Terumá 5775 - English

PARASHAT TERUMAH 5775

Exodus 25:1-27:19

February 21, 2015 – 2 Adar 5775

In Judaism, we must all contribute 

This week’s Parashah begins with G-d’s order to Moses to build the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, which would become the mobile sanctuary of the people of Israel in the desert, and would later inspire the construction of the Great Temple in Jersualem, the Beit Hamikdash.  

To build a sanctuary, they needed very specific material resources.  Who would provide them?  The Torah is very clear on this point, when it says: “Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him.” (Shemot 25:2)  

G-d himself orders Moses to ask for voluntary economic contributions from everybody to build the Mishkan.  Take note of this: G-d does not give the materials as a gift, instead He urges the entire people to chip in.  He does not ask only the rich to donate money, but He asks everyone to listen to their own heart to decide what to do.  Everybody is invited to help.  

I think the idea behind this request is very simple and wise at the same time.  If the Mishkan was supposed to be a sanctuary for the people, then all the people should contribute for its construction.  If G-d had given it as a gift, then possibly people would not have appreciated it thoroughly.  If only the rich had donated money, then they might come to think they owned the sanctuary, and the big majority would probably not have assumed it as their own.  The fact that everyone was invited to donate made the sanctuary an element of public belonging.  

The Mishkan was, without a doubt, the first great material project of the Jewish people with regards to the collection of the necessary funds to build it.  We have copied this basic model of joint action over and over again.  In all places and at every time we have had to build synagogues, schools, recreational clubs, cemeteries, etc.  And almost always we have successfully turned to the formula for the Mishkan: we must all contribute.

We all know that it is not enough to just build, we have to give maintenance and to strengthen what has been built.  In this sense as well, we know that the best way is to unite our forces and for each of us to contribute as much as we can to sustain and develop our institutions.  

There are those who believe only the wealthy should donate money for the communities to survive and flourish, but this opinion clearly goes against Jewish tradition.  Of course, we do not all have the same possibilities to give: there are those who may give a lot and those who can give barely anything… but the important thing is for each of us to make an effort.  Like the Torah says, each of us must give according to our hearts.  

I would like to illustrate this point with a story.  Once upon a time, there was a prosperous kingdom that lived off its fantastic vineyards.  The soil and the climate of this kingdom produced the most tasty and delicate vines in the entire world.  The wine production was enough to maintain the royal finances in excellent state, while the king’s subjects lived in conditions far superior to that of other kingdoms near and far.  

One time, a kind-hearted king from this wealthy kingdom, adopted a decree to benefit all its inhabitants: there would be no more taxes.  In exchange, once a year, he would ask every person in the realm to provide a liter of his best wine.  Since there were thousands of people in the kingdom, the king knew that the earnings from the sale of the liter provided by each person would keep the finances healthy.  All the king’s subjects celebrated with great joy the royal decree and sang praises in his name.  

Well, the day of the annual collection of the priced wine son arrived.  Thousands upon thousands of people came before a huge barrel.  Each of them waited patiently to deposit their liter of wine.  The next day, the king gathered his people to celebrate the end of the first annual wine collection.  He gave an inspiring speech and ordered one of his servants to bring him a glass from the huge barrel, a glass of the finest wine in the kingdom.  He was surprised to find that the liquid coming out of the barrel was colorless… it looked like water.  He asked for another glass, and again it was colorless.  Finally, after carefully examining the contents of the barrel, the wise men of the kingdom determined the liquid was simply pure water.  

“What could have happened?” asked the king.  One of his advisers explained with sorrow: the people of the kingdom thought if they gave water instead of wine, nobody would be the wiser… after all, a liter of water among thousands and thousands of liters of wine would not be noticeable.  However, what they did not realize was that everyone had the same idea, and in the end, everybody had brought water.  

The moral of the story is very clear (just like water!): we cannot believe that nothing will happen if we do not contribute and trust that others will.  If everybody thought that others would take over and give, then nobody would give anything, just like what happened in the story.  If we want to build and maintain strong and thriving Jewish communities, if we want to have children and adults learning and living Judaism with joy and dedication, then we must all contribute.  Those who can give more, will give more; those who can give less, will give less.  We all understand that not everyone can give the same.  But it is absolutely necessary that we all contribute: the Jewish people is all of us and we must all take care of it.     

The verse I quoted at the beginning says that G-d asked the people to accept gifts in His name.  It is interesting that we use the word “accept”, instead of the word “give”.  Maybe the Torah means that to accept, to receive, first we must give.  We all want to enjoy Judaism and its institutions… therefore, we must all give.    

¡Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Rami Pavolotzky

Congregation B´nei Israel

San Jose, Costa Rica