Parashat
Trumah introduces us to several new terms and concepts that we have not
encountered hitherto. "Truma",
translated “contribution”, is derived from the root r.o.m (resh, vav, mem) – meaning "high up, to
lift up, to exalt". Having warranted such a term, this type of contribution
was obviously held in high esteem by the Almighty. Furthermore, it also speaks
of its Originator and His exalted position. The description of the
potential “contributor” as a person whose "heart generously impels
him", reinforces the significance of this offering. "Yidvenu" is the verb used here, meaning
to “cause one to be generous", stemming from the root n.d.v. (noon,
dalet, bet/vet), which is also: "willing, noble, volunteer, freewill
offering". Copious rain,
for example, is "geshem n'davot"
(Ps. 68:9). Other examples of the usage of this word are found in Hoshe’a
(Hosea) 14:4 where YHVH declares: "I will love them [Yisrael] freely"
(italics added), and in Shoftim (Judges) 5:9 D'vorah describes the lawgivers of
Yisrael, as those who "freely offered themselves among the
people" (italics added). This contribution, therefore, was to be given freely
or generously (see 25:3-7), and was to include gold and silver (being undoubtedly
the gifts the Egyptians gave to the Hebrew people). The articles of “trumah”
were intended for the building of the “holy sanctuary - mikdash - for YHVH” (v. 8), so that He
will "dwell among them" (v. 8; cf. Ezekiel 37:26-28; 43:9b).
The sanctuary in the desert is more often called "mishkan"
(v. 9), meaning "a dwelling place". However, being its first time
mention, it may have been necessary to clarify that this place was to be set apart and dedicated to the presence of YHVH, hence "mikdash". “And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell
among them”. (“ve’sha’chanti,” hence “mishkan” – dwelling place). “The
text does not say 'that I may dwell in its midst,' but 'among them,' to teach
you that the Divine Presence does not rest on the sanctuary by virtue of the
sanctuary, but by virtue of Israel, 'for they are the temple of the Lord.’” To
these words by the Zedah La-derekh Commentary, we add another. In referring to
the same text, Malbim comments: "He commanded that each individual should
build him a sanctuary in the recesses of his heart, that he should prepare
himself to be a dwelling place for the Lord and a stronghold for the excellence
of His Presence, as well as an altar on which to offer up every portion of his
soul to the Lord, until he gives himself for His glory at all times".[1]
The Almighty says of Himself in Yishayahu (Isaiah) 66:1:
“The heaven is My throne and the earth My footstool - where is the house that
you may build for me?" (cf. I Kings 8:27). This sanctuary, therefore, is a
place where the “creature” could have a measure of access to its Creator and
experience His love, justice and forgiveness. The sanctuary is a tangible place
of meeting (ref. Ex. 25:22) for the
sake of human beings who are confined to time and space.
The first article that is to be built is the "aron" (25:10). We have already
encountered this term (which means a “chest”, or an “ark”, and a sarcophagus
– i.e. a stone coffin) in B’resheet (Genesis) 50:26, where reference was made
to Yoseph's embalming and burial. This wooden case, overlaid with gold, was to
be the Ark temple of Elohim
"You are
to make a cover for the ark out of pure gold" (25:17). This "cover",
translated in English “mercy seat”, is the familiar "kaporet" of the root k.f.r (from which stems
"kippur" - "propitiation" and literally means “cover”). On
this cover were to be placed two gold k'ruvim
(cherubs). In the Assyrian language "kruv" (singular) is “to be
gracious or to bless", with its adjective meaning "great or
mighty". In Shmuel Bet (2nd Samuel) 22:11, we read that YHVH "rode on a k'ruv, and did fly,
and was seen on the wings of the wind". Likewise, the k'ruvim were also
placed as guards preventing entry to the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:24). Here on
the other hand, their presence signifies accessibility to the Most High. It
will be “from between the two cherubim” that YHVH will “meet” and “speak… about
everything which [He] will give… in commandment…” (25:22). The k'ruvim were to
be situated in such a way that their faces
– panim - would be turned toward each other (v.
20). In verse 30 we read about "the table of showbread" being the
table of "lechem hapanim", literally "bread of the
face".
