Parshat Terumah; Exodus 25:1 -27:19 By: Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Our parsha outlines the plan for building God’s dwelling place on earth. The Mishkan-the desert Tabernacle and all of its accoutrements – Ark, Menorah, Tent and Poles are described in detail in this week’s Torah portion. God speaks to Moses and tells him to begin the collection of the materials from the people and the initial design is described.

This great work project of the people will help to unify the nation to an even greater extent than the miraculous moments they have encountered. The Ten Plagues and liberation from Egyptian, the splitting of the Red Sea, the revelation at Mt. Sinai, each of these peak moments left an indelible mark on the soul and consciousness of the Israelite.

But this is a group of builders. As slaves in Egypt this group of people built entire cities for Pharaoh. They were craftsmen. They built the palaces and the garrison cities. They built temples for the Egyptian gods and goddesses. But now they would use their talents and gifts, their terumah offerings, their voluntary offerings, for their God.

Why must it be terumah? Why must these offerings, these gifts be from “every person whose heart so moves him” (Ex. 25:2)? Until now this mixed multitude, this group of former slaves only understood forced labor. Enslaved and oppressed, they worked for their Egyptian taskmasters because they had to for mere survival. But now this God through Moses asks them to use their knowledge, skill and offerings of yarn, and copper, gold, silver, linen and wood voluntarily. God asks them to bring only what they are willing. They have a choice; only if their hearts are moved. The Israelites have free will and this is a mark of a free person to decide for him or herself.

This act of building will be their first act of building the nation because they freely build it themselves. Thus the building of the Mishkan is not just a blueprint for the sacred space of the Divine on earth but is the blueprint for building a nation. The nation of Israel! And the building of the Mishkan is an exercise in helping the newly freed slaves practice their freedom and their decision making. These are skills each person will need to be truly free.

This week’s portion in Exodus teaches us a profound lesson about the Jewish view of God and the relationship to humanity. God gave us free will. God gave us the will to choose and to volunteer and to decide for ourselves. We are not puppets on a string and we human beings encounter God best when we do it from a place of freedom. That is the message of Terumah and an important reminder in this world today of demigogs and dictators, in a world where fundamentalism would have us close our minds and hearts to questions and choice—parshat Terumah reminds us that it is God who opens our hearts to being moved and to use those gifts in uplifting the sacred in the world!

Posted by Aaron at February 4, 2008 08:59 AM