Terumah: Making Space for G-d
Transcript(from the video captions)
Let's pray. Vina Shabbash Shamayam, we bless and sanctify your name. We thank you so much for Shabbat, for this time of resting in you and making space for you in our lives. And I just pray that that would just resonate with us today. And and that you are our calling. Deep is crying out to deep. We thank you for for all you have done. We thank you for your word that is a light onto our path and that you literally are the light that dispels the darkness in our lives. So we just pray for your strong uninterrupted presence today in our lives in Yeshua's name. We've entered into the month of Adar as we all know now and and we're excitingly moving towards Porum and we can't wait. I can't wait for it. It's going to be amazing. It's really a season of of joy. Adar, we could say Adar Seaka. It is really a joyful time and the joy that comes with belonging that everybody here today, all of us that are here today, we belong. You belong here, right here in this place. And and Adar brings all of that together. And I want to bring something concrete this morning for some data. How many of you really find joy in
connecting face to face on Shabbat? Raise your hand. Ah, yes. Yes. Me, too. I I absolutely love it. Thank God we're not in those COVID times, you know, like, oh man, like we've moved way beyond that now. And I just absolutely love connecting face to face. There's really no substitution for that. And according to a Jewish study from Pew Research Center, most American Jews feel connected. They feel a sense of belonging to the Jewish people. But the Pew survey marks this critical distinction. This is very important. It is those that are actively engaged in communal life, shared worship, shared practices, shared responsibility report a much deeper sense of belonging and calling as they share their identity together than those who are not connected or in isolation somehow, which it happens, but especially in our culture and society. The Pew data is very important because it tells us that belief alone is not enough to generate belonging. Participation does. It's all about participation. And as I read and looked at this data, I said, "Wow, the Torah is really on to something. What is this Torah portion all about?"
participation, coming together, a building project. Actually, I Seth already said that, but the point is, yes, that's what it's all about. When we think about the Torah, the Torah had all this wisdom in mind long before this pew study was just a few years ago. But when God came and he wanted to form a peoplehood for himself, he didn't want to just call people who believed, although amuna belief it's so important, but he wanted to call a community together to carry his presence in the world. And that's why the Mishkan had to be carried and it had to be set up and broken down. It had to be carried by a people. Of course, the Levim, the Levites were were the ones that were on the carrying. But the point is that the community carried together. And so the building project in today's Torah portion starts out like this. Dear Elen, Israel Yei to Roma. Speak to the children of Israel that they may take for me a contribution. Now if we stop there, it doesn't tell us the whole story of what the contribution is. We're talking about Tumah. That's the contribution. Not one person, not the spiritual elite, but Israel
together, side by side, laboring together as they come together to build the Mishkan. togetherness, oct unity, shared purpose, shared calling, differentiated functions, but together as one people. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Saxs of Blessed Memory. Oh, do we miss his voice, but we have so much of his voice in us today and with us today. He taught that a society is like a home that we build together. And this is where true belonging comes together. It doesn't grow out of passive membership, but from shared contribution to a common project that transcends individual differences. Rabbi Lord Saxs actually wrote a book on all of this. But during our afternoon of worship on Sunday, our very own Seth Wexler said something really profound about this, about this shared purpose. and he said, "Those who sing together stay together." And I thought, "Wow, that's powerful, that statement. That's really powerful." And today, I I want to I want to play off of that. Thank you, Seth, for that. I want to play off of that because the Torah portion brings in something very related to that. And I want to tell you
