Terumah
Exodus 25:1 - 27:19

Moses is on Mt. Sinai. He has been given the Ten Commandments, and a wealth of other laws. And now, he receives the building plans for the Tabernacle, the mobile home of God during the desert wandering. These directions will form the basis for the plans of the subsequent Temples in Jerusalem. The rest of the book of Exodus, the next four parshiyot, are almost entirely concerned with the building of the Tabernacle and all of its equipment according to these instructions.

The Tabernacle did not resemble a modern house of worship. There are no seats for worshippers to come and attend services. There is no bima, no prayer books, kippot, taleisim, no Torah scroll. It is mainly a place of sacrifice and daily offerings presided over by the priests wearing special garments, who receive that rank by being born to it. Incense, baked goods, and various animal offerings are regularly presented here. The next book of the Torah, Leviticus, will begin by elaborating the various kinds of sacrifices.

But a few of the elements of the Tabernacle would be recognizable to us. There is an ark at the very center that contains the Ten Commandments, behind an ornate curtain, and it is constantly lit by a large golden menorah that is meant to burn constantly, like the Ner Tamid found before the ark in synagogues today. But these are placed in the innermost tent, which is not on public view at all.

Surrounding this innermost tent is an open air courtyard, fenced off by draperies, where various altars and wash stands are place. This is surrounded by the third fenced off courtyard. This whole Tabernacle compound is holy, that is, separate from the rest of the camp, and erected at it’s physical center. It is understood to be the literal habitation of God. The golden ark is constructed in the manner of ancient near eastern thrones of kings and idols. At the end of the book of Exodus, God’s “Presence” descends and fills the Tabernacle, more or less sitting on that throne. It is the place where Moses communes with God.

Moses is given precise instructions down to the tent pegs that will be needed, but the materials for the construction are to be entirely free will offerings from the people. The most famous verse here, well known to all who have ever participated in a synagogue building campaign is, “…you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him.” Later, Moses will have to tell the people to stop bringing these gifts because they have more than enough. Surely that is the dream of any building campaign committee. And what a lot of faith it takes to mount a campaign entirely on a free will basis!

One clue as to why the description of the Tabernacle gets so much attention is to be found in the verse, “…let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell within them.” (Exodus 25:8) Obviously God can be present wherever God wants to be present, and individuals can worship and venerate God in any number of ways. Having a sanctuary does not control where God can be, but rather, creates a place in the camp, a place in the community, where God is to be served. And that place is at the very center. Every community should make the demands of holiness literally central. Reverence, justice, compassion, peace, a connection to eternal truth; these form the stable center of any sane society. This shared commitment to divine priorities is what defines us, and keeps us in proper relation to each other, as a circle is defined by the relationship of each point on the circle to the center.

The most gorgeous and expensive materials are used for the innermost room. The ark is covered with gold both inside and out. This is not done to impress anyone because no one sees it. The more outer sections of the Tabernacle are constructed with progressively less valuable materials. This is understood to be a map for the proper construction of the human heart as well: the innermost, most private, most central place should be filled with the most precious and valuable things. This is where God is served in a light that is constantly fed by study and proper action. All wealth, all power, all talent, all strength is in its proper place when it is used according to the call of holiness.

- Rabbi Alexis Roberts
© Congregation Dor Hadash 2003