By Joseph Shulam.
This Torah portion is called Terumah, translated in English as “contribution” or “donation.”
The reading is from Exodus 25:1-27:19. The text deals with the contributions of the children of Israel to construct the Tabernacle in the wilderness. The text is fascinating and has some significant ramifications for us today.
The reading from the prophets is from II Kings 11:17 – 12:17; Isaiah 66:1; Isaiah 66:23-24.
The reading from the New Testament is from Matthew 17:22-27.
As an introduction to these readings from the Bible, I would like to quote the Apostle Paul’s message on the Areopagus in Athens. The Areopagus was the hill next to the Parthenon in the center of Athens, Greece, in the days of the Apostle Paul, i.e., in the First Century C.E. (A.D.)
Acts 17: 24-28,
“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, “For we are also His offspring.”
King Solomon said some similar things at the Temple’s dedication in Jerusalem.
“Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven; and he said: “LORD God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. Therefore, LORD God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, “You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.‘” (1 Kings 8:22-25 NKJV)
Now that we have established that the God who created the world doesn’t need buildings, food, or a bath to establish his kingdom on earth, this question takes me back to this Shabbat’s Torah portion, which starts with the following words!
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it. “And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height.” (Exodus 25:1-10 NKJV)
Our father Abraham didn’t have a tabernacle, a temple, or a permanent home in the land that God promised him and his seed as a possession. Abraham and his encampment were always outside the cities and separated from the local inhabitants. He didn’t own one square meter of land in Canaan until Sarah died, and he had to find for her a burial place, which he paid for without even bargaining for the price. Now God, the Creator of the Universe, is asking people (flesh and blood) to bring an offering of gold, silver, acacia wood, sweet incense, and badger skins. What changed in God’s mind to require the people of Israel, who were enslaved people and sons of enslaved people for several generations, to bring all these earthly “things” and contribute to the building of a manufactured physical Tabernacle made from tacky-tacky?
There are several explanations for God’s command to build a hand-made tent with hand-made furniture. Why did he build an altar for animal sacrifices on a man-made altar officiated by men who were sinners like all flesh?
I am not sure that I understand all of God’s reasons for asking to build him a physical tabernacle like the pagan neighbors around Israel. Even the architecture of the Tabernacle was not significantly different from the houses of the gods of our neighbors. I will try to share a little of how God, the world’s Creator, thinks and makes concessions for our weaknesses so that we don’t copy our pagan neighbors.
There is a sudden shift from the revelation at Mount Sinai—where God spoke directly to the people and commanded them not to make images of the idols our Canaanite neighbors worshiped. (Exodus 20:3-4). The instruction to build a Tabernacle (Mishkan) using gold, silver, and other costly materials (Exodus 25:1-9) raises profound theological and historical questions. Here are several possible explanations and considerations for this shift:
God Responded to Our Human Weakness and the Golden Calf Incident. God understood our weakness as a nation: that we wanted to copy all the pagan customs and holidays and dress the idolatry of our neighbors with a prayer—Sahel and kipa—and hope that God, who created the world, would not notice the customs of uncircumcised Philistines.
The instruction to build the Tabernacle (Exodus 25) is given before the sin of the Golden Calf (Exodus 32). Still, many commentators (such as Rashi) suggest that the Torah does not follow chronological order. In this view, the Mishkan was a divine concession to human weakness—a physical structure that would serve as a tangible focus for worship to prevent idolatry.
The Israelites come from Egypt after being slaves of the Egyptians. There, they built pagan temples for the gods of Egypt. The sudden, abstract concept of an invisible God might have been too difficult to grasp, leading them to create the Golden Calf. The Mishkan redirected this need for physicality into legitimate worship. Unlike pagan temples, which glorified idols, the Mishkan transformed gold, silver, and luxurious materials into a quasi-dwelling place for the Divine Presence (Shekhinah). This concept elevates physicality into spirituality, teaching that wealth and beauty can serve God if used correctly. The contribution of the physical materials for the building of the Tabernacle made the Tabernacle a part of their possession because their things were incorporated as a part of their identity and part owners of the whole Tabernacle. The contributions were voluntary (Exodus 25:2); it was as if they invested in the house of God’s presence, emphasizing they are now part owners of God’s house.
The Israelites needed an organized way to worship God as a community. Without a designated place, they might have continued diverse, uncontrolled worship practices, potentially leading to a situation in which everyone did whatever was right in his own eyes.
