gift. The elements and materials for the mishkan were the ultimate gift of thanks for all that we had. As Sacks concludes, God doesn’t live in a house of stone. God lives in the hearts of those who give.
