Two Minute Torah Podcast

Terumah 5770 by Rabbi Martin J. Pasternak

Most of the Torah portion of Trumah is taken up with instructions to create all the pieces of the mishkan - the Wilderness Tabernacle where our ancestors worshipped Ad-nai. Among the pieces to be built was the kapporet - an ornate golden piece with two kneeling cruvim or winged celestial creatures attached to it. The instructions for the kapporet and cruvim include this verse,

"There I will meet with you and I will impart to you from between the two cruvim that are on top of the kapporet all that I will command you (Shemot 25:22)."

With this verse Ad-nai set up a mechanism for ongoing communication between heaven and earth and the broadcast point for this communication was the space between the outstretched wings of the cruvim.

These instructions are a little puzzling. The kapporet has been gone for a long time now. Has there been no communication between heaven and earth since it disappeared? The answer to this question can be found in another verse from this same Torah portion.

"And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them (Shemot 25:7)."

Commenting on this verse the Kotzker Rebbe wrote, "Every person is obligated to build the sanctuary in their heart - and the Holy and Blessed One will dwell in it." We can say that differently in the slightly altered words from Ray Kinsella, "If you build it God's voice will come."

Simple right? If you want to hear the voice of Ad-nai; if you want to hear the voice of God build a mishkan and kapporet in you heart. Not so simple. We're not taking here about Elmer's glue and Popsicle sticks or snapping together a few Legos.

From elsewhere in this Torah portion we learn our ancestors built the mishkan from valuable materials - gold, silver, linen dolphin skins, acacia wood, and precious stones. Our ancestors were trained and experienced craftspeople that spent many hours shaping and finishing the wood, the metal, the gems, and the skins. More than that the valuable materials were freely and generously donated without coercion, card-calling, Super Sunday, or the promise of a naming opportunity.

From the Kotzker Rebbe and Ray Kinsella we learn if you carefully, patiently and generously build a mishkan in your heart;

If you take your Judaism and your Jewish identity seriously;

If you find a category of mitzvot to embrace and practice - Shabbat, Zedakah, or maybe Zionism;

If your participate in our community's activities and try to live a thoughtful, considerate, and ethical life guided by our tradition;

The sanctuary will rise inside you,

The wings of the cruvim will stretch toward each other,

And you will hear inside you a voice - the words, the love, and the encouragement of Ad-nai our God.

Shabbat shalom to you - Shabbat shalom.