TERUMAH, EXODUS 25:1–27:19, Rosh Chodesh Adar, Shabbat Shekalim

 TERUMAH, EXODUS 25:1–27:19, Rosh Chodesh Adar, Shabbat Shekalim

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At 25: 2, Hashem speaks to Moshe:

דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיִקְחוּ-לִי תְּרוּמָה:  מֵאֵת כָּל-אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ, תִּקְחוּ אֶת-תְּרוּמָתִי

“Speak to the children of Israel, and have them take for Me an offering; from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My offering”.

When the B'nei Yisrael give from their heart they are transformed into the Am Yisrael, the People of Israel, the Jewish people.

Rabbi Wein has something to say about the aspect of voluntary giving associated with the building of the Mishkan:

Fund raising -  https://www.rabbiwein.com/blog/post-1739.html

“The demand of the Torah is not only to give from our heart but to give our heart itself to the exalted cause and spiritual greatness of the tabernacle/mishkan. It is not a donation that the Torah asks of us, rather it is a commitment of self that is demanded. The tabernacle/mishkan has long ago disappeared from our physical view but its lessons remain relevant and important to us today as when they were taught millennia ago”.

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There is a connection between Rosh Chodesh 1Adar which falls on Friday and the current Parshah. This connection is in regard to the construction of the Mishkan. According to the Talmud (Tractate Megillah 22b), women are forbidden to engage in work on Rosh Chodesh. Rashi comments: Women must refrain: spinning, weaving, and sewing—the skills that women contributed to the building of the Mishkan.

There is a Midrash, (Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, Chapter 45), as paraphrased explores this further: Aaron argued with himself, saying: "If I say to Israel, 'Give me gold and silver,' the men will bring it immediately; but behold if I will say to them, 'Give me the earrings of your wives and your sons,' the matter will immediately fail,"

"And Aaron said to them, 'Break off the golden rings.'" The women heard this, but they were unwilling to give their earrings to their husbands. The women said to them: "You want to make a graven image, a molten image (the Golden Calf) without any power in it to deliver.

"The Holy One, blessed be He, gave the women their reward in this world and the world to come. What reward did He give them in this world? That they should observe the new moons more stringently (not work) than the men. What reward will He give them in the world to come? They are destined to be renewed like the new moons, as it is said: "Who satisfies the years with good things; their youth is renewed like the eagle."

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There is a message in this week’s Torah portion Terumah which applies to our children and grandchildren.

The Torah portion concerns in part the building of the Mishkan, the portable dwelling place for HaShem that we carried during our wandering in the desert.

In the most sacred part of the Mishkan there was the Ark of the Covenant in which was contained the stone tablets, the Ten Commandments.  This Ark was a wooden box covered inside and out with gold. It had a golden cover on which stood two winged angelic beings called Cherubs, Cheruvim in the Hebrew plural. The cover and the Cherubs were fashioned out of one block of pure gold. 

Because we Jews do not believe in idols or religious statuary, the presence of Cherubs in this holiest of places requires some explanation.  In Hebrew, the word Cherub is written כְּרוּב.  The letter כְּ is often translated “as” or “like”.  In Aramaic, רוּב is understood to mean “child”, so we get “like a child”.

 HaShem spoke to Moses from between the two Cheruvim. It is the Cheruvim that stood watch over the Ten Commandments.

Rashi explains that the Cherub or Cheruvim had the face of a child.  Their function was to guard or keep safe the most sacred of our religious objects.  And that means the Torah.  HaShem has placed the care of our Torah in the hands of our children and grandchildren.  

Young ones: Please do a good job.

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In Parshat Terumah, 25:8, Hashem says to Moshe:

וְעָשׂוּ לִי, מִקְדָּשׁ; וְשָׁכַנְתִּי, בְּתוֹכָם

 “Let them make Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them.”

 

Whether it be a Mishkan or a Temple I think we no longer need a structure or a building to house the presence of God. We have the Land of Israel which performs that sacred obligation.  Israel is the sanctuary that Hashem commanded us to build.  Israel is the מִקְדָּשׁ , a safe haven for us Jews as well as a private place for the presence of God.

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In this week’s Torah portion we receive detailed instructions regarding the construction of the משכן, the portable sanctuary, a dwelling place for Hashem’s presence.  A major component of theמשכן  is the Ark or Tabernacle:

The Ark is protected by two Cherubs.  These are winged-liked unearthly creatures that have the faces of children.  It is thought just as the Cherubs protect the Ark.

Today it is our children serving in the IDF who are protecting the nation, the Torah and our Jewish way of life.

The IDF has a religious women's combat group:

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-843074

In 2024 3,500 religious women joined the IDF, 350 of them opted for the role of a combat soldier.

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The Menorah is also part of the Mishkan. In the abstract it resembles a tree, perhaps the Tree of Life.  And when it branches are lit by Aaron the Kohen Gadol, the Menorah resembles Hashem’s Torah that gives light to us Jews and to the world at large.

There is a controversy as to the design of the Menorah's arms:

The Rambam says that they are straight.

The State of Israel has them rounded.

Pays your money; makes your choice.

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THE TACHASH

In Parshat Terumah we read about the offerings donated for the construction of the Mishkan. One of these offerings were Tachash skins.

 At 26:14 we are instructed that the roof of the Mishkan is to be made up of animal skins, red dyed ram skins and the uppermost layer is to be composed of “tachash” skins.

