This week our Torah takes a terrific swerve from narrating our people’s harrowing escape from Egypt to explore God’s greatest-ever assigned group project: the building of the Mishkan, a portable sanctuary in the wilderness that allows God’s intimate presence to dwell among the Israelites wherever they go. Critically, in Parsha T’rumah, God calls all b’nei Israel to participate in the building of the Mishkan, by contributing gifts (t’rumot) that their hearts move them to give. (Ex. 25:1)
The effect of this call to generous, personalized contribution is profound. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks notes, unlike the kvetching and fearful cries that characterized the Israelites as they left Egypt, “During the whole time the Mishkan was being constructed, there were no complaints, no rebellions, no dissension. What all the signs and wonders of the Exodus failed to do, the construction of the Mishkan succeeded in doing. It transformed the people. It turned them into a cohesive group. It gave them a sense of responsibility and identity.”
When have you felt your unique efforts contribute to a greater collaboration and what did you learn in the process? What are you yearning to gift or contribute this season, in the communities you are a part of?