Parashat Terumah
image by google Sermon Alyth Gardens Synagogue Parashat Terumah, 5th of February 2011 Eternal Flame It is easy to focus on the externals. At first glance, Parashat Terumah reads like a posh handbook for exclusive interior decorators. The text indulges in elaborate descriptions of the beautiful and ostentatious Mishkan. We are treated to a veritable treatise on physical beauty and material wealth: precious metals, costly fabrics and even exotic materials. Finely woven curtains dyed in royal blue, purple and crimson, vessels of pure gold and panels of acacia wood. This all culminates in the description of the seven-armed Menorah. To be made from a single clump of gold, beaten and shaped into elegant floral forms, the Menorah represents a masterpiece of Biblical craftsmanship. The true masterpiece, however, is made by internal craftsmanship. The craftsmanship of the soul, honed both by acts of goodness in ourselves and an awareness of goodness in the world. ‘ V’asu li mikdash v’shachanti...