Dan Nichols, troubadour of today’s Reform Judaism, wrote in his song B’tzelem Elohim, “We all got a life to live. We all got a gift to give. Just open your heart and let it out.” This is the very core of this week’s parasha.
Say to the children of Israel: Take for me T’rumah, a gift, from every person whose heart is so moved, you shall take a T’rumah—a voluntary, exalted gift for building a sacred community.
T’rumah comes from the same root letters as the word “romemu,” a word we sing with all our hearts and souls as we dance with the Torah around the sanctuary. It is a word that means exaltation, but in a way that is filled with jubilation. To rise up, to elevate, to be uplifted. How wonderful it is to have a word to describe the voluntary gifts that each of us contributes to creating this community.
As I sit in my office, in this moment, I hear the exciting sounds of this community’s T’rumah, this community’s investment in itself and in future generations—a crucial and exalted renovation project. This opportunity to be a part of something greater than ourselves, to build something not just for ourselves, but for the future, is so central to what it means to be Jewish and what it means to be a part of this community.