Parashat Terumah
20th February 2026
Week of 15-21 February 2026
Torah portion : Ex. 25 :1-27 :19 ; Haftarah : I Kings 5 :26-6 :13
Following the previous Parashah, in the context of establishing the Covenant, after setting the principles for the community’s internal life and its external relationship, today’s Parashah deals with the relationship with God, with sacred things, and with the elements that make up the place of the Shekinah (God’s presence), His dwelling place.
The Parashah Terumah תרומה (Offering): Exodus 21:1-27:19 teaches us about the voluntary offering for sacred things, such as the ark, the table of the bread of the offering, the candelabrum, the sanctuary, the altar, the courtyard…, however, the tradition of Israel teaches that the main point for understanding the entire development of the Parashah is at the beginning. The quantity of elements mentioned and the importance of each one giving us the impression of a certain extravagance of wealth. That is why it is so important to understand fully the purpose of Terumah, right from the beginning of the Parasha.
The opening expression that gives the Parasha its name: ויקחו-לי תרומה״ (They take me a heave offering)” serves as the basis for countless commentaries in the tradition of Israel. It is evident that it would be impossible to cover them all in the space we have here, but I believe it will be enriching to use even a few of them.
Rashi (1040-1105), who concentrates the commentaries on Jewish tradition and explains it in a simple, direct way (Peshat=פשט), states that: ויקחו-לי תרומה (They take me)” “Me” means for the glory of my name. And תרומה (a heave offering) the meaning is: let them set apart from their possessions a voluntary gift in My honor.
This teaches us that the offering is not something that God will use for his own benefit, but rather offering something good that God has provided to the people, and a portion of these received gifts, willingly placed by each person to the glory of God, so that He may be with the people.
Next, I will copy one of the many commentaries on this Parasha that appears in the Midrash Rabbah, an essentially Haggadic Midrash whose redaction dates from between the 11th and 12th centuries, but recovering a very ancient tradition.
They take me a heave offering. Is written, For I give you good doctrine; forsake ye not my teaching (Prov. 4, 2). Do not forsake the goods I have made over to you. When a man purchases a product, if it is of gold, then it is not of silver, of silver then it is not of gold. But the goods I have given to you have silver therein, for it says, The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a crucible (Psalm 12: 7); it also has gold therein, for it says, More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold (Ps 19:11). A man sometimes buys fields but not vineyards, or vineyards but not fields, but this purchase has both fields and vineyards therein, for it says, Thy shoots are a park of pomegranates (Song of Salomon 4: 13).
A man may buy merchandise and people do not know what its value is, save from the Commission received by the agent. Similarly with the Torah, one cannot know its value, save from the reward received by Moses, for it says, That Moses knew not that the skin of his face sent forth beams while he talked with Him (Ex 34: 29). But can you conceive a transaction in which the seller is sold with his goods! God, however, said to Israel: ‘I have sold you My Torah, but with it, as it were, I also have been sold,’ as it says, That they take me for an offering. I can be compared to the only daughter of a king whom another king married. When he wished to return to his country and take his wife with him, the father said to him: ‘My daughter, whose hand I have given thee, is my only child. I cannot part with her, neither can I say to thee: Do not take her, for she is now thy wife. This favour, however, I would request of thee; wherever thou goest to live, have a chamber ready for me that I may dwell with you, for I cannot leave my daughter.’ Thus God said to Israel: I also given you a Torah from which I cannot part, and I also cannot tell you not to take it; but this I would request: wherever you go make for Me a house wherein I may sojourn, as it says, And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them (Ex 25: 8).
As we can see, the sources of the commentaries are innumerable and their richness is immeasurable, but we learn, among other things about the parashah Terumah, that the voluntary offering for God’s sacred things are gestures made by the people so that God may dwell in their midst. In this sense, there is no measure in the value offered; the greatest quantitative value for a human being cannot compare to God. And above all, the offering is only a small part of the goods that God has provided for his people.
This week’s Parasha Commentary was prepared by
Elio Passeto, NDS,Jerusalem–Israel, Director
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