Parshat Terumah
by Rabbi Avi Billet
When we come around the parshas which focus on the Mishkan, we may find ourselves thinking if there is a deeper message to be gleaned from a text that spends so much time focusing on the details of a structure that was made to exist for a limited time in history – the wilderness period, followed by however long it would take for the Mishkan to remain God’s temporary home until the construction of the Beit Hamikdash.
Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch wrote a number of essays on the symbolism of the Mishkan, ranging from the materials utilized for the construction of the various vessels, to the symbolism in the final products themselves.
To put things in context of what God wants, he quotes one (of many) prophet messages – this one is from Yirmiyahu 7:2-15, 21-23:
2 Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord, and proclaim there this word, and say; Hearken to the word of the Lord, all Judah who come into these gates to prostrate yourselves before the Lord. 3 So said the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel; Improve your ways and your deeds, I will allow you to dwell in this place. 4 Do not rely on false words, saying: The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are they. 5 For if you improve your ways and your deeds, if you perform judgment between one man and his fellowman, 6 [if] you do not oppress a stranger, an orphan, or a widow, and you do not shed innocent blood in this place, and you do not follow other gods for your detriment, 7 I will allow you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave your forefathers from days of yore to eternity. 8 Behold, you rely on false words, of no avail. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, offer up to Baal, and follow other gods that you know not, 10 And will you come and stand before Me in this house, upon which My name is called, and say, "We are saved," in order to commit all these abominations? 11 Has this house upon which My name is called, become a cave of profligate men in your eyes? I, too, behold I have seen it, says the Lord. 12 For go now to My place that is in Shiloh, where I caused My name to rest at first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13 And now, because you have committed all these acts, says the Lord, and I spoke to you, going early and speaking, but you did not hearken, and I called you, but you did not respond. 14 And I will do to the house upon which My name is called, upon which you rely, and to the place that I gave you and your forefathers, as I did to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you away from My presence as I cast all your brothers, all the seed of Ephraim….
21 So says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel; Add your burnt offerings upon your sacrifices and eat flesh. 22 For neither did I speak with your forefathers nor did I command them on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning a burnt offering or a sacrifice. 23 But this thing did I command them, saying: Obey Me so that I am your God and you are My people, and you walk in all the ways that I command you, so that it may be well with you.
Concluding his introduction to his discussion of the Sanctuary (and after quoting much of Vayikra 26, and from Melachim I chapter 9), Hirsch writes, “God’s dwelling in our midst means that His beneficent and protecting presence will be felt in every aspect of our lives. Moreover, God’s presence in our midst is not dependent on the existence of the Temple, but, in the final analysis, solely on whether we sill sanctify and dedicate all of our lives to the fulfillment of His holy will, to the fulfillment of His law.”
While it is understood that the details of the Mishkan’s construction were for a particular and very specific time, the emphasis on the precision that went into its construction was to remind the people that perfection can be achieved in the service of God.
People who were skilled in the various artistic labors in construction, metal works, weaving, etc were invited to participate. This allowed many people to have a hand in setting up the space for where the service of God would take place.
But as many prophets have noted, the service of God that takes place in the Sanctuary, as is the case in every single shul, is SECONDARY to how people treat one another. It is the chesed that people show to one another, the concern that people demonstrate for one another, the non judgmentalism, the accepting people for who they are, for where they are in life, for the decisions each person makes, which all combine to determine for God whether we are worthy of His divine countenance shining upon us.
His reasons for allowing the Mishkan of Shilo to be destroyed, for allowing the first two Temples to be destroyed, always focused on “Bein Adam LaChaveiro” – the interpersonal relationships and the litmus test of how people treated one another.
If we judge people favorably, don’t speak Lashon Hora, avoid Machlokes (especially over silly things), look for the good in others, and seek the good we can do for others, we are well on the way of seeing the fulfillment of the arguably most famous verse in Terumah: ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם – “You shall make for Me a sanctuary and I shall dwell in them,” which is explained by many commentaries to mean that when you sanctify yourselves and turned yourselves into repositories of holiness, I (God says) will live within each and every one of you.
May we merit to be sources of kindness and goodness so we can merit to be repositories of God’s holiness.
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