that communities that build together stick together. That's what the Torah portion is bringing to us today. That is true sociologically, emotionally, and historically. When we build, we come together. Now, of course, it depends on what you're building. Not the Tower of Babel, right? We're not doing that. Okay? Make sure we're building something. Not building a golden calf. That's on the docket, I think, next week. So, but we're not doing that. We're building a place. We're building where the rabbis get the word shea. A dwelling place for Hashem to dwell among us. And that's what invites us in. It's an invitation to Roma. It be it it starts not with an obligation, not with coercion, but with an invitation right here in Exodus 25:2. share lab from anyone whose heart moves him. That's the contribution. That's the toma. Any anyone whose heart is lifted up is being is lifted up to God because God doesn't coersse generosity. But neither does he invite spectators. If somebody wants to be a spectator, then they're going to be a spectator. Hashem is inviting us into his presence through to Roma, our souls being lifted
up to him. Later, the Torah adds to this by saying that those who have willing hearts to Roma are going to flow in that's wisdom. Mina, that's understanding and dating and knowledge from the Holy One of Israel to build together a place for Hashem to flow through us. And that's how we become a living Mishan here today. It's flowing through willing hearts even now as we come together in this season with Porum. all the creativity that's flowing in the air that unites us together, the power of Hashem's wisdom and understanding and knowledge in all of that. And you can see what we have coming, an era of Shabbat service where we're flowing. We're going to be singing together into Pesak. There is really a lot going on here today. And that is because Hashem is moving among us today. But in the tabernacle building, some brought gold. Is gold worth anything? I mean, last time I looked, it's like $5,000 an ounce, right? It's pretty expensive now. I remember when it was 2,000. It's pretty expensive, right? Gold is is very valuable. People brought gold. They brought fabrics that they had woven together and put their time and
resources and their skills to build it or to put it together. They they brought acacia wood. They offered their time, their labor, the creativity. All this was valuable resources and things that cost something. This is valuable. It cost something to do this. And not everybody brought the same thing. If everybody brought the same thing same thing, it's you're missing something. But rather everybody brought something real and valuable to the building project. And that's why toma becomes joyful. It becomes a sima because we're all bringing what we do best, what God has wired us to do. And that's how the ruach flows through all of that. And so that that brings us to the thought again of shared work and identity formation happening within our calling and our different functions as we come together. Communities that build together indeed stick together. They stick together like glue. And that's what we're doing right here, me and you. It raises this question, though. Why would God ask us to build at all? Why? Why would he? Well, that brings us into a little bit of theological depth. The great Jewish
philosopher and theologian Abraham Joshua Hesshel once said this in a daring observation as he was reflecting on toilum Psalm 119 he said I am a stranger on the earth and he said you know what this reflects Hashem Hashem knows what it's like to be a stranger on the earth why would he make such a daring ing observation that the that God would know what it's like to be a stranger on the earth. And Hesshel said that it is because the Shechina is in exile. Well, what do you mean he's in exile? He's he's he's here. He's here. Ah, when we don't make space for God in our lives, we essentially exile the sheina. We we we put God into exile. Essentially, God knows what it feels like to be rejected. God forbid, but he does. Not because he's absent. He's not absent. You do a roll call. He's going to say here, it's because of the fact that the world has not made room for him yet. That's the key. Sin exiled humanity from Aiden. Aiden gone Eden was the very first mikdash where God made space for us. That was the very first temple and in a profound sense it exiled intimacy with God itself. That's the whole idea of the mikdash of
