Terumah – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

מקשה תיעשה המנורה

Hammered out shall the Menorah be made. (25:31)

The Menorah consisted of a number of shapes and forms, all of which were hammered out from one large ingot of gold. Nothing was made separately and attached. The Midrash relates that Moshe Rebbeinu had great difficulty in creating the Menorah. He could not visualize the finished product. Hashem went as far as to show him a Menorah made of fire. Still, Moshe felt uncertain concerning making the Menorah in accordance with Hashem’s plan. It was then that Hashem instructed Moshe to fling the ingot into a fire, such that a completed Menorah miraculously emerged. In other words, the Menorah…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Terumah

“You shall place in the Aron the Testimonial – tablets that I shall give you.” (25:16)

In the Talmud Megillah 10b, Chazal relate that the Aron Ha’kodesh was not included in the measurements of the Bais HaMikdash. Due to its spiritual nature, it did not occupy any physical space. The Kodshei Ha’kodoshim measured twenty amos by twenty amos. The Aron had twenty amos of space on each side of it. Now, where did the Aron stand? This proves that the Aron miraculously took up no space. One would think that if such a miracle was done for the Aron which was solely a repository for the Torah and the Luchos, then the Torah and Luchos which…

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ועשו ארון עצי שטים אמתים וחצי ארכו ואמה וחצי רחבו ואמה וחצי קמתו וצפית אתו זהב טהור מבית ומחוץ תצפנו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Terumah, 5776

They shall make an Ark of shittim wood, two and a half cubits its length; a cubit and a half its width; and a cubit and a half its height. You shall cover it with pure gold, from within and from without shall you cover it. (25:10, 11)

The construction of the Mishkan — its various components and accompanying vessels — is replete with symbolism. The materials used for the Mishkan, its very measurements, and the manner of constructing its components are a source for much exposition by the various commentators. While we are not on the level of comprehending the mystical aspects and secrets involved in this holy edifice, there is great practical application to be derived from what we are able to understand. The Chafetz Chaim explains the half-measurements of the Aron as alluding to the reality that no human being can claim to have achieved…

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והיו הכרובים פורשי כנפים למעלה... ופניהם איש אל אחיו אל הכפורת יהיו פני הכרובים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Terumah, 5776

The Keruvim shall be with wings spread upward… with their faces toward one another; toward the Cover shall be the faces of the Keruvim. (25:20)

In his commentary to the Torah, the Abarbanel writes that the phrase, “The Keruvim shall be with wings and spread upward,” alludes to the idea that all Jews should be focused on Heaven. A person’s mind determines his goals and objectives. His thoughts should be motivated; his values should concentrate on spiritual growth. If one is stimulated towards nurturing his spiritual dimension, he can be certain that everything else in life that matters– ethics, morals — will develop on a positive note. When one’s values are distorted, the distortion takes its toll on everything else in his life, leaving him…

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ועשית את הקרשים למשכן עצי שטים עמדים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Terumah, 5776

You shall make the planks of the Mishkan of shittim wood, standing erect. (26:15)

The Midrash (Shemos Rabba 35:2) derives an important lesson from the Torah’s requirement that wood used for the Mishkan be shittim, acacia wood. The acacia tree is a non-fruit bearing tree. Hashem said, “If a person wants to use wood to build for himself a house, he should take into account that the King of Kings, to whom everything belongs, chose non-fruit bearing trees as a source of wood for the Mishkan; likewise, man should do the same.” Just because we want to build a house for ourselves, it does not mean that we have the right to destroy a…

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ועשית את המזבח עצי שטים... ושלש אמות קמתי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Terumah, 5776

You shall make the Altar of shittim wood… and three cubits its height. (27:1)

The Baalei Tosfos teach that the three amos/cubits height of the Mizbayach, Altar, coincided with the three redeemers who acted on behalf of Klal Yisrael: Moshe Rabbeinu; Aharon HaKohen; Miriam HaNeviah. We wonder why Miriam is included. There is no mention anywhere of her role as redeemer. Why is she included? What did she do to facilitate the redemption that warrants her inclusion in this triumvirate? Horav Chaim Zaitchik, zl, explains that it was exactly this act of facilitating that grants her mention as one of the three redeemers. The Talmud Sotah 12a states that Miriam’s father, Amram, was one…

