The Prompting of The Heart
D’var Torah for Parashat Terumah
By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman
February 2, 2022
With this week’s Torah portion, Terumah (“Donation,” Exodus 25:1-27:19), the second half of the story of the Exodus begins. It’s not half as exciting as the first half, with its dramatic scenes of the Ten Plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. Nor is it as momentous as the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. In fact, it’s pretty repetitious and uneventful. Terumah contains a long list of materials, precious metals and jewels that will be needed in constructing the Mishkan, the holy Tabernacle (aka the Tent of Meeting) which the Israelites carry with them throughout their journeys in the Sinai Wilderness.
Some time back, a student asked me why God would need or require such valuable materials. It was a good question. In fact, why would God require any place at all to call home? God is, after all, incorporeal; and as King Solomon, centuries later, will remind us, “Behold, the sky and even the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built” (1 Kings 8:27).
The truth is, God doesn’t need either a house or riches with which to build it. But we the people do. Nothing signifies “value” more than gold and jewels. The greater the expense, the greater the value. And in this case, it isn’t the temple itself, but rather what it is meant to convey—God’s presence among us. “Let them make Me a sanctuary,” God tells Moses, “and I will dwell in their midst” (Ex. 25:8). Hopefully, all that gold would lead us to appreciate the value of God’s presence among us.
But does material value actually lead us to a greater understanding of the transcendent nature of God? It’s much more likely that the brilliance would bedazzle and overwhelm us, rather than lead us to perceive something as intangible as God’s Presence.
But human nature is as it is, and the Torah tries to teach its lessons through words and concepts we understand.
And yet there is a much greater lesson to be learned from this portion. The meaning of the word terumah is “donation,” signifying a freewill offering “from everyone whose heart so moves him” (Ex. 25:2, Sefaria translation). The Israelites are not commanded to bring so much gold, silver or copper. They are to provide these materials—or anything else they might have—only insomuch as they are moved to.
The Temple of God will not be built by slaves. It will be generosity of heart that will motivate the people to make their offerings. Some might have more and some less. Some will bring gold or jewels, while others will lend their ability to craft or create, to weave or design.
The true value of the Mishkan, the real meaning of this Tabernacle representing God’s presence among us, is freedom. Freedom is God’s gift and blessing to us. Our response is in our generosity, that which our heart prompts us to offer in return. Yes, the end result will be magnificent; but even greater will be the pride and joy that each of us will feel in knowing that our contribution, no matter how large or small, is an essential part of the greater whole. It is through our contribution—our freewill donation, our terumah—that God’s Presence is made manifest.
© 2022 by Boaz D. Heilman
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