building the the mikdash the temple or we could say the mishan the tabernacle. So we see how sin reveals the truth, the sin that was in our lives. But Sinai reveals God, the greater truth. Syinai, the experience, the grand theophony at Sinai reveals that God wants a relationship with us. It reveals who God is. But to is what asks whether there's a place for Hashem in the world once again. Are we going to allow Hashem into our lives, into our hearts, into our homes, into our schools, into our workplaces? That's the question that Toroma asks. And today we see how we come together in that. But Jewish theology is very clear. God forms us before we could ever form a place for him. We're reciprocating what God did in the very beginning. A second chance to build a place for Hashem in our lives. God creates, God calls, God reveals, and God shapes hearts. And that's what Turuma is. is a tuma shaitart is one that's going to build for God. It's going to build for us a place a special place for the sheina. And then Turma shows us something very crucial that God doesn't build the Mishkan all by himself. No. And he doesn't even
ask one person to do it. Notice he calls Schlommo Schlommo melik Israel King Solomon and gives him hulma wisdom. But then look how many people that are in this building project in the Ha Torah. I mean I couldn't even keep up with all those numbers and I did finance for 20some years. There's so many numbers there, right? Well, that's the idea of people coming together and building. God builds us and then he invites us to build together a place for him. The Mishkan, the tabernacle, is not a construction project. It is Israel's response to being formed by God. I acknowledge that you have formed me from the very beginning. And now I'm going to make room and I'm going to sanctify this space starting with my heart. Sanctified heart before God. Sanctified community before God. Sanctified home before God. God establishes the pattern. God provides the spirit, the spirit of autakodesesh among us and then the shekea, the presence of God to engulf and to guide and and lead us. God leads the way. But the Mishkan is built by a people that participate together. The spectators don't build. The people that come
together build a place for God. It's about priorities. Where are our priorities? Another great 20th century Jewish theologian helps us understand the or origin of this invitation. Michael Wishrad, one of my favorite scholars of also a blessed memory, teaches us that creation itself begins with divine restraint. It's a process called Simsum, contraction. In the very beginning, God did this so that he wouldn't overwhelm us with his fullness. And that way, he makes space for us to acknowledge him, for our hearts to lift up to him. It's an act of divine love and mercy that God would restrain the intensity of his sheina. But sometimes I want more and more and then I'm like, you're gripping me here. Right? But that's good because it gives us an opportunity to respond to divine light in the world. That way we don't wallow in the darkness. It's an act of love and mercy. But this restraint also introduces something else. Divine vulnerability. Hashem is making himself vulnerable because there's a probability he's going to be rejected by the world by making space for us to respond. He takes a risk.
If God makes room for us in the world, then God must wait for our response to him because God loves without coercion. But that also means that rejection can wound severely if we are to reject him. God forbid. And that brings us to something very staggering. That God's presence in the world is not forced. It must be welcomed and received. Shalom. A welcoming of like what we're going to do on the 20th. Welcoming in Shabbat, right? Welcoming. We welcome God in every day, but we have to welcome him and we have to witness to the world to do the same. God is not demanding that we make space. He is inviting and asking, "Will you make room for me as I made room for you?" This is to rama right here. Not just a contribution. It's a full heart posture towards God. And when we that brings us to alignment because in alignment we are building the space for God. And here comes the boundary right here to according to everything that I show you you shall do. God showed all of this to Moshe on Hari exactly how to build it. all the specs, everything. But it shows us how to brings us into aligned generosity and alignment.
God welcomes the offering of the heart, but he also gives that to shaped heart, the form. He brings the form together because joy without structure dissolves and structure without joy hardens. We have to have structure. The Mishkan holds all of those things together. The sages teach that the Mishkan is not merely a response to sin, but the fulfillment of God's original desire to dwell among us. See, this is the profound reality is that Hashem has always desired to bring his Sheina to dwell among his people and us. And his mikdash is also a house of prayer for the nations to come in. He wants to come in and dine with all of us. And that brings us right to the table. Let's talk about a few of the important parts of the tabernacle.
