A project of The Shluchim Office

Parshas Terumah
Bais Adar Alef 5765

PARSHAS TERUMAH
Let’s do an experiment. First figure out how tall you are. Now look in this week’s parsha, or else ask someone how big the Mishkan was. Could you fit a Mishkan inside yourself?
That sounds like a silly question, no? Well, actually, there is a Mishkan in you already. How? Well, let’s first find out what a Mishkan is…
In this week’s parasha, we learn about a bunch of real complicated stuff - exactly how to build a Mishkan. The Mishkan in the midbar, and later the Beis Hamikdosh in Eretz Yisrael, was a house for Hashem. Hashem’s shechina actually came down to this world and rested in the Mishkan! The Yidden had to make the Mishkan extra nice and take special care of it so that it would be a suitable home for Hashem.
The Mishkan was pretty big. The Yidden had to take it apart every time they traveled so that they could carry it. And there was only one Mishkan for the entire B’nei Yisrael. So what does it mean that the Mishkan is inside each of us?
Well, you are right - the whole Mishkan with all of its parts would not really fit inside a person. But our hearts act just like a Mishkan. Hashem lives inside every Jewish person, just as He did in the Mishkan. If we work real hard at it, we would be able to feel Hashem’s shechina helping us to do Torah and Mitzvos.
Have you ever felt like you really wanted to act better or do good things? Now you know that the part of Hashem living inside of you is what makes you feel that way. And if you learn a lot, you will start to feel it more and more!
Pretty soon, we will all be zoche to see the big Beis Hamikdosh in Eretz Yisrael. Then we will really see Hashem living down here in this world – in the Beis Hamikdosh and in every one of us.
Won’t that be great? Nobody will ever want to do anything wrong! How could they, when they see Hashem Himself telling them not to?

Adapted from "Der Rebbe Redt tzu Kinder" Volume 3

Last Week's Brian Buster:
My beginning and end are the same, I end in a sea and there’s a judge in me.
What am I?
Answer: Mishpatim (in hebrew letters)

Parshas Terumah

Without my head, Bnei Yisroel ate me in the Midbar
Without my tail, I’m Noach’s son
I am used in the Mishkan.

____ ____ _____

Congratulations to Binyamin Bentolila,12, from Kinshasa, Congo, for solving the brain buster

connections@shluchim.org

We are so happy with all the responses we are getting to the brain busters. Unfortunately, we are not able to print all of your names. Please continue sending your feedback and responses as we will make a gorel each week and pick one winner.

The Keilim of the Mishkan

The Aron
The measurements of the aron were all in halves. This teaches us that there is no perfect person, and no matter how much one studies Torah, one can never learn the whole thing..

The Kruvim
When Bnei Yisroel fulfilled Hashem’s commands, the Kruvim would face each other; and when Bnei Yisroel did not fulfill Hashem’s commands, the Kruvim would face the walls of the room..

Atzei Shitim
Where did the Bnei Yisroel get wood in the Midbar to build the Mishkan? Rabbi Tanchuma explains that Yakov Avinu foresaw with his Ruach Hakodesh that Bnei Yisroel were going to build a Mishkan in the Midbar; so he brought cedar trees to Mitzrayim and planted them, and instructed his children to take them along when they left Mitzrayim.

(From Chabad.org)

Shterna Sara Epstein, age 12
Chicago, Illinois

Every Pesach starting four years ago for the second seder we have a community seder in our house. We have about seventy people for the community seder. Every night for about two weeks before Pesach people from our community come to help us prepare.
At the beginning of each step of the seder my father explains the purpose of it. Last year we put cards at a few places on the table. Each card explained a specific part of the seder and when we got up to that part whoever had that card read it out loud. This helped everybody to participate. During Shulchan Aruch me and my sister Rivka and a guest shared our D’var Torahs from school with everybody. We also go around the table and everybody shares something with everyone. Some people shared that this is the first real seder they have ever had.
Last year a lady started to cry and told us that her cat was dying but she came to the seder anyway.
Let us hope that this year our seder will take place in Yerushalayim with Moshiach now.!


Send us a short paragraph about your shlichus and we will publish it in our future “connections”! Please include your name, age, and location.
E-mail us at: connections@shluchim.org

We can each make our own rooms into a Mikdash Meat—a mini Mikdash. How? By having a Chumash, Tehillim, Tanya, a Siddur and a Pushka in our bedrooms. If you already have this, or if you just did it now, e-mail me at
connections@shluchim.org, and tell me about it.

Level 1: Ages 5-8

Congratulations to Yoni Bekhor, age 8, from Randolph, NJ winning last week!

Level 2: Ages 9-12

Congratulations to Zevi Feldman, age 10, Halifax, Nova Scotia winning last week!

See the Printable Version of Connections for an incredible FUN PAGE on Parshas Terumah!!

Question:
This week's Parsha, Parshas Terumah, contains the Possuk “V’asu Li Mikdash, Veshachanti Besocham" “And they shall make a Mikdash for ME and I will rest in them." When Bnei Yisroel build a Mishkan for Hashem, Hashem causes His shchina to rest in each and every Yid.
Three different types of metal were used in building the Mishkan: zahav—gold, kesef—silver and nechoshes—copper.
Because gold is traditionally the finest and most precious metal that exists, the Mishkan should have been built entirely of gold. Why then did the Mishkan include these less valuable metals, like silver and copper as well?

Answer:
The three types of metal hint to the three categories of Bnei Yisroel. Because Hashem wanted all Yiddin to participate in the building of the Mishkan, all three metals - gold, silver and copper - were used.
Silver (Kesef) hints to Tzadikim, who continually yearn for Hashem and His Torah.
Gold (Zahav), more valuable than silver, hints to those who return to Hashem by doing Teshuvah , - Baalei Teshuvah. “In the place that Baalei Teshuvah stand, even complete Tzaddikim cannot stand."
Copper (Nechoshes) hints to Yiddin who have done aveiros. Nechoshes has the same letters as nachash—the snake who was the first to bring aveiros into the world with the Cheit Eitz Hadaas.
From here we see that the Tzaddikim are not the only Yiddin to build the Mishkan! Every Yid takes part in its building; even copper, symbolizing the lowest level, was used along with silver and gold.
The mishkan is for all Yiddin to build. For it is only when all Yiddin perform mitzvos - Tzaddikim and Reshaim alike - that we merit the fulfillment of the possuk, “Veshochanti Besocham“ - "And I will rest in them" - within each and every one of Bnei Yisroel.

(Adapted from L’Chaim Weekly)