Terumah-2016

· In Parshat Terumah, Hashem describes how the Mishkan and its components are to be built.

· At the center of the Mishkan was a rectangular building called the Haichal. 

· The Haichal was divided into two rooms by a curtain called the Peroches.

· The outer room of the Haichal, that you entered into, was called the Kodosh.

· It contained three objects.

o a golden Mizbeach (altar) in the middle

o on the right was a Shulchan (table) with Lechem Hapanim (bread) on it

o on the left was a golden Menorah with 7 lights on a central shaft and 6 arms.

· On the inner side of the Peroches, was the Inner Sactum, the Kedosh Kedoshim.

· It contained the Aron Kodesh containing the Luchos, and the Cruvim statues hovering over it.

· This room was off limits except for the Kohane Godol on Yom Kippur.

· Let’s focus on the symbolism and meaning of two of these objects in the outer room – the Shulchan on the right, and the Menorah on the left.

· Shemos 26:35 – Put the Shulchan outside the Paroches, and the Menorah opposite the Shulchan, towards the southern side of the Mishkan.

· Let’s look at what the Chumash and the Gemorah says about the Shulchan and the Menorah.

· CHUMASH - SHULCHAN

· Shemos 25:23 – Make a Shulchan … Overlay it with gold, and make a gold crown-like rim around it.

· Shemos 25:30 – You shall place the Lechem Hapanim on the Shulchan before Me at all times. (Note: The Lechem Hapanim bread was baked every Friday, and placed on the Shulchan on Shabbos).

· CHUMASH - MENORAH

· Shemos 25:31 – You should make a Menorah out of pure gold.  The Menorah must be made by hammering its form out of a solid piece of gold. Its base, its shaft, its cups, its knobs and its flowers must be of the same piece of gold.

· Shemos 25:37 – You should make seven lamps for the Menorah

· Shemos 25:40 – Observe carefully and make the Menorah like the pattern that will be shown to you on the mountain. 

· RASHI

· Shulchan - The royal crown for the Shulchan represents wealth and greatness, a ‘royal table.’

· Menorah - Moshe had difficulty understanding how to make it all out of one piece of gold, until Hashem showed him a Menorah model made of fire.

· GEMORAH - SHULCHAN

· Succah 56 – On Shabbos each of the (incoming and outgoing) Kohanim got an equal portion of the Lechem Hapanim to eat.

· Yuma 39a – A Brocha was bestowed on the …Lechem Hapanim, so that every Kohane who ate a piece as big as an olive was satisfied, even leaving something over.

· Chagigah 26b – On Yom Tov the Kohanim would lift up the Shulchan and show the Lechem Hapanim to all the people , and they said: Behold the great love that Hashem bestows on us. 

· Rabbi Yehoshua b. Levi said: A great miracle was performed in regard to the Lechem Hapanim: As fresh as it was when it was set down, it was just as fresh (a week later) when it was it taken away.

· Menachos 29 - Resh Lakish - They would lift up the Shulchan and its fresh Lechem Hapanim to show all the people who had come for Yom Tov, and said to them, Behold Hashem's love for you!

· The Yerushalmi - The Shulchan was allowed to be removed from the Haichal for this purpose, so that the people see the miracle up close and appreciate the magnitude of this Nase, showing the tremendous love of Hashem for the Jewish People.

· The Ritva (Yuma 21a) - The bread remained steaming hot, as if it had just come out of the oven, and the people could see the steam still rising from the bread.

· Shkalim 18  – The Lechem Hapanim was placed on the Shulchan covered with gold, to show the Kovod due to the Lechem Hapanim that is Kodesh.

· GEMORAH – MENORAH

· Menachos 28 - The Menorah must be made from one mass of gold… There were 22 cups, 11 knobs, and 9 flowers.

· Menachos 28– The Pattern of the Menorah came down from a place of purity.

· Menachos 29 - Rabbi Yochanon said, the Angel Gavriel put on a special belt and then showed Moshe how the Menorah was made.

· R. Yishmael said, Hashem showed Moshe with His finger how the Menorah was made, showing him a “Menorah of Fire”.

· Rashi – When Moshe tried to make the Menorah, it was too difficult for him. So Hashem told him to throw a block of gold into the fire and the Menorah was made by itself.

· The Netziv - when Moshe wanted to understand the words of the Torah, he would face the Menorah, and the aura of light from the Menorah helped Moshe understand the divine words. The Menorah represents how the purity of Torah lights up the world.

· CONCLUSION

· Baba Basra 25b – When praying, a person who wants to become wise should turn to the south, and he who wants to become rich should turn to the north. This is symbolized by the fact that the Shulchan was on the north side of the Mishkan, and of the Menorah was on the south side of the Mishkan.

· Rashi – The Shulchan is a symbol of plenty, and the Menorah is a symbol of knowledge.

· SHULCHAN

· The Lechem Hapanim stayed fresh all week, and a small piece would make a person full.

· This symbolizes how Hashem provides - with love - for our physical, Gashmius needs.

· The Shulchan is plated with gold and is surrounded by a golden crown to show that all our physical needs are provided from the blessing of Hashem’s golden table.

· The Shulchan shows that our physical well-being is very important to Hashem, and that He provides a Brocha with love for our physical, Gashmius aspect of our life.

· MENORAH

· The Menorah and its light represent the non-physical aspects of our life – our mind and spirit, consciousness and Ruchnius.

· The Menorah came from a pure place in a Heavenly fire, meaning that our mind and spirit is essentially pure and other-worldly.

· The Menorah was complex and difficult to comprehend - with its bowls and flowers and joints - and is made from one piece of gold.

· This symbolizes that our mind and spirit are very complex, and all its aspects have to be unified and integrated together.  

· The greatest challenge of life is to develop both the physical and the spiritual sides of ourselves - our Gashmius and Ruchnius, without forgetting either, and making sure they are integrated together.

· We have both Gashmius and Ruchnius sides to ourselves, each with unique requirements and needs.

· May we all have the ability to develop and mekabel both:

o the physical brocha of life represented by the Shulchan and the Lechem Hapanim

o and the spiritual and mental brochah represented by the Menorah and its light.