By: Lower School Judaic Studies Teacher, Esther Saghian
This week's portion, Teruma, describes the Tabernacle and everything inside it, through the donations and contributions of Bnei Yisrael.
The contributions made to the Tabernacle have two dimensions:
- The act of donation—which removes the contribution from the owner’s private possession, the realm of the mundane.
- The act of collection—which elevates the contribution to become the property of the Tabernacle.
This represents two modes of Divine Service:
- Refraining from evil—by which a person removes himself from undesirable habits and actions.
- Doing good—through which he elevates this world towards the perfection for which it was originally intended.
In practice, the act of donation did not have to be accompanied by holy intentions, whereas the act of collection did. This teaches us that when we refrain from doing bad, the purity of our intentions is not of paramount importance. But when we do good deeds and mitzvos, thereby making a “home” for God in this world, pure intentions are of the utmost importance.