This message is brought to you by Barak–the elders of Kadima School, soon to have their B’mitzvahs! We wrote a D’var for this weekly newsletter to practice for the D’vars we will share at our own B’mitz. We hope you enjoy!
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The parsha this week is called Terumah. Terumah means the offerings made by the priests to Adonai, or in other words, a sacrifice. Parshat Terumah is in the book of Exodus or Shemot in Hebrew (which means “Names”). The Israelites have escaped Egypt somewhat recently and they are in the wilderness pondering their choices. They have made it to Mount Sinai and Moses has already brought the ten commandments down. Moses has been regularly summiting the mountain to converse with Adonai.
Once Moses comes down from the mountain again, he says that Adonai instructed every Israelite “to bring Me gifts…from every person whose heart is so moved.” Adonai asks the people of Israel to give a bunch of lavish things to build a sanctuary to be able to “dwell among them.” These gifts will become all the materials to build the Mishkan (Tent of Meeting or what many call the Tabernacle in English), which was a mobile temple where the priests could make sacrifices to Adonai.
“Gd’s shed”
It feels surprising that Adonai is not forcing the people to give these gifts, but it’s optional. Is this a test of loyalty? Why does Adonai want people to want to give? Before this parsha, the Israelites had created an idol out of all the treasure they had taken from Egypt. When Moses and Adonai found out they were furious and felt betrayed. A lot of these same precious materials are also asked for and used to build the Mishkan. Is this really a coincidence or does Adonai want the Israelites to really see that they don’t need an idol, they just need Adonai? This seems like Adonai is still envious of the Golden Calf. (How often can you say that your Gd was jealous of a cow!?) Maybe Adonai is wanting more proof of loyalty, asking them to be willing to offer the same valuable things to make something for Adonai instead of an idol?
The parsha records how Adonai explains how to create the perfect place for themself to reside. Which includes many normal materials like wood and cloth and copper, as well as really special materials like dolphin skin, silver and LOTS of gold (and much more). There are so many instructions, it is basically a verbal architectural plan. It is extra tricky, because everything needs to be packable and movable.
We had some questions about the construction: For such a specific description, there are still things that seem unclear. For example using cubits as units seems imprecise–it would vary depending on the builder and how long their arm is. Also, why so much gold? It is the place that is supposed to tempt Gd to come and stay and be with the people, and Gold does make you think of wealth and luxury. If “it’s Gd’s shed,” it has to be nice! Another hypothesis we came up with is that gold is a really good conductor of electricity, so if Adonai is in the sky above Mt. Sinai, maybe it makes it easier for them to come down and make an electrical entrance like lightning! Maybe the gold makes it possible for Adonai to enter the Mishkan.
Blueprints on the mountain?
As a class, one of our main noticings was that it sounds like building the Mishkan would have taken a long time. It doesn’t feel easy to follow these instructions because it feels like a game of telephone, where the first word is from Gd, then it goes through Moses, the Israelite builders, and then the authors of Torah. It seems like it would be super difficult to remember exactly what Adonai instructed. Wouldn’t diagrams or pictures be easier and simpler to understand? This made us wonder, was it really all spoken or was Moses actually given a blueprint?
We noticed that the Torah says Adonai told Moses after all the instructions, to “Note well, and follow the patterns for them that are being shown you on the mountain.” (Exodus, 25:40) We don’t know if this means that Moses was given a vision or a diagram. Did the Israelites get to see that also?
Using the Jastrow dictionary, we looked up the Hebrew word that was translated as “shown.” We found the root, “ra’ah,” which means “to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.” We think this means that, instead of words, Moses saw a whole diagram of what the Mishkan was supposed to look like and how to build it–like a difficult lego instruction manual.
Where is the Mishkan today?
So, why such a detailed description of how to build the mishkan? It could have just said, “the Israelites built the Mishkan,” but instead the Torah keeps all the plans. It is almost like it is assumed that people will need to rebuild it. In fact, people did need to rebuild. When the Second Temple was destroyed, people couldn’t rebuild it and many had to flee. Was this a moment for the Mishkan to return?
But, we weren’t all in the same place or traveling together this time (and maybe we didn’t have that much gold!) Rabbinic Judaism adapts to the diaspora and this is what inspired synagogues. If you build only one thing, like the Temple, it can be destroyed, but if you build many there will always be a place for Jewish ritual. The Tabernacle becomes simplified and you can still see elements of it in today’s synagogues. Our temples share designs, layouts and furniture with the descriptions of the Mishkan. For example, on the Bima, we have a table in the middle for reading the Torah instead of for sacrifices, and an Ark that holds the Torah instead of the “testimony” in our parsha.
It is not an accident that today’s synagogues resemble the description of the Mishkan in our parsha. It is designed to be that way. There is no right or wrong way to build a place for Jews to pray, but it is intentional that even without clear directions of how to build a synagogue, there are always elements from the Mishkan. Just like there are always elements of our histories in our present era. Maybe people wanted their temples to help them feel connected to their ancestors who wandered in the desert and who built the Mishkan. This feels especially true of Kadima since we don’t have a permanent location and are constantly moving, just like the Tent of Meeting!
Dealing with Crashes
The people who wrote the Torah were preparing for a “crash” as Rabbi Benay Lappe says in her theory of crash. There are different ways that all people respond to a crash. The detailed description of the Mishkan in Parshat Terumah allowed Jews to come up with temples / synagogues as a solution.
Kadima is sometimes more like a Mishkan than a temple because all our stuff is made to move around! Throughout COVID and other barriers we have faced, we have had to adapt just like the beginnings of Rabbinic Judaism. Following in the footsteps of our ancestors, Kadima is capable of dealing with many different types of crash. Everyone goes through crashes, it’s the ability to deal with them that shapes us.
