February 8, 2008

Parshat Hashavua: Terumah Exodus 25:1-27:19

Having been given the Decalogue and the laws that surround the basic legal principles, Moses continues atop Mt. Sinai (or so the Torah seems to indicate). God speaks to Moses providing precise directions for the construction of the Tabernacle in the desert.

God instructs Moses that all the people are to be engaged in bringing gifts in the form of "gold, silver, and copper; blue, purple and crimson yarns, fine linen, goats' hair; tanned ram skins, dolphin skins, and acacia wood; oil for lighting, spices for anointing oil and for aromatic incense; lapis lazuli and other stones." (Imagine if we were to conduct a capital campaign with similar requests!)

God's direction at this point is interesting. God tells Moses, "Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them." One would have thought that God would have explained the purpose of the Tabernacle as a home for God, that God might dwell in it, but God says "so that I may dwell among them." In other words the tabernacle becomes not a dwelling place for God, but rather a symbol of God's presence. The structure will serve to inform and as a constant reminder that God dwells among them. That knowledge should influence their behavior, their reverence, and their religious fervor.

God continues by describing in great detail the components of the Tabernacle and its contents: the Ark (which will contain the second set of Tablets that Moses will being down from Sinai, the covering of pure gold, the table and its appurtenances, the Menorah and the Tabernacle coverings of several layers and different materials. God will explain the wood structure and the divisions of the space into sections divided by curtains. They will need to construct altars for the sacrifices. All this is presented to Moses in great specificity.

Shabbat Shalom

Candle lighting: Friday, February 08, 2008 5:09pm