וְעָשִׂיתָ מִכְסֶה לָאֹהֶל, עֹרֹת אֵילִם מְאָדָּמִים, וּמִכְסֵה עֹרֹת תְּחָשִׁים, מִלְמָעְלָה

"And you shall make a covering for the tent of ram skins dyed red and a covering of tachash skins above”.

 

Additionally, in the Book of Numbers at Chapter 4 we learn that Tachash skins were used to wrap sacred objects and ready them for transport.

 

It is puzzling that the Sages and the Commentators do not know what the Tachash is.  It seems so obvious.

 

Since the Tachash forms the uppermost layer of the Mishkan roof the animal’s hide must have been tough and maybe sort a weather proofing material.

 

One Rabbi in the Talmud at tractate Shabbat 28a speculates that it came from an animal with a single horn. The Prophet Ezekiel at 16:10 has the Tachash being made into is disturbing skin.  

The Tachash is a hippopotamus.  They certainly roamed in Egypt and once roamed about in Israel.  

I want to explore a little more about the tachash:

 

Not Just Another Pretty Face

From learning about its purpose we can assume that Tachash skins offered some sort of protection. waterproof, weather-resistant, tough, and very durable. The skins also provided protection against narrows and missiles. 

But what animal is the Tachash? 

There is much speculation as to its identity: a unicorn or a one-horned rhinoceros, antelope, manatee, dolphin

In the Talmud Shabbat 28a the Tachash is identified as being similar to a multi-colored animal called a sasgona, סַסְגּוֹנָא, because it glistened with different colors. It was also identified as a tela ilan, תלא  אילן  another multicolored creature.

 A sure bet is that the Tachash is a Hippopotamus.

For one thing, a hippopotamus is not what you would call a thin-skinned creature.  Its skin is so thick that it is almost bullet proof, and at 1 ½ inches thick most certainly arrow proof.

A hippo is multicolored: The hippo's upper parts are purplish-grey to blue-black, while the under parts and areas around the eyes and ears can be brownish-pink.  Their skin secretes a natural sunscreen substance which is red-colored.

The Talmud, Shabbat 28a says that the Tachash was multicolored:

שיש בו גבוונין הרבה

“…in that it was multicolored…”

A hippopotamus’ upper parts are purplish-grey to blue-black, while the under parts and areas around the eyes and ears can be brownish-pink.  When out of the water they will secrete a red oily coating that protects its skin from drying out.

If you need a proof text, consider some verses from Chapter 40 of the Book of Job in which a monstrous primeval land animal who has enormous strength and is called a “Behemoth” is described and this creature resembles a hippopotamus:

40:15 - Behold now the Behemoth that I have made with you; he eats grass like an ox.

40:17 - His tail hardens like a cedar; the sinews of his testicles are knit together.

40:18 - His limbs are as strong as copper, his bones as a load of iron.

40:21 - He lies under the shadows, hidden in the reeds and the swamp.

The hippopotamus is large, very large; males weigh more than 4000 lb. The hippopotamus spends much of its time in lakes, swamps and rivers. Before becoming locally extinct they inhabited Egypt and the region known as the Levant, which includes Canaan.  Think of the Hula Valley and the area south of Tiberias.  Archaeological evidence exists of its presence in the Levant, dating to less than 3,000 years ago.

Hippos measure 10 to 17 feet in length, including a tail of about 1 to 2 feet in length. The testes of the males descend only partially.  Their diet in nature consists almost entirely of grass. They are considered to be extremely aggressive 

On an interesting note the most powerful land animal on Earth, the Behemoth/Hippopotamus is paired in the Book of Job with another primeval monstrous animal, the Leviathan. It is the most powerful sea creature on Earth and is thought by many to be a whale.  Whales and hippopotamuses share a common origin. The most recent theory of the origins of the Hippopotamus family suggests that hippos and whales shared a common semiaquatic ancestor that branched off from their common ancestor around 60 million years ago. This ancestral group then split into two branches around 54 million years ago.

And in the World to Come, as many believe, just as the skin of the Leviathan will serve as a tent for the righteous, perhaps it is only fitting that the skin of the hippopotamus served as a tent for us when we wandered in the Wilderness.

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ISHABBAT SHEKELIM

This Shabbat we celebrate the special Shabbat of Shekalim.

Shabbat Shekalim ("Sabbath of Shekels" שבת שקלים) requests each adult male Jew contribute half of a Biblical shekel for the upkeep of the Tabernacle, or Mishkan (משכן). The Torah portion Exodus 30:11-16 (the beginning of Parashat Ki Tisa) is read. This Shabbat takes place on the Shabbat before or on 1 Adar.

The Torah reading is as follows:

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying - “When you take a census of the Israelites by number, each man must give Hashem a ransom for his soul when they are counted, so there not be a plague among them when they are counted. This they shall give, everyone who goes through the counting: half a shekel according to the holy shekel. Twenty gerahs equal one shekel; half of [such] a shekel shall be an offering to Hashem. Everyone who goes through the counting, from the age of twenty and upward, shall give an offering to Hashem. The rich shall give no more, and the poor shall give no less than half a shekel, with which to give the offering to Hashem, to atone for your souls. You shall take the silver of the atonements from the children of Israel and use it for the work of the Tent of Meeting; it shall be a remembrance for the children of Israel before Hashem, to atone for your souls."

 

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