PARSHA POSTS: TERUMAH

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Mar 6, 2025, 10:45 PM

Our Sacred Spaces – Terumah/Shabbat Shekalim 5785

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...

Mar 5, 2025, 9:06 PM

Terumah: The First Synagogue

'Entry of a Synagogue in Jerusalem' by Levi Meir Clancy (2021)

ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. (Ex.25:8) Filled with intricate detail, Terumah introduces us to the Mishkan or the Tabernacle, the precursor to the Bet HaMikdash in which the nomadic...

Andy Blumenthal

Mar 2, 2025, 7:49 AM

Our Father in Heaven and On Earth

In this week's Torah portion, Terumah, G-d commands Israel to build a sanctuary for Him to dwell among them. To begin with, if you think about it, what an amazing concept that G-d of the universe wants to be close...

William Hamilton

Feb 28, 2025, 5:31 PM

Powerless or Compassionate-Power

A visit last week to the Tel Aviv Art Museum revealed two works that evoke Jewish powerlessness. One from 2023’s Nova Festival Massacre. Another from 1945 of a kneeled, desperate woman called Longing. The curator’s choice to put them...

Lila Shoshana Chertman

Feb 28, 2025, 3:14 PM

The Angels of Parshat Terumah

Today marks day 511 of Israel at war. Throughout this past year I have often felt upset with myself for feeling somewhat removed from these tragedies affecting my people, maybe some of you have felt that way too and...

Feb 28, 2025, 1:18 PM

Justice for Queen Athaliah: Parshat Terumah and Shekalim

Writing about parshat terumah is always very difficult for me. I have problems with what is often called the Edifice Complex. I have no problem with the idea of contributions (terumot), but I do have problems with all the...

Feb 28, 2025, 1:17 PM

As We Escort the Bibas Children, What Do We Think?

Orange balloons ascend into the sky as over 100,000 Israelis gather to accompany the funeral procession of Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas. Photo: MathKnight

In silence and somberness, 100,000 Israelis lined the roads, escorting the bodies of Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas, of blessed memory, on their way to burial. As they stood alone with their thoughts, waiting for the procession of a mother...

Tzvi Gleiberman

Feb 28, 2025, 12:22 PM

Gifts That Matter

This past Wednesday, the entire country was crying during the funeral of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas. During one of the speeches, Ofri Bibas Levy, Yarden’s sister, said about her nephew Kfir, “We didn’t get to do anything together...

Feb 28, 2025, 12:14 PM

Thank God, It’s Adar! The Transformative Power of Joy

Today and tomorrow we celebrate the beginning of the month of Adar, and it's not a moment too soon. The Sages teach that “mi she’nichnas Adar, marbin b’simcha/when Adar enters, we increase in joy” (Taanis 29a:18), and we can...

Feb 28, 2025, 8:20 AM

Singing the Blueprint – Terumah

Who sings an architectural blueprint? We do. Every year, at bar or bat mitzvahs, a cantor or rabbi sings the Torah’s melodies, voicing the detailed formula for constructing the Tabernacle. Here, architecture melds with music and other dimensions of...

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