Parshat Terumah - Camp Moshava Ennismore

Parshat
Terumah
ENNISMORE
Adar 2, 5772, February 25,2012
Volume 10 Number 7
A MSUANTDT Programming Project
Hashem’s House - By Ahuva Balofsky
Let’s have a little conversation about nouns and verbs. Certain nouns are associated with
certain verbs, and vice versa. For example, you would never use the verb “sail” with the
noun “car”, nor would you “drive” a “bicycle”. So what verbs might you associate with the
noun “donation”? Give? Receive, perhaps? Collect? Maybe fundraise? Most of us, however, do not expect to find the verb “take” before the noun “donation”.
Yet that is exactly how our parsha opens this week: ‫לִי‬-‫ ְּויִקְּחּו‬,‫ ְּבנֵּי יִש ְָּראֵּל‬-‫דַּ בֵּר אֶל‬
.‫תְּ רּומָתִ י‬-‫ תִ קְּחּו אֶת‬,‫ ִאיׁש ֲאׁשֶר י ִדְּ בֶּנּו לִבֹו‬-‫ ֵּמאֵּת כָל‬:‫תְּ רּומָה‬Hashem tells Moshe to speak to Bnei
Yisrael and take a donation from all that men’s hearts offer. In fact, just in case we missed
it, He repeats the same verb twice in that verse alone, and a third time in the following
verse!
The strange language doesn’t end there, though. A few short verses later, Hashem
sums up what he wants done with this donation: – ‫ בְּתֹוכָם‬,‫ׁש ַּכנ ְּתִ י‬
ָ ‫ ִמקְּדָ ׁש; ְּו‬,‫ ְּועָשּו לִי‬make me a
sanctuary and I will dwell in them. Last I checked, the word “sanctuary” took the pronoun
“it” (trust me on this one, I’m an English teacher in my spare time). Why does Hashem
want us to build Him a sanctuary in the first place, and why then does He say He will dwell
among us (and not in it)?
Consider for a minute the purpose of a donation. Perhaps a sick person needs an
organ donation, or a poor person needs a hot meal, or the camp needs a new building. People with organs or food or money to contribute can donate in order to fill a need. In such a
case, it is the giving which is important and praiseworthy.
But what does Hashem need? We believe that He is perfect and complete, and
therefore by definition He has no needs. What can we possibly donate to Him? In this case,
it is the accepting which is the act of generosity. Hashem agrees to take what we want to
give Him, even though He doesn’t need it. And what does He want done with this donation? He wants a house built. It’s not a house for Him to live in, because of course He
doesn’t need shelter. Rather, it is a place where He can focus His presence among us,
for our benefit.
Another beautiful way of looking at these same verses reflects the nature of our relationship with Hashem. When He gave us the Torah at Har Sinai, we entered into a marriage with Him. We are reminded of this in the verb ,‫ ויקחו‬take, which is the legal term
used to describe the act of marrying. We took the Torah from Hashem, now He is taking a
gift from us. With this gift we are to build a sanctuary, which will become our shared home,
for He wishes to dwell among us.
Many thanks to the Rabbis at Aish.com for their words of inspiration. Shabbat Shalom!
Shabbat Times
Jerusalem: 4:52/ 6:10
Moshava : 5:36/6:38
Toronto: 5:41 /6:43
Montreal: 5:15 / 6:19
New York: 5:22 / 6:23
Los Angeles: 5:27 / 6:23
Ramat Gan: 5:12/ 6:11
Teruma Stats
19th of 54 sedras; 7th of 11 in
Sh'mot
Written on 154.8 lines in a Torah, rank: 43rd
9 Parshiot; 4 open, 5 closed
96 p'sukim - ranks 38th (9th in
Sh’mot)
1145 words - ranks 45th (10th
in Sh’mot)
4692 letters - ranks 41st (9th
in Sh’mot)
T'ruma is a short sedra with
very short p'sukim (especially
in words per pasuk)
MITZVOT
Contains 3 mitzvot; 1 positive
and 2 prohibitions
Rishon: Which part of the Kohen’s clothing needs to
go to the Army every once in a while?
Sheini: Name two of the things made from gold in this
Aliyah?
Shlishi: What was used to make the curtains for the
miskhan?
Revi’i: In this aliyah we learn how to make the walls
of the Mishkan. Why is this a pirates favourite aliyah?
Chamishi : What are two references in the making of
the parochet that you’d also find in Tzizit?
Revi’i: Because of the Silver,
Gold and the BARRRs!
Shelishi: Goat hair. 26:7
Sheni: Kaporet, Keruvim,
Table cover, Rings.
Shevi’i: What is the only
number in this aliyah that’s
NOT a number?
Chamishi: Techelet and four
corners. 26: 31-32
Bonus: Why is it an especially appropriate metal to
use?
Shishi: Copper! Bonus: A
Capparah!
Shishi: What metal is used
to make the Mizbeach and
all the Keilim in this Aliya?
Shevi’i: Sheish!
Rishon: Avnei Milluim! 25:7
ANSWERS
Across the top of the ParshaPix are sacks of gold
(Au is the symbol for the
element gold - it is based
on the Latin name for
gold, Aurum), silver
(similarly, silver’s symbol
comes from its Latin
name Argentum), and
copper (Cuprum), that
were donated to the
building of the Mishkan
and its accouterments.
The two things in the upper-right of the ParshaPix are cabbages. In
Hebrew - KRUV, as in
the K’RUVIM on the KAPORET of the ARON.
Many of the other items
in this ParshaPix represent the materials that were collected, and mentioned, in the
beginning of the sedra.
The gemstone represents the stones for the CHOSHEN and the
shoulder straps of the EIFOD.
ISRAEL NEWS—from ynetnews.com
2,000-year-old golden bell found in Jerusalem
A tiny golden bell which was lost in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago during the Second Temple period has been found
among ruins near the Old City, Israel's Antiquities Authority said on Friday.
The bell, which is thought to have been an adornment which was sewn onto the garments of a senior official, was uncovered during excavation work on a drainage channel in the City of David, an area in the Arab neighborhood of Silwan
just south of the Old City walls. “It seems the bell was sewn on the garment worn by a high official in Jerusalem at the
end of the Second Temple period," an IAA statement said. The bell was found inside the main drainage channel taking
rainwater from different parts of the city to the pool of Siloam, which is mentioned several times in the Bible.
MOSHAVA
NEWS
http://vimeo.com/36778253
THIS WEEK’S SHOUT-OUT GOES OUT TO ALL THE PIRATES WHO
LOVE THE MONTH OF ADARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!