"Panim" stems from the root
"pana" (p.n.h - pey, noon, hey), meaning "to turn". There
are several other words (usually with an added preposition) connected to the
same root, such as "in front of, before, toward, corner, attend to,
undertake, take away and clear". "Panim", as are several other
Hebrew words, always occurs in the plural form. Thus its very meaning and usage
take into account the existence and presence of someone else, whom one is
potentially facing (by turning one’s head). This is evident here by the
description of the k'ruvim's position: “…and their faces [are turned] each toward its brother" (v. 20 literal
translation). The "bread
of the face" (v. 30) is a seemingly obscure term which requires an
explanation. There are numerous instances where YHVH speaks of His Presence in terms of "panim"
(although it may not be borne out by the English translations), as we saw for
example in last week's Parasha, “…they shall not appear before Me [literally - My Face] empty-handed" (Ex.
23:15). The "bread of the
face" therefore refers to YHVH's Presence which is turned toward His
creatures, an image that clearly foreshadows the "Bread of Life" as epitomized
in and by Yeshua.3
The way in
which YHVH was to meet and speak between the cherubim remains the million and
one dollar/euro (choose your currency) question. Our only clue are the
respective meanings of the terms “kaporert”, “k’ruv/k’ruvim”, and “panim”,
which point not to the physical dimension, but rather to the qualitative and
spiritual aspect of this awesome “meeting”.
Following the
descriptions of the Ark Land
of Promise
“The beautiful almond tree, whose white and pink
blossoms are the first to emerge from winter dormancy, dominating the landscape
of Israel Land of Yisrael
There is yet another tree which is connected to the
Menorah, one whose oil was to feed it, and that is the olive tree. In Yisrael
the sight of the newly blossoming almonds in spring, strewn in the olive groves,
is a reminder that YHVH "watches over His word to perform it",
especially to the proverbial ‘olive tree’ - Yisrael (see Jer. 11:16; Rom.
11:17, 24).
As was already mentioned, the two k’ruvim above the
kaporet (mercy ‘seat’), and also those woven on the veil (Ex. 26:31) recall the
ones mentioned in B’resheet (Genesis) 3:24, whose function (with the flaming
sword) was to guard the way to the Tree
of Life in the Garden of Eden. But in addition to this feature, several other
ones are associated with the Garden. The entrance to the Garden as well as to
the Mishkan was in the east side (Gen. 3:24; Ex. 26:22 - the far end of the
Mishkan was to the west, thus the entrance would have been from the eastern
side). We also saw above the Menorah’s similarity to a tree. Placed at the
center of the Mishkan it may be linked to the Tree of Life “in the midst of the
Garden” (Gen. 2:9). Man was put in the Garden to “work (la’avod)
and keep (lishmor)” it (Gen. 2:15), while the Ko’hanim (priests) were also said
to have to “keep” (tend) – lishmor – the Mishkan and its articles, and “to do
the work of the Mishkan” (Num. 3:7-8). Lastly, Moshe was to make tunics for
A’haron and his sons and then to clothe them (Ex. 28:40), with the same word
for “tunics” - ku’tanot - being used for
the skin tunics that YHVH made for man and woman, with which He dressed them
(Gen. 3:21).
The edifice of the sanctuary was a tent, "ohel", with a primary meaning (in
some of the ancient languages of the Middle East )
of “to settle down and be inhabited, settlement, and city". This temporary
and collapsible structure, which was essentially made of cloth, skins and
wooden poles, and housed a number of articles that were made of a variety of
materials for diverse purposes, illustrates a very central scriptural
principle. Twice in the midst of instructions relating to the tent's several
components we read, “and it shall be one - echad" (26:6,11). This
demonstrates that it is the varied components that make up the "whole",
or the "one", as well as "oneness" and "unity”.
Most times
“echad” is used to denote simply a singular “one” (e.g. Gen. 42:13), but
undoubtedly the most well known occurrence of this word is found in the
“Sh’ma”: “Hear Oh Israel Israel
Adding to the oneness of the Mishkan is the description
of joining the curtains and the loops (26:3,5,6). The word for “curtain”
here is “y’ree’a”, and for “loop” - “loo’la’a”, both being
in the feminine gender. In joining them “one to another” the Hebrew employs anthropomorphism
(personification) and reads: “a befriending (“joining” being of
the root ch.v.r meaning to bind together and “friend”) of
one woman (one curtain/one loop) to her sister (i.e. to another identical
curtain/loop)”. In this way, even the technical instructions for the construction
of the Mishkan exemplify oneness and relationship.
