Terumah
Exodus 25:1 – 27:19
God instructs Moses to collect voluntary offerings from the people — gold, silver, copper, fine fabrics, wood, oil, and precious stones — to build a Sanctuary where God's presence will dwell among Israel. Detailed instructions follow for the construction of the Ark of the Covenant with its golden cherubim, the Table of the Showbread, the seven-branched Menorah, the Tabernacle's curtains and coverings, its wooden boards and sockets, and the copper altar and surrounding courtyard. The parasha establishes the principle that the infinite God desires to dwell in a finite, human-made structure.
Key figures
- Moses — Receives the detailed blueprint for the Tabernacle from God on Sinai
- God — Commands the construction of a dwelling place among the people
Famous verses
- 25:2 "Speak to the children of Israel, that they take for Me an offering; of every man whose heart makes him willing you shall take My offering.
- 25:8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
- 25:22 And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the ark-cover, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
Haftarah: {'ref': 'I Kings 5:26-6:13', 'connection': 'Solomon builds the Temple in Jerusalem, fulfilling the vision that began with the Tabernacle — God promises to dwell among Israel if they keep His commandments.'}
Total gematria: 421,671.