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Friday, January 31, 2014 / ' "

Terumah

Candle Lighting: 5:22 Havdala: 6:26

Note: The Halachic times listed here are from www.myzmanim.com.

Mishkan Donations: Optional or Mandatory?

By Yael Blau, 11 th Grade
giving money to the Mishkan-one mandatory In this week's Parashah, Parashat Terumah, Hashem repeatedly says that the members of Bnei Yisrael are allowed to make donations to the Mishkan. It seems that it is a voluntary action; each individual can give as much or as little as they wish. In the Gemara, in Masechet Megillah, however, it says that each person was required to give at least half of a shekel. This seems to contradict what the psukim say! Is it voluntary or mandatory to fund the creation of the Mishkan? My grandfather, Rabbi Yosef Blau, answers that there were indeed two methods of and one voluntary. Everyone had to give a minimum amount, but each individual had the opportunity to make further donations. The two methods together represent our relationship with Hashem. There is a part of the relationship that is the same for each person, a basic relationship we all have with Hashem. We all must keep the same mitzvot and follow the same halachot. However, there is also a part of the relationship that is unique to each one of us. We have the ability to connect to Hashem in our own special way, to make our own donation to the relationship. May we all have the ability to strengthen both parts of our relationship with Hashem.

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G-d is in the Details

By Yonah Bar-Shain, 9 th Grade
Although at first glance this Parashah seems like it is full of technicalities and specifications, if we delve into some topics, we can learn some very intriguing ideas. In Shemot 25:10, it says, ,which translates into They shall make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. Now, why would Hashem command us to make the Aron with such odd measurements? A nice idea is that the Aron is supposed to be a symbol of Torah and constant need for more knowledge. The half measurements teach us that our pursuit for knowledge is never complete, and even a Talmud Chacham can still learn more. We learn from Passuk 10 that the ark should be made out of acacia wood, but then pasuk 11 tells us that it should be coated with gold on the inside and outside: , ; , " ". What is the significance of using these layers? It would make sense to use gold on the outside, because it makes the Aron look nice, and would show it is extremely holy, but if nobody sees the inside, then why should it be made with gold? Well, we learn from the Gemara in Yoma 72b something interesting. . Raba quotes this Passuk and states that any Talmud Chacham that is not the same way on the inside as he is on the outside is not a Talmud Chacham. He equates this to the Aron needing to be nice and holy on the outside, but also having to be the same on the inside. Rabban Gamliel also deals with the concept of in Berachot 28a where he says - . This shows how seriously Rabban Gamliel took the concept of . He would only let someone into the Beit Midrash if they thought the same way they acted. Just like the Aron, students of Rabban Gamliel needed to be as pure and righteous on the inside as the outside. We learn that we too, need to have exemplify integrity and have to refrain from hypocrisy. Lastly, if we have such a pure substance (gold), then why should we bother having the intermediary layer of acacia wood? A nice idea is taught that this layer of mundane wood is there to show us that we need to be modest and humble throughout our daily lives, and we cant always think we are such great people.

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Does the End Justify the Means?

By Rav Dovale Shachor
Moshe Rabenu gives instructions to Bnei Yisrael to build the Mishkan and all the utensils needed in it to worship Hashem, as required. In a later portion (VaYakhel), we learn that when Moshe gave these instructions he first started by warning them that, although they are building a holy Mishkan and holy utensils, they must not desecrate the Shabbat. Many people think that when they are doing a worthy Mitzvah they can overlook some of their actions that are not legally or religiously correct. As the famous saying goes, the end justifies the means. The idea behind this clich is that in some instances, one may use unjustified means, or even illegal means, in order to accomplish a worthy cause. Here, we see from the Torah that this is not an acceptable Jewish concept. Even when doing a Mitzvah, you must be careful not to do anything wrong along the way. Some unscrupulous individuals feel that they can cheat, lie, and deceive when they are doing a charitable act. The Torah tells us in certain terms that this is wrong. We often read in the newspaper about people who have been caught performing illegal actions while they were doing certain commendable things. It happens to us so many times that when we are trying to help our friends, on the way we arent so nice to each other. Even when working on a worthy cause, remember what is right and what is wrong.

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Shabbat Table Discussion Questions:

By Avi Hartstone, 10 t h Grade
1. 2. 3. Why does Hashem need such extravagant things for His Mishkan? (25:1-7) If the Luchot were to be stored in the Aron, where were they before it was built? (25:17) How could there be statues in the Mishkan, like the Cherubim, that so closely resemble Avodah Zarah? (25:21) Why must there constantly be bread before Hashem? (25:30) Why were the board sockets for the Mishkan made of silver and not gold if gold is more precious? (26:25)
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4. 5.

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Brought to you by: Staff: Editor in Chief- Ari Bar-Shain Associate Editors- Eli Meyers, Etan Soclof, and Yosef Coleman Layout Manager- Zev Karasik Faculty Consultant-Rav Rick Schindelheim Distribution Manager-Rivka Coleman Faculty Manager-Yael Blau Head Writers-Avi Hartstone and Zak Fleischman Student Writers: o Alan Soclof o Ami Shamir o Ben Jaffe o Bentzion Goldman o Ilan Senders o Jenna Fox o Jennifer Brenis o Joey Senders o Michael Brenis o Mordechai Blau o Sarah Pincus o Seth Weiss o Sonny Kugelman o Talya Engelhart o Yonah Bar-Shain o Zach Zlatin o Ziva Bibbins

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