Leaf, you are to set the bread of the presence on the table before me continually. That word tamid continually almost like the burnt offering going up to God in a sense daily because it's happening. The the table itself becomes the way that we sanctify our homes. It starts in ordinary life. The shulan and how we eat and how we share and how we break bread and whether our daily provision is offered up to God or not. That daily provision must be received with gratitude. That's the idea of the shukhan as we sanctify messianic Jewish life in our lives. And then we have the manora, the lampstand. This is formation. Eve panea. So the light will shine toward the front. The light of the manora. So when we look at light, it's not merely formation. It's actually something much bigger because it starts by forming us in his light. But then it has the ability to dispel darkness that we're no longer seeing through darkness. We are now able to see through God's light and our vision is reoriented towards the light of Hashem. And then we have the courtyard. The katsar the courtyard itself reminds us that God's presence is among us in our
shared responsibilities in our shared covenantal life together and how we fellowship together how we walk together. Halak and certainly how we come together in our visible commitments together lived out in community. That's the idea of the courtyard where the nations would come in and we come together and now the shared rhythms of Jewish life come alive in the courtyard. And finally we have the the ark of the testimony. the Aron Hedud, the ark of the testimony, you are to put into the ark of the testimony that I will give you. And that is the word. Because Hashem's word is not just an image. It's not an image. It's relationship. And relationship becomes before representation, obedience before experience. So the word of God is there with us. And then that is where God says there I will meet with you in that place right above the caporit right above the atonement cover. God is going to meet with us right there. And the the karuim are the ones that signal God is now opening up space for us to meet with him and a relational encounter is reopened. The kuruim now are are inviting us in to God's word as opposed to at gone edin
where it was blocking the way back to the tree of life. This is where aligned generosity comes and it meets together. A space where God and humanity they come forth they meet together not by force but by invitation. Communities that stick together, they build together. Communities that build together, they stick together. And that's how that works. Together, we make space for God dwelling among us. Finally, we get to the final move. And this is the mikdashante bam. This is where God is going to make his dwelling place among us as a community. Not in it per se, but among you, among them. God is making his place. And that's where we carry together the presence of God in our lives. In our brickesha today, our apostolic writings portion, we see something spectacular. Yeshua now brings us into the temple courts as he's observing what is going on there. Not to study the architecture, but rather to see and meet a special widow. Not just any widow, but a poor widow. Hashem loves the vulnerable among us. He loves the vulnerable and he protects the vulnerable. In Mark 12:41, the scripture starts out like this.
Yeshua sat down opposite the temple treasury and watched how the crowd was placing free will alms into the offering chest. So this is alms as they're putting it in. Many wealthy people came and offered large sums. And here comes the contrast. Then a poor widow came and offered two small coins. And calling his disciples, this is the very center of the text. He said, "Amen, I tell you." Because this is where the teaching is going to come in. The poor widow has put in more than all of those that are contributing to the offering chest. Well, how could that be? It was just two small copper coins. Well, for they they gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty put in everything she had. And the Greek says her whole life. And so we see this poor widow is contrasted with those that were wealthy that were given their scraps, just what was left over. But she was giving everything. The one whom God takes care of. But this is not a lesson about almsgiving. This is a lesson about tarumachshaped hearts about taruma comes together and alive in one person a revelation about what kind of heart makes room for God
is what she's doing here. It's not a question for her about temple authority. She's not questioning whether the the Zadakim the the Sadducees are righteous or not. She's not questioning any of that. Rather, she's coming forth with unconditional giving. No sign of protest or performance in her. She just gives before God. She gives with her whole heart. And this is to almsgiving coming together. And Messiah is showing us the contrast. He's showing that to is not just almsgiving. It actually starts in the heart before the generosity of us now being able to lift up to God. Two chapters before this, we had seen that Yeshua had encountered a very rich young man who asked, "How can I receive eternal life?" But yet, he was unwilling to sell what he had and give give it in arms because he had much property. But here he meets a poor widow who has nothing but yet she gives her whole life. That's the irony in the passage. This is to she becomes a living toa as we are singing today. Becoming a living Mishkhan before God, an embodied human Mishkan. And this is where it starts in our hearts and then it spreads into our
community. She brings down the sheina through her turma by redefining devotion through faithful action. This is the kind of building that invites the sheina to come and dwell among us and it defines us as a community because we've all had bad days. We've all had off seasons. That even happens in sports, you know. But we are builders. We are doers. We are faithful servants. That's who we are. That's what brings together us in this place. That's what defines share shalom. The dwelling does not begin with a building. Although buildings are nice, but it actually begins with an open heart, a posture towards God to open up your heart in the deepest way towards God. That's to communities that build together, stick together like glue. It's timeless and true. That's who we are. We are doers of the word. A community that lifts up its heart, makes room for God, and that builds a place for God together. The Sheina coming among us. This is Tuma. This is hadar adar joy and had beauty. Adar joy coming together. That is our joy. Shabbat shalom.