The boards that were to make up the structure of the
Mishkan had to be held together with “tenons” (26:17): “binding one to
the other…” Here again in Hebrew it is: “one woman to her sister…” while the
(silver) sockets (v. 19) being a masculine noun, are called “adanim”,
stemming from the root a.d.n (alef, dalet, noon) which means “sustaining,
providing a base”. It is from this root that the word “adon” – master – is derived
and hence Adonai – the Sustainer and the One who has set up the foundations and
who uphold everything. In verse 31 we encounter the veil that was to enclose
the Kodesh Kodashim (“Holy of Holies”), called “parochet” – a divider,
separator. Ironically, the Egyptians were described as “making the children of Israel
Three times in this Parasha we read that Moshe is told
to make the articles and the Mishkan, “according to that which you were shown
on the mountain" (25:40; 26:30; 27:8). When and where was he shown
"the pattern"? If we refer to the end of last week's Parasha we may
find the answer: "And the glory of YHVH dwelt on the mountain of Sinai
This question will be answered partly in Parashat F’kudey, but also in our present
Parasha there are some notable parallels:
Above were
mentioned examples of the usage of “echad” (as we saw above), while in B’resheet
1:5 it says (as we have already noted above): “Elohim called the light Day,
and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and
the morning were the (literally) one
[echad] day.”
B’resheet 1:7 - “Elohim made
(va’ya’as) the firmament…”
Sh’mot 25:8 - “And let them make
(ve’a’su) Me a sanctuary”.
B’resheet 1:16 - “Then
Elohim made (va’ya’s) two great lights…”
Sh’mot 25:10 - “And they
shall make (ve’a’su) an ark”.
B’resheet 1:25 - “And Elohim made
(va’ya’s) the beast of the earth…”
Sh’mot 25:23 - “You shall also make (ve’a’sita) a table”.
Additionally,
as already mentioned, at the end of last week’s Parasha (Mishpatim) we read: “Now the glory of YHVH rested on Mount Sinai , and the cloud covered it six days.
And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud”
(Ex. 24:16 italics added). In parallel it says in Sh’mot 20:11: “For in
six days YHVH made the
heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested
the seventh day” (italics added).
1 New Studies in Shmot Part 2,
Nechama Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh Newman.
Eliner
Library, Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora.
Hemed Books Inc., Brooklyn , N.Y.
2 Moses on the Witness Stand, Shlomo Ostrovski, Keren
Ahava Meshichit,
3 See
blogspots for 2 related articles
4 Nature in Our Biblical Heritage, Nogah Hareuveni,
trans. Helen Frenkley, Neot
Kdumim Ltd. Lod ,
Israel
5
New Studies in Shmot Part 2, Nechama Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh Newman.
Eliner Library, Department for Torah
Education and Culture in the Diaspora.
Hemed Books Inc., Brooklyn , N.Y.
Most of the word definitions were
extracted from: The New Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon, Francis Brown
Hendrickson. Publishers, Peabody ,
Mass.
Hebrew Tools for Everyday Use
This time we will utilize the Mishkan’s components
and apply them to everyday speech. The
term for “generous contributions” has not changed in Modern Hebrew. And as we
saw, from the root used in “socket” we also derived Adon and Adonai. In
contemporary usage “adon” is also a “gentleman” (“adonim” - gentlemen) or one
of the words for “mister”. “Panim” –
face – shares its root with “p’nim” – interior – and with “bifneem” – “inside”,
while the words describing the furniture inside the Mishkan, such as the ark
and lampstand are used in every day speech, respectively, as “closet/cabinet”
and “light fixture” or “lamp”. From the
root of Mishkan- sh.ch.n – we get “shachen” - neighbor.
The generous gentlemen
contribute to the Temple
(literally, the gentlemen the
generous…)
Ha’a’donim ha’ne’divim tormim
la’Mikdash
The generous gentleman
contributes to the Temple
Ha’adon ha’nadiv torem la’Mikdash
Inside there are a cabinet
and a lamp
Bi’fneem yesh aron
u’menorah
One neighbor (male)
Shachen e’chad
One neighbor (female)
Sh’chena achat
1 comment:
Hi Ephraim. This I Andrew Cottrell here, from South Africa. We met once in 1998 at De Bron in Holland at a NMCI conference. If you would like to say hello, I am at andfercot@outlook.com
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