Miral
Miriam
Aziza
Oliver
Farah
__
The parsha this week is called Terumah. Terumah means the offerings made by the priests to Adonai, or in other words, a sacrifice. Parshat Terumah is in the book of Exodus or Shemot in Hebrew (which means “Names”). The Israelites have escaped Egypt somewhat recently and they are in the wilderness pondering their choices. They have made it to Mount Sinai and Moses has already brought the ten commandments down. Moses has been regularly summiting the mountain to converse with Adonai.
Once Moses comes down from the mountain again, he says that Adonai instructed every Israelite “to bring Me gifts…from every person whose heart is so moved.” Adonai asks the people of Israel to give a bunch of lavish things to build a sanctuary to be able to “dwell among them.” These gifts will become all the materials to build the Mishkan (Tent of Meeting or what many call the Tabernacle in English), which was a mobile temple where the priests could make sacrifices to Adonai.
“Gd’s shed”
It feels surprising that Adonai is not forcing the people to give these gifts, but it’s optional. Is this a test of loyalty? Why does Adonai want people to want to give? Before this parsha, the Israelites had created an idol out of all the treasure they had taken from Egypt. When Moses and Adonai found out they were furious and felt betrayed. A lot of these same precious materials are also asked for and used to build the Mishkan. Is this really a coincidence or does Adonai want the Israelites to really see that they don’t need an idol, they just need Adonai? This seems like Adonai is still envious of the Golden Calf. (How often can you say that your Gd was jealous of a cow!?) Maybe Adonai is wanting more proof of loyalty, asking them to be willing to offer the same valuable things to make something for Adonai instead of an idol?
The parsha records how Adonai explains how to create the perfect place for themself to reside. Which includes many normal materials like wood and cloth and copper, as well as really special materials like dolphin skin, silver and LOTS of gold (and much more). There are so many instructions, it is basically a verbal architectural plan. It is extra tricky, because everything needs to be packable and movable.
We had some questions about the construction: For such a specific description, there are still things that seem unclear. For example using cubits as units seems imprecise–it would vary depending on the builder and how long their arm is. Also, why so much gold? It is the place that is supposed to tempt Gd to come and stay and be with the people, and Gold does make you think of wealth and luxury. If “it’s Gd’s shed,” it has to be nice! Another hypothesis we came up with is that gold is a really good conductor of electricity, so if Adonai is in the sky above Mt. Sinai, maybe it makes it easier for them to come down and make an electrical entrance like lightning! Maybe the gold makes it possible for Adonai to enter the Mishkan.
Blueprints on the mountain?
As a class, one of our main noticings was that it sounds like building the Mishkan would have taken a long time. It doesn’t feel easy to follow these instructions because it feels like a game of telephone, where the first word is from Gd, then it goes through Moses, the Israelite builders, and then the authors of Torah. It seems like it would be super difficult to remember exactly what Adonai instructed. Wouldn’t diagrams or pictures be easier and simpler to understand? This made us wonder, was it really all spoken or was Moses actually given a blueprint?
We noticed that the Torah says Adonai told Moses after all the instructions, to “Note well, and follow the patterns for them that are being shown you on the mountain.” (Exodus, 25:40) We don’t know if this means that Moses was given a vision or a diagram. Did the Israelites get to see that also?
Using the Jastrow dictionary, we looked up the Hebrew word that was translated as “shown.” We found the root, “ra’ah,” which means “to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.” We think this means that, instead of words, Moses saw a whole diagram of what the Mishkan was supposed to look like and how to build it–like a difficult lego instruction manual.
Where is the Mishkan today?
So, why such a detailed description of how to build the mishkan? It could have just said, “the Israelites built the Mishkan,” but instead the Torah keeps all the plans. It is almost like it is assumed that people will need to rebuild it. In fact, people did need to rebuild. When the Second Temple was destroyed, people couldn’t rebuild it and many had to flee. Was this a moment for the Mishkan to return?
But, we weren’t all in the same place or traveling together this time (and maybe we didn’t have that much gold!) Rabbinic Judaism adapts to the diaspora and this is what inspired synagogues. If you build only one thing, like the Temple, it can be destroyed, but if you build many there will always be a place for Jewish ritual. The Tabernacle becomes simplified and you can still see elements of it in today’s synagogues. Our temples share designs, layouts and furniture with the descriptions of the Mishkan. For example, on the Bima, we have a table in the middle for reading the Torah instead of for sacrifices, and an Ark that holds the Torah instead of the “testimony” in our parsha.
It is not an accident that today’s synagogues resemble the description of the Mishkan in our parsha. It is designed to be that way. There is no right or wrong way to build a place for Jews to pray, but it is intentional that even without clear directions of how to build a synagogue, there are always elements from the Mishkan. Just like there are always elements of our histories in our present era. Maybe people wanted their temples to help them feel connected to their ancestors who wandered in the desert and who built the Mishkan. This feels especially true of Kadima since we don’t have a permanent location and are constantly moving, just like the Tent of Meeting!
Dealing with Crashes
The people who wrote the Torah were preparing for a “crash” as Rabbi Benay Lappe says in her theory of crash. There are different ways that all people respond to a crash. The detailed description of the Mishkan in Parshat Terumah allowed Jews to come up with temples / synagogues as a solution.
Kadima is sometimes more like a Mishkan than a temple because all our stuff is made to move around! Throughout COVID and other barriers we have faced, we have had to adapt just like the beginnings of Rabbinic Judaism. Following in the footsteps of our ancestors, Kadima is capable of dealing with many different types of crash. Everyone goes through crashes, it’s the ability to deal with them that shapes us.
Miral
Miriam
Aziza
Oliver
Farah
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