This week’s Torah portion is called Terumah “Donation.” * G-D tells Moses to have the people bring (donate) gifts in order to build a dwelling place for G-D called a Mishkan, a portable Tabernacle. There are precise instructions on how to build the various furnishings that will be inside of the Mishkan including the ark to hold the Ten Commandments, the golden cherubs to be placed on top of the ark, table, lamp, walls, curtains and altar. With these gifts, G-d specifies that “you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him.”
In the inner meaning of this Torah portion, it is actually referring to building the sanctuary of our hearts which is our own individual portable Mishkan.
A related Hebrew verb to Terumah is le-harim which translates as “to raise up.” In the journey of our souls when we allow “our hearts to move us” we are aligned with compassion and giving which helps to raise us up to the higher realms of the Divine where we experience a state of peace and freedom. We understand that giving also brings gifts in return for us. As givers we become the receivers.
By tapping into or aligning with the energy of Terumah, we can receive help to become more compassionate and giving.
Rabbi David
