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

This week’s portion Terumah is one of my very favorite portions. I never tire of reading the many gifts that the Israelites bring to build the tabernacle that will be the very dwelling place of God in the midst of Israel. The Israelites bring voluntary offerings from their most precious possessions to build a house and sanctuary for God. Just as one lavishes gifts on a lover or spouse or a child or family member as an expression of devotion, the Children of Israel brought their voluntary offerings lovingly.

This is not just any tent in the desert but a tent where the Divine holy one will live among the people. God will not be far off stuck at the top of Mt. Sinai. Or dwell only in the heavens above. But God will “dwell among them” (Ex. 25:8). This is quite an amazing and powerful statement of presence and theology. This holy Essence, the Holy One of Blessing will not remain aloof and distant. God has already addressed the people directly at Sinai. But now once this holy space, this holy sanctuary is built and erected, God will be among the people. God will go where they go. And although this will be a temporary home, a Tent of Meeting that will be able to be set up and taken down wherever the Israelites dwell, this will become the blueprint for Solomon’s temple and later for the temple rebuilt after exile in Babylonia.

Our sages debated whether God could or would be limited to a particular place. Abarbanel rejected the idea of the physicality of God and wrote that God could not be limited in place. And I think he is correct. God is not limited to Mt. Sinai, or heaven, or the Holy Sanctuary to be built. God is in all of those places. Just as the holy essence of God is in each human being. But to fully connect and reunite our godly Essence with that of the Holy Divine One we need to encounter each other.

The tabernacle and the various utensils of worship and service that are described in this portion points to something very important. The ark, and menorah, the breastplate and ephod for Aaron the priest and the altar, even the curtains that will be built and will hang in and around the tabernacle are all for the worship of the Holy One. And they help the encounter along. So this tabernacle is not only a place for God’s glory to dwell among the people but truly a place of meeting for the Israelites and God. God will not only be in the tabernacle, in this sanctified place but God’s presence will also be there among the people.

This is truly the Tent of Meeting. A place for Moses to meet face to face with God even as the Israelites move closer to the Promised Land. This is a place for Aaron and his sons to offer the sacrifices to God brought by the people. This is a place of encountering the Holy One for the people even as they journey to Eretz Yisrael. This is a place that God too can encounter Israel. And in that sacred moment of encounter, in that coming together-our inner holy Essence connects with the Divine Holiness and transforms not only our own souls, but the soul of the Jewish people and the world.

Today our synagogues and homes are the place of the Divine encounter. But too often we Jews run from the encounter. We shirk our duties and rituals that are designed to help us reconnect and let our souls that are the Holy Essence of God commune with the Divine One. If we would only seek to re-engage our spirits, our lives and our souls at the synagogue or a Shabbat dinner or holiday celebration like a meal in the Sukkah or a Passover Seder our souls could seek that connection with the Holy One of Blessing.

That is our challenge. Not just once a year but to sustain that encounter each day.

And it is in this moment of encountering one another that helps to create the union and reinforce the union of the Jewish people and God that was enacted at Sinai.

Posted by Jimmy at February 23, 2009 12:31 PM