Terumah (Ex. 25:1-27:19)

The Weight

            Parasha Terumah opens with Hashem telling Moses that he is to have the Israelites bring Him gifts. The specifics of these gifts are given as well as the layout for the Ark of the Pact and the Tabernacle. How do we, living in the post-Destruction of the Temple era, honor our L-rd? It sounds cliché, but it starts with living right and following Hashem’s laws. We “sacrifice” with killing our old, bad ways. We pass the “gift” of being G-d’s Chosen People on to our children. As it says in “Al Shloshah D’varim, the Hakafah selection from Pirkei Avot 1:2, Al Shloshah D’varim haolam omeid: Al HaTorah, v’al haavodah, v’al g’milut chasadim. (The world is sustained by three things: Torah, worship, and loving deeds)