TORAH PORTION

hen water seeped its way into the home of Sean and
Dianne Cook, the damage was so severe that the
kitchen and second floor bath needed to be completely
refurbished.

Sean, a lawyer, and Dianne, a teacher, are the parents of
two children and lead very active lives. They knew that
whom they chose to repair the damage to their home was
going to be an important decision.

Israel's Soul

Shabbat Terumah:
Exodus 25:1-27:19;
1 Kings 5:26-6:13.

E

xodus is divided into three
cannot contain Thee. How much less
major sections: the story
this sanctuary that we are to build?"
of Israel's liberation from
And then, God quiets him with these
Egypt, the account of the Divine rev-
words; "I do not ask what is due Me,
elation at Sinai and the description
but only what the people can fulfill
of the construction of the mishkan
— 20 boards to the north and south
(tabernacle), Israel's first sanctuary.
and eight in the west, and I shall then
Terumah (which means offering),
so draw My Shekinah together so that
commences the third section.
it may find room therein."
The mishkan was a remarkable
The Kotzker Rebbe of the 18th cen-
structure. Although its size was not
tury was once asked. "Where does God
impressive by modern standards, it
dwell?" And he answered: "Wherever
occupied a unique place in the life
we let Him in." When the children
of the Hebrew people. The sanctuary
of Israel built the tent of meeting in
was divided by the parokhet (veil)
the wilderness, they set aside a place
into two chambers: the Holy
dedicated and devoted to
place and the Holy of Holies.
the Divine presence that had
The former contained the
led them out of Egyptian
sacred furnishings; the latter
bondage and brought them
held only the ark enshrining
to Sinai. Symbolically, they
the tablets Moses received
had taken part of their
on Mt. Sinai.
wealth and energies and
There was also an outer
talents and offered these as
court, which contained the
a humble gift to the King of
Rabbi Irwin
bronze altar of the sacrifices
kings. This gift, in the form
Gro ner
and the laver used by the
of a sanctuary, then became
Specia I to the
priests.
a worthy home for the spirit
Jewish News
Essentially, the mishkan
of the Lord.
was a large tent reinforced
History was not kind
by a wooden framework made of aca-
to the Jewish people, for neither the
cia boards to give it greater stability.
sanctuary nor the Temple remains as
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that testimony to the glory and splendor of
Israel's first sanctuary was portable. It their worship. Driven from one land
was the shrine of a wandering people.
to the next, Jews built another form
As the tabernacle journeyed with
of sanctuary we call the synagogue.
Israel, it shaped and nurtured its soul. To this day, the synagogue preserves
The Torah describes the means by
the aspects of the Temple: the sacred
which the building fund was to be
ark corresponds to the Holy of Holies;
supplied. An obligatory tax of a half
the bimah represents the altar, where
shekel was secured from each male.
prayer and reading of scriptures
Offerings of gold, silver and copper
replace the ancient sacrifices; the ner
were brought, as well as contributions
tainid (eternal light) testifies like the
of blue, purple and scarlet wool, linen, menorah of old to the unquenchable
hides, wood and other materials.
light of the Divine spirit.
The question arises, why should
God, ruler of the world, creator of the
Irwin Groner is rabbi emeritus of
universe, guardian of the destinies of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek of Oakland
humanity, need or require such a lim-
County. This article originally appeared in
ited place of habitation? Why should
the Jewish News in February 1991.
the Divine spirit be housed in such
narrow confines?
This problem disturbed later gen-
Conversations
Discuss how we, today, can give
erations who recorded in the Talmud
a conversation between Moses and
of ourselves (volunteering, etc.)
to "build" constant tributes to
God in which the great prophet of
Israel exclaims in awe: "Behold, the
God.
heaven and the heaven of heavens

"My wife and I are both very busy, and Gittleman said
they would take care of everything — from dealing with the
insurance company to dealing with the contractors — and
inconvenience us as little as possible in the process,"
noted Sean, adding that Gittleman did a great job of
notifying them in advance of any new developments.

Sean said he felt confident from the beginning that Gittleman could handle the size of the project.
"This was a big job that needed to be managed by someone. The rooms needed to be completely
gutted down to the studs. Gittleman did a great job of making sure it was done right."

Furthermore, Sean said he was impressed with Gittleman's service approach — so impressed that he
recommended them to others even before the project was complete. "When you call them, they call
you back. They were proactive with both communication and setting expectations."

So the next time Mother Nature decides to turn on you, turn to the people who will accommodate
your lifestyle. Turn to Gittleman,

JUST ASK THE COOKS.

GITTLEMAN

CONSTRUCTION inc

28580 ORCHARD LAKE RD., SUITE 102
FARMINGTON HILLS, MI 48334

248.538.5400

www.gittleman.net

1198320

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February 22 2007

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