For several years, much of the second half of the book of Exodus made admittedly little sense to me. Reading through the several parshiyot of which it consists — including parshat Terumah, which we read today- they seemed to me to be little more than schematics, or blueprints for items that are no longer relevant to us. These passages, when juxtaposed with the earlier narrative in Exodus of the Israelites’ incredible journey from slavery to freedom, seemed at one time almost boring to me. To make sense of them while reading was a challenge, and I had trouble seeing why the Torah, whose every word is sacred and contains meaning, found it necessary to include details about poles, sockets, rings, the lengths and materials of walls, and the height and materials of tables. It did not seem germane to the larger story of the Israelites as they gained freedom and accepted upon themselves the yoke of choseness at Sinai. 

Then, after reading what other rabbis and commentators had said, it began to make sense to me. Broadly, parshat Terumah teaches us how to create a sacred space in the midst of the everyday. In addition, we learn to build for and within ourselves a sacred space in which God may dwell and make their presence known.

Parshat Terumah opens with G-d declaring: דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כָּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃- “Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him.” These gifts are the materials that will be used to build the tabernacle, and they comprise quite a list: colored yarns, acacia wood, dolphin skins (!), oil, spices, precious stones, and other objects. Rashi comments on the words “yidvenu libo” (“whose heart so moves him”) in this verse; he says that “the word ידבנו is of the same root as נדבה; it is a term denoting “good-will”. Furthermore, this word is related to the modern Hebrew verb “ to........

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