The Tent of Meeting functioned as a meeting place between God and Israel (Exodus 25:22). It was an address, a safe place providing structured worship instead of the chaotic and unauthorized practices of the surrounding nations. God knew his people, Israel, and knew that there should be one place, a location, a kosher structure to meet with God and the community sanctified by His presence 24 hours per day and available for worship and communication between the Creator and his chosen nation, Israel.
The giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai was a one-time event, but Israel needed a way to maintain a tangible sense of God’s presence throughout their journey and in the Promised Land.
The Tabernacle in the wilderness was called the “Tent of Meeting” (Ohel Mo’ed) because it made it possible to have a place in a sustainable, controlled location that traveled with them in the 40 years of the wilderness of Sinai desert wandering.
The Principle of Divine Presence is always with Israel during the shifting sands of the Sinai desert. The Tabernacle was a steady place of God “dwelling among them”. (Exodus 25:8) The Tabernacle shifted from the transcendent, awe-inspiring God of Sinai to an immanent, approachable God who dwells within the people.
God initiated the covenant at Sinai by speaking and giving the Torah. In constructing the Tabernacle, the people reciprocated by contributing their wealth and effort, demonstrating their commitment to the relationship between Israel and the people and God. Israel is no longer a passive receiver of God’s grace but an active participant in God’s program for the redemptive work that God projected for them to be a light for all nations.
Contrast with Pagan Idolatry. While the Mishkan was a physical structure, it was fundamentally different from pagan temples: There was no idol placed inside the Tabernacle, and every Israelite had a contribution and part ownership in this magnificent portable Temple that was collectively created with the personal contribution invested into the structure.
The Tabernacle served as a prototype for the Temple in Jerusalem, training the Israelites in sacred service and discipline. The sacrificial system and priestly functions established in the Sinai became the foundation for future Jewish worship practices in the Temple in Jerusalem. The furniture in the Tabernacle was in the wilderness, a symbol of Creation. We learn this by comparing Genesis 1-2 with Exodus 39:43. We find the exact phrase: “And he saw that it was good” (Exodus 39:43). Unlike the temples of our pagan neighbors, the Tabernacle represented a mini-model of the Creation of the universe where God and humanity dwelt together and enjoyed a partnership.
Teaching the People the Value of Giving. Our Torah portion also teaches the people to partner with the Creator in maintaining Creation. The voluntary donations for the building reinforced generosity and communal responsibility. It was a lesson that holiness comes not just from receiving divine gifts (the Torah) but from giving and building together in partnership between man and God.
The encounters with God, as at Sinai, were (Exodus 20:18-19) a shocking experience. As we read in Exodus chapter 20, the people were afraid and asked Moses to cover his face. Now, as their journey in the wilderness continues, the people of Israel and the non-Israelite tribes that joined them had a more personal and calm event that gave them a more structured, accessible way for Israel to engage with God without the overwhelming fear of death like during receiving the Torah at the foot of mount Sinai.
We all need to learn three lessons from this Torah portion.
1. God doesn’t need our money, gold, silk, or purple cloth. We see this in 1 King 8 with King Solomon’s words for the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem and Paul’s words in Acts 17 in Athens.
2. We need to give our very best to God’s work in order to be partners and have ownership in the realm of God’s holiness and presence.
3. If we don’t participate and give our best with the pure intention of our hearts, we will never have a genuine, sincere, and holy relationship with the almighty, and we will always feel like strangers in God’s house. The giving is not for God – the giving is for us so that when we worship God, we walk on His earth and enjoy His provisions and gifts.
We will know that the HaMotzi food program and the Netivyah building are partially mine. I have a part in them, and I am proud to be a part of this awesom work for God. I have a part in the blessing from heaven for these people, my fellow brothers in God’s Kingdom.
I can testify that I am happy and proud to be a part of Netivyah in Jerusalem and also Netivyah International, which is doing magnificent work to present Israel’s best side and continues to support the work of the HaMotzi food program, which is the Rolls Royce of food charities in Jerusalem.
God bless you, and please read the Torah Portion of Terumah from Exodus 25:1 forward. Connect your reading from the Torah with Paul’s first letter to the community in Corinth:
“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters, I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.“
(1 Corinthians 16:1-3 NKJV).