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ויעתר יצחק לד' לנכח אשתו כי עקרה היא ויעתר לו ד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Terumah, 5776

Yitzchak entreated Hashem opposite his wife, because she was barren. Hashem allowed Himself to be entreated by him. (25:21)

Rashi explains that Hashem listened to Yitzchak’s plea over that of Rivkah, because there is no comparison between the effect of the prayer offered by a tzaddik ben tzaddik, righteous person who is the son of a righteous person, to that of a tzaddik ben rasha, righteous person whose father was evil. Rashi’s explanation is well-known, and it sets the standard for tefillah: A person’s righteous lineage makes a difference. This obviously presents a question to the rational mind: Is the efficacy of the prayers of someone whose roots are murky intrinsically limited? One would assume that the tefillos of…

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ויחרד יצחק חרדה גדולה עד מאד

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Terumah, 5776

And Yitzchak trembled in very great perplexity. (27:33)

Chazal teach us that the words, gedolah ad meod, “very great perplexity,” mean that the fear that Yitzchak Avinu experienced when Eisav walked in was even greater than when he lay at the Akeidah about to be slaughtered. Imagine, up until this moment, Yitzchak was under the impression that Eisav was fine, upstanding and observant. He would ask him halachic questions which, by their very nature, indicated that he was extremely stringent in his observance. Suddenly, the floor fell out from beneath him, and he saw Eisav in his true colors, for all that he was. The shock of discovery…

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וישא עשו קולו ויבך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Terumah, 5776

And Eisav raised his voice and wept. (27:38)

Yaakov Avinu received the blessings from his father, Yitzchak Avinu. He had barely left the room before Eisav returned with his father’s meal. Eisav had been sent to prepare a special meal for his father, so that his father would bless him. Following his mother, Rivkah Imeinu’s instructions, Yaakov entered the room first, giving the impression that he was Eisav, and preventing the blessings from falling into the hands of the evil Eisav. Understandably, Eisav did not react kindly to this scenario. Feeling that he was the victim of fraud, having been outsmarted by his brother, he let out a…

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ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Terumah, 5775

And let them take for Me a Terumah/portion. (25:2)

The pasuk has been used for much homiletic discourse concerning the attitude one should manifest upon contributing to a worthy cause. In V’chai Bahem from Horav Weiss, zl, the author quotes the well-known concept, posited by the Baal Shem Tov, that the faults a person notices in others are actually his own failings. Since Ein adam ro’eh nigei atzmo, “One does not perceive his own plagues/failings/shortcomings/indiscretions.” We notice everything regarding others, but never that which applies to us. Thus, the pasuk is informing us that, whatever indiscretions one notices in others, are a mirror image of his own failings. Likewise,…

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מקשה תיעשה המנורה

Hammered out shall the Menorah be made. (25:31)

“You shall place in the Aron the Testimonial – tablets that I shall give you.” (25:16)

ועשו ארון עצי שטים אמתים וחצי ארכו ואמה וחצי רחבו ואמה וחצי קמתו וצפית אתו זהב טהור מבית ומחוץ תצפנו

They shall make an Ark of shittim wood, two and a half cubits its length; a cubit and a half its width; and a cubit and a half its height. You shall cover it with pure gold, from within and from without shall you cover it. (25:10, 11)

והיו הכרובים פורשי כנפים למעלה... ופניהם איש אל אחיו אל הכפורת יהיו פני הכרובים

The Keruvim shall be with wings spread upward… with their faces toward one another; toward the Cover shall be the faces of the Keruvim. (25:20)

ועשית את הקרשים למשכן עצי שטים עמדים

You shall make the planks of the Mishkan of shittim wood, standing erect. (26:15)

ועשית את המזבח עצי שטים... ושלש אמות קמתי

You shall make the Altar of shittim wood… and three cubits its height. (27:1)

ויעתר יצחק לד' לנכח אשתו כי עקרה היא ויעתר לו ד'

Yitzchak entreated Hashem opposite his wife, because she was barren. Hashem allowed Himself to be entreated by him. (25:21)

ויחרד יצחק חרדה גדולה עד מאד

And Yitzchak trembled in very great perplexity. (27:33)

וישא עשו קולו ויבך

And Eisav raised his voice and wept. (27:38)

ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו

And let them take for Me a Terumah/portion. (25:2)

YEARS

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