Shemoth/Exodus
CHAPTER 25
1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,
2. "Speak to the descendants of Israel, and let them take a contribution [t'rumah] for Me; from every man whose heart motivates him, you must take up My contribution.
When Moshe went into the cloud to meet YHWH, this contribution is what was first and foremost on YHWH’s heart. T’rumah ("contribution” here) is from the root word meaning “to lift up", "skim [the best] portion [off the top]", or "lifted off" a higher purpose, and extended upward as a present. The things turned over for YHWH’s purposes acquire a new level of holiness and are to be treated with a higher level of respect. The gift also elevates the giver to a higher level. No one gives the whole thing; each gives his portion, the part he is designated to bring. It is not just giving anything we want to give, but for this specific purpose: as part of a larger raising up of a place for YHWH to “dwell”. And note that the t’rumah is taken twice: first the people take up the collection, then Moshe receives it. Whose heart motivates him: impels him from within; from a root word meaning to be generous (nadav), giving voluntarily almost to the point of foolishness. It has the sense of being spontaneous—before our minds can rationalize it away with our concerns for continued security. I.e., a heart that immediately accepts what we see is needed. Before He told us what to bring, YHWH set this as a prerequisite for anyone’s gifts to be accepted. The heart is a nebulous concept, but we can chase it down, because this command is all about the heart, so we need to know just what it is.. We use it of everything from an anatomical organ to emotions that can be cold or easy to break. Which kind of heart has to be generous? In Scripture it rarely means the organ that pumps blood, but rather the innermost part of our being, our mind, our very essence, or that which is alive at the very center of our being. The very first time the term “heart” (lev) is used in Scripture, it is being condemned: “Every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil all day.” (Gen. 6:5) But clearly the human heart is not always that way. We have seen total strangers help people they do not need to help. This is referring to the antediluvian (pre-flood) generation; the heart can act positively. There it was the source of everything bad that humanity could invent. But that inclination can be trained in the right direction; it is not born incurably predisposed to only evil. The term for “inclination” means something that can be formed or fashioned, as a potter does with clay. (Gen. 2:17; 2:19; Ex. 32:4; Psalm 2:9 et al) This inclination of the heart is whatever we have prepared within ourselves that shapes the thoughts that take shape in our actions and words—whatever we imagine before we make it into a physical reality. We form a concept in our minds of what we want something to look like. It is envisioning what shape something will need to take in order to serve a certain purpose. The way we imagine things to be will shape the way we look at things. Before the deluge, people were only seeing from their own individual perspectives and were constantly making the selfish choice—what would benefit them personally, to the point that YHWH was sorry He had created us. The story is not really about the Flood but about the results of such selfishness. Whatever the facts about the Flood may be, the point is that if we can only see from our own perspective, the world is doomed. If we learn how to do something about the root problem, we need not fear another such judgment. So what defines the “heart”? Whatever we can envision. Therefore, YHWH gives us something more positive to envision. He wants a house built by those who are inclined to give, not those who have to be talked into contributing. "YHWH loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7) Those who do not give spontaneously might end up being permitted to use the sanctuary to be built with these gifts, but only those whose heart is eager to give even before he is asked to are permitted to have a part in building it. What an honor! They knew that the gold they gave would be made into something of eternal value.
3. "Now this is the contribution that you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze;
4. "[sky] blue, [royal] purple, crimson, scarlet [dye], and fine [bleached white] linen, and goats' hair,
5. "rams' skin dyed red, and tahash skins, and acacia wood,
6. "oil for the luminary, aromatic spices for the oil of anointing and for the sweet incense;
7. "onyx stones, and stones to be set in the efod, and for the pouch.
8. "And let them make a sanctuary for Me, in order that I may dwell in their midst…
The purpose of having a giving heart (v. 2) --what is created when all do our part and give generously--is a dwelling place set apart unto YHWH, separate from everything else, and like nothing else in the world. We are each to contribute whatever we can to create a situation pleasing to Him. He likes certain things in His house--not a physical structure, ultimately; that is only a picture of what He really wants us to be. The next chapters detail how much of this and how many of that He wants in His "designer house". He was interested in dwelling not in the tent as such, but with His people. We need enough generous hearts lifting up our parts to get to the point where He can say, “I could live here; it’s just what I want.” It is not about closet space, but about how His people treat one another: Are they equitable and just? How do they treat My name? What are they putting their energy into? The goal is a heart set on doing its part to establish a place of unity that YHWH can appreciate. He even recognized the builders of the tower of Bavel because of their unity, though they were trying to prevent Him from bringing the proper rulings detailed in the previous Torah portion. We need a “right-handed” version of that unity—not a building that He wants to tear down, but one He wants to move into. This “house” has to house what is eternal in every “direction”—He whose very name means “the one who was, is, and will always exist.” As we get close to what was, we can get a better idea of what He is like and what He enjoys, and build His house accordingly. We don’t each have to build the whole thing; it is a joint venture. It is not a physical house, but an energy--something alive that can contain what will always be alive. The builders themselves form the real sanctuary. The building tests us in regard to our generosity and conditions us to become His dwelling place. If we give of ourselves, He can dwell in us—not you or me as individuals, but in Israel as a corporate community. Only when we are all joined together with the other components can YHWH finally dwell in us as His sanctuary. So this is what we must envision with the “imaginations of our hearts”. See your part in building it, or we can get nowhere. This is why there are two takings of the t’rumah. First, we must see what our part is and say, “Whatever I can contribute, I’m going to give.” Then YHWH’s representative will take it up and join all the parts together. That is Moshe’s job. Yahshua used “Moshe” as shorthand for the Torah he wrote. One man may look at a mountain and see it as in the way, so he cannot get where he needs to go. Anotehr man will see a way to cross over it. A third will say, “I can move it out of the way”, whether because he has big construction equipment or because he has great faith! Your point of view shapes your heart and the world that you build. If you can see yourself doing it, your heart has something to connect to. The goats’ hair and oil can go together. So the picture is now simple: what builds YHWH’s dwelling place on this earth is provided by those who are generous and can see themselves doing something about it. Seeing everyone’s job as the same is what creates doctrines and shuts down our imagination. We each look at Torah in a different way, and they may not seem to fit with one another, but if we are all about building YHWH’s dwelling place and having Him at our core, these widely-varying people can indeed become one community. “It is more blessed to give than to receive” because when we give as individuals, we all receive the end product. But there are limits on this creativity: there are specific things YHWH wants to go into His dwelling place. The following chapters detail this, and they all show us YHWH’s heart. He does not ask for kerosene, though we might think it would burn better than olive oil. There are thiongs that profit and things that fit—and things He does not want there. The Torah will teach us what to contribute, and as we turn it over to the Torah, it will be used when it is in season. The prophets tell us over and over what He wants. Can we envision a restored and reunited people of Israel? If we cannot, how can we ever build it? Envision these words as “do-able”. See in them not just something that was, but something that still exists, and which we are a part of. This is how we take up our t’rumah. Moshe cannot take it up until we offer it up; it will not occur by magic. Some can give gold, others only wood, but everyone has something to bring. So bring it! Envision a people who love one another; experience a foretaste of it in community. And every day as you ask for your daily bread, ask how you can use it to make this vision a reality. Visualize it not for personal gain, but for the benefit to the entire world that will come when it is accomplished. Do not wait for someone else to act. Let the word be made flesh again. That is the Torah.
Commentary on
Parashat T'rumah
What Your Heart
Needs to Envision
