Terumah

(1) In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left the land of Egypt, in the month of Ziv—that is, the second month—in the fourth year of his reign over Israel, Solomon began to build the House of the LORD.

1. It is a positive mitzvah to build a house for God where offerings may be brought and to make pilgrimage to it three times a year as it says "and they shall make Me a sanctuary." The tabernacle which Moses made in the desert has already been described in the Torah, but it was a temporary measure, as it says "for you have not yet reached, etc."

2. As soon as the Israelites entered Eretz Yisrael, they set up the portable sanctuary (Mishkan) in Gilgal for the fourteen years during which they occupied and divided the land. From there they came to Shiloh and built a sanctuary of stones, over which they spread the curtains of the Mishkan, since it had no ceiling. The sanctuary of Shiloh lasted three hundred and sixty-nine years. It was destroyed when Eli died, so they came to Nov and built a sanctuary there. It was destroyed when Samuel died, so they came to Gibeon and built a sanctuary there. From Gibeon they came to Jerusalem to build the permanent sanctuary. Nov and Gibeon lasted fifty-seven years.

3. As soon as the Temple was built in Jerusalem, it was prohibited to build a sanctuary for the Lord or to offer a sacrifice in any other place. Only the Temple in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, was intended for all generations.

4. The building which Solomon built has already been described in I Kings. Similarly, the Temple which will be built in the future which is mentioned in Ezekiel, is not described clearly or completely. The people of the Second commonwealth built their Temple like Solomon's with some of the features described explicitly in Ezekiel.

There I will meet with you, and I will impart to you—from above the cover, from between the two cherubim that are on top of the Ark of the Pact—all that I will command you concerning the Israelite people.

Thus the main purpose of the Tabernacle was to contain a place in which the Divine Glory rests, this being the ark, just as He said, And there will I meet with thee, and I will speak with thee from above the ark-cover ... The secret of the Tabernacle is that the Glory which abode upon Mount Sinai [openly] should abide upon it in a concealed manner. For just as it is said there, And the glory of the Eternal abode upon Mount Sinai, and it is further written, Behold, the Eternal our G-d hath shown us His glory and His greatness, so it is written of the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Eternal filled the Tabernacle. Twice is this verse, and the glory of the Eternal filled the Tabernacle mentioned in connection with the Tabernacle, to correspond with His glory and His greatness ... And Scripture so states: where I will meet with you, to speak there unto thee; and it shall be sanctified by My glory, for there [in the Tabernacle] will be the appointed place for the Divine utterance, and it will be sanctified by My glory.

(16) Three times a year—on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, on the Feast of Weeks, and on the Feast of Booths—all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place that He will choose. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed,

The Gemara notes: And this is not in accordance with the opinion of this tanna, as it is taught in a baraita that Yoḥanan ben Dehavai says in the name of Rabbi Yehuda: One who is blind in one of his eyes is exempt from the mitzva of appearance, as it is stated: “Three occasions in the year all your males will appear [yera’e] before the Lord God” (Exodus 23:17). Since there are no vowels in the text, this can be read as: All your males will see [yireh] the Lord God. This teaches that in the same manner that one comes to see, so he comes to be seen: Just as the usual way to see is with both one’s eyes, so too the obligation to be seen applies only to one who comes with the sight of both his eyes. Therefore, one who is blind in one eye is not obligated in the mitzva of appearance in the Temple.

YERA'E YIREH It is written Yera'e but we can read it yireh ... Scripture compared between your vision and his vision. Just as He (God) came to see you, so He comes to be seen by you. And just as He sees you with both His eyes, so he should be seen by man with man's two eyes.

The Gemara relates that when Rav Huna reached this verse, which can be read as: “Will see” [yireh] and “shall appear” [yera’e], he cried. He said: Can it happen to a slave whose master expects to see him, that the master will eventually distance himself from him and not want him anymore? As it is written: “When you come to appear before Me, who has required this at your hand, to trample My courts?” (Isaiah 1:12).

(10) Hear the word of the LORD, you chieftains of Sodom; give ear to our God’s instruction, you folk of Gomorrah! (11) “What need have I of all your sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am sated with burnt offerings of rams, and suet of fatlings, and blood of bulls; and I have no delight in lambs and he-goats. (12) That you come to appear before Me - who asked that of you, to trample My courts?

(3) And these are the gifts that you shall accept from them: gold, silver, and copper; (4) blue, purple, and crimson yarns, fine linen, goats’ hair; (5) tanned ram skins, dolphin skins, and acacia wood; (6) oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the aromatic incense; (7) lapis lazuli and other stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.

The Gemara asks: What is the halakhic conclusion reached about this matter of the taḥash that existed in the days of Moses? Rabbi Ela said that Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said that Rabbi Meir used to say: The taḥash that existed in the days of Moses was a creature unto itself, and the Sages did not determine whether it was a type of undomesticated animal or a type of domesticated animal. And it had a single horn on its forehead, and this taḥash happened to come to Moses for the moment while the Tabernacle was being built, and he made the covering for the Tabernacle from it. And from then on, the taḥash was suppressed and is no longer found.

It is written (Shemot 26): The center bar halfway up the planks. R. Levi said: the central plank was 32 cubits long. Where did they find it? We learn that they had these trees with them since the days of Ya'akov, as it is written (there 35): and everyone who had in his possession acacia wood. It doesn't say "found with him" but rather "in his possesion".

