Terumah תרומה

I'll be honest - I was considerably less excited to read this parsha then those that came before. 95% of Terumah deals with the particulars of building the Mishkan - the traveling home for the Torah. We read about the materials used, the length of various cuts of wood, the colors of wools, the shape of the menorah, etc. Not exactly hair-raising.

We do have the famous related quote from the great unknown Torah scholar:

"אם תבנה את זה, הוא יבוא"

If you build it he will come…..

Seriously however, I learned an important lesson about the Torah from this parsha. Just like God wants all the precious metals - gold, silver and copper included in the Mishkan, every portion is absolutely essential and meaningful, even if it doesn't seem so on first reading. Once we scratch the surface in the right spots, worlds open up.

Chapter 25 Verse 1:

וַיְדַבֵּר יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר

"The Lord spoke to Moses saying:

דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה מֵאֵת, כָּל אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ, תִּקְחוּ אֶת תְּרוּמָתִי:

"Speak to the children of Israel, and have them take for Me an offering; from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My offering.

וְזֹאת הַתְּרוּמָה אֲשֶׁר תִּקְחוּ מֵאִתָּם - זָהָב וָכֶסֶף וּנְחֹשֶׁת:

And this is the offering that you shall take from them: gold, silver, and copper;

Rashi points out that the word תרומה , , meaning offering or contribution, is used three times in these verses. He explains that there are three types of offerings. The first two are mandatory for everyone - a half shekel of silver for making the sockets into which we put the poles ti carry the Mishkan, and another half-shekel to purchase the communal sacrifices. The third offering is a voluntary offering for building the rest of the Mishkan, taken from those whose "heart inspires them to give."

At first glance, this seems like a pretty straight-forward system - the basic costs are shared by everyone, while those who choose to make up the difference. However, looking deeper, we find a lot more going on here. First off, the mandatory contributions are not nearly enough to provide for the Mishkan as it is described - only the finest of materials can be used. The vast majority of the expense needs to be raised from volunteers. Why would God not simply require a higher standard? That way everyone would contribute equally, which shouldn't be a problem, because the Israelites recently plundered the Egyptians. After all, building the Mishkan is not optional - it is a commandment!

I believe that funding the building of the Mishkan in this way is representative of the covenant - it's a two way street. To truly take part in the covenant, we must be active participants - to "put our hearts" into it, as the verse states. In English, when we say "put your heart into it," we are signifying intention and attention to getting the job done right - not just doing it to do it. I believe that God wants us to be living, breathing witnesses to God's presence in our own personal way. Taking part in the covenant is not just a matter of doing what we are told.

When we uphold our part of the covenant, we make a place for God's presence on this earth and are rewarded. Chapter 25, Verse 8 reads

וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם:

"And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst."

Note, God does not say "and I will dwell in the sanctuary" but among the people themselves, who build the sanctuary.

There is a great Hasidic story to this effect - When the Kotzker Rebbe was a young boy his Rebbe asked him, “Where can HASHEM be found?” The future Rebbe of Kotzk answered, “HASHEM is everywhere!” The Rebbe shook his head disapprovingly signaling that he had answered incorrectly. The Kotzker Rebbe insisted - 'HASHEM is truly everywhere!' Finally his Rebbe told him the correct answer to the question. “HASHEM if found wherever He is allowed to enter!”

Rashi defines Mikdash as בית קדושה - a house of sanctity or holiness. Why does Rashi choose the word house? There is a beautiful Gematria explanation, provided by Rabbi Label Lam.

The Gematria value of מקדש is 444. בית is 412. The difference? 32 - the Gematria value of לב - heart.

To change a normal building into a place where holiness dwells, we need to add one thing - our hearts.

I was thinking about hearts, giving, spirituality, etc., and had a hunch. In the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, chakras are said to be energy centers in our body. I looked up Anahata, the heart chakra, and was SHOCKED by what I found.

The symbol of the heart chockra is none other than the מגן דוד - the star of David! Not only this - in Hindu tradition, they call this shape shatkona and think of it as made up of two triangles. The symbol represents the union of Purusha (the supreme being) and Prakriti (casual matter).

This is just like how we think of the Star of David. One end of the star points up, into the heavens, and one down below, to the earth, perhaps reminding us of the angels on the ladder in Jacob's dream. Seen in this light, it is clear that one very important aspect of building the Mishkan is the unification of the divine and the everyday.

This is a also a major theme of Jewish spiritually - how can we bring holiness to our most simple, "animal" actions? For this reason. we are taught to say blessings over using the bathroom, eating food, waking up, falling asleep etc.

Just like this seemingly dull Torah position - with the right כוונה- - intention, we can find holiness everywhere we look.

I want to send a blessing to everyone here today that we find the time to truly put our hearts into something and find holiness in an unexpected and surprising place.