Terumah 5771 - English

Rabbi Daniela Szuster
B´nei Israel Congregation, Costa Rica

The Challenge of Mediating

In one of the first verses of this week’s parashah, it is written: “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (Shemot 25:8). This is the first time in the Torah that God orders the people to build a sanctuary. Throughout the parashah, there is a description of the elements that were to be used for the Mishkan: the Menorah, the table, the altar, etc.

A Midrash wonders about the purpose of all these elements, imagining a dialogue between the people and God:

“And the people said unto God: ‘Ruler of the universe, foreign kings have tents, tables, candelabra, all necessary elements to a king. And You, who are our king, our savior, our redeemer, do not have any of these elements, so that we may distinguish You as a king!’


God replied: ‘My children, flesh and blood kings require all those elements, but I do not. I don’t eat, I don’t drink, I don’t need light.’ And God ended by saying: ‘Do whatever you want, but do it when I order you to do it.’”

According to this story, God prescribed the people with the building of all these elements because he realized that human beings, used to kings surrounded with these elements, felt they needed them.

What I want to emphasize about this Midrash is that God performs a sort of mediation with His people. God allows certain human requests, such as the possibility of building several elements to decorate the Mishkan, but confining them to His orders. God doesn’t need the Mishkan, or the table, or the candelabra. But human beings do; they can’t conceive of a king lacking all these things.

This, somehow, teaches us that if God Himself was willing to give in and make certain concessions, we human beings should also try to do the same.

Human relations are difficult; each one of us carries a cultural, emotional, and personal heritage, and when meeting with “others”, all our plans and expectations teeter. We face “others” who do not agree with us in specific subjects, who prefer to solve situations differently, who give priority to different issues and choose to walk along different paths.

Sometimes, interpersonal relations can cause us pain and suffering. Nevertheless, what characterizes us as human beings, among other things, is our strong need to strike up relationships and strengthen ties. Of all the living beings on the planet, we are the only ones who cannot survive without “another” who will look after us, protect us, stroke us and care for us.

We are immersed in this dialectic, where we cannot feel complete when we are with our neighbors, but neither can we live without them. Facing this issue, the Midrash speaks about the concept of mediation, about the art of being able to find a happy middle, where you and I may give in about something, and where you and I may benefit from something. What a difficult enterprise! It is easy to win, but it is hard to give in.

As our sages say, and as is reflected in the steps we take when praying the Amidah, we must take some steps backward in order to live harmoniously and in peace with our fellow beings.

Our challenge is to train ourselves on giving in and on agreeing with people, instead of taking offense and living in an eternal conflict. And at the same time, feel that we enrich ourselves with each relationship and each encounter with “others”.

Shabbat Shalom!