AND ACACIA-WOOD. Some of our ancient sages said that the patriarch Jacob planted acacia trees in Egypt, and Israel, upon the command of Moses, brought them out. And every man, with whom was found acacia-wood…brought it (Ex. 35:24) is proof of this. They possessed acacia as they possessed the blue and the purple. However, one wonders, why does Scripture say, with whom was found, which means it was used for personal needs. Now, if we so interpret it, then we must ask, why did the Israelites take acacia wood out of Egypt? What need did they have for acacia wood? Furthermore, it is clear that the Egyptians thought that the Israelites were going to offer sacrifices and then return to Egypt. That is why the Egyptians lent the Israelites [gold and silver jewels plus raiment]. How could the Israelites take out many boards, each one of which was ten cubits? The boards were also accompanied by bars. In Egypt they passed by the seat of the king. What was their answer to those who asked them why they were carrying acacia wood when they were going on a three-day journey to offer sacrifices? Now we do not know whether our ancestors had a tradition that the Israelites took the acacia wood out of Egypt. If they did, then we will accept their tradition.

However, if their statement is based on reasoning, then we must seek another explanation. We suggest that there was a forest of acacia trees next to Mount Sinai. When Israel came to Sinai, Moses told them that they would be spending a long time there. I have already explained that there was no cloud over them at this time. Each one of them then made a booth. The princes made court-like structures, each one in accordance with his status. They cut the entire forest down, for they were a large nation. They made booths. Moses did not speak to them regarding the tabernacle until after the Day of Atonement. This is the meaning of with whom was found (Ex. 35:24).

ועצי שטים, “and (boards of) acacia trees.” There were forests in the desert in which these trees grew. This is why the Israelites were described as dwelling at Shittim, (Numbers 25,1).

They ate of the produce (meavor) of the country: They ate matza and parched grain from the old grain, since the new grain was forbidden to them until after the bringing of the omer on the sixteenth of Nissan. And even for matza, matza is forbidden from the new grain... And from where did they have old grain? From that which the merchants of the [other] nations sold to them. And the word meavor proves that it was from the old grain. For I say that the grain that is from the year that passed (avrah) is called avor, and [grain from] the next year is called produce (tevuah).

IT SHALL BE A CONTINUAL BURNT-OFFERING THROUGHOUT YOUR GENERATIONS. They shall bring these offerings when they enter the land of Canaan. For the Israelites offered burnt offerings only for fifty days in the desert of Sinai ... Logically speaking, the Israelites offered burnt offerings and sacrifices only at Sinai and on Yom Kippur in the second year ... Israel spent about thirty-eight years in a wasteland, in a howling wilderness (Deut. 32:10). Where did they get half a hin of olive oil and a half hin of wine daily? How could they carry almost fourteen thousand hin around with them? Where did they get two lambs daily in the first year? Where did they get the animals for the additional sacrifices on the Sabbath and the festivals? The statement we and our cattle (Num. 20:4) does not refute our contention, for Israel was then at Kadesh, and they bought cattle from the settled population. Furthermore, they looted the Midianites and the lands of Sihon and Og in that year. They thus had an abundance of cattle.

(10) They shall make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. (11) Overlay it with pure gold—overlay it inside and out—and make upon it a gold molding round about. (12) Cast four gold rings for it, to be attached to its four feet, two rings on one of its side walls and two on the other. (13) Make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold; (14) then insert the poles into the rings on the side walls of the ark, for carrying the ark. (15) The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark: they shall not be removed from it. (16) And deposit in the Ark [the tablets of] the Pact which I will give you.

Not to remove the staves from the Ark, as it is said, “…. they shall not be taken from it” (Ex. 25:15).

It is from the roots of the commandment [that it is] because the ark is the residence of the Torah, and [the latter] is our essence and our glory. And [so], we have been commanded all glory and all majesty towards it, to all of our ability. Therefore, we were commanded not to remove the poles of the ark from it, lest we need to go out with the ark to any place quickly, and maybe due to the preoccupation and the rush, we will not check well that its poles are strong enough; and lest, God forbid, it will fall from their hands, and this is not [fit for] its glory...

(22) There I will meet with you, and I will impart to you—from above the cover, from between the two cherubim that are on top of the Ark of the Pact—all that I will command you concerning the Israelite people.

(6) From the day that I brought the people of Israel out of Egypt to this day I have not dwelt in a house, but have moved about in Tent and Tabernacle.

(13) I have now built for You a stately House, a place where You may dwell forever.”

(8) The poles projected so that the ends of the poles were visible in the sanctuary in front of the Shrine, but they could not be seen outside; and there they remain to this day.

(6) And make fifty gold clasps, and couple the cloths to one another with the clasps, so that the tabernacle becomes one whole.

[THAT THE TABERNACLE MAY BE ONE WHOLE.] But the term tabernacle refers to the ten curtains. And yet the tabernacle is called one, and it encompasses all ten [curtains] for all physical entities are made of various elements. Similarly God the revered, who is One. God includes everything and is called One. The same is true with the microcosm and the macrocosm.

(5) God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.

(9) God said, “Let the water below the sky be gathered into one area, that the dry land may appear.” And it was so.

(24) Hence a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, so that they become one flesh.

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is One.