Dvar TorahTerumah: Sharing our gifts- Rabbi Leonard Cohen February 19, 2021

In this week's Torah portion, Terumah, the Jewish people are each instructed to bring forward a contribution (Terumah) to the construction of the Mishkan, or Tabernacle. The Mishkan was to become the central site of sacrificial and ritual worship, the holy place of the Jewish people up until the building of the Beit Hamikdash.
The second Passuk (verse) of the Torah reading has G-d saying to Moses,
דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כָּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃

"Tell the Israelite people to take contributions for Me, from every person whose heart so moves him, you shall take this contribution of Mine."
Rashi asks the obvious - why does G-d need contributions from humanity? The answer is that the act of giving allows anyone of means or desire to ally with G-d in sacred activity -- in this case, building the Mishkan.
The recounting of the design and construction of the Mishkan, its vessels and utensils, and the garb of the Kohanim who served there, form the major part of the last half of the book of Shemot. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z"l explains that the Mishkan constituted the first collective project of the Jewish people. It was a mass movement -- not in an act of flight from oppression, but mobilization towards a common, unified, sacred goal. Rabbi Sacks notes that the constant strife that marked the Jewish people's journey in the desert seemed to be absent during the building of the Mishkan; they found harmony in their pursuit of a collective project.
How noteworthy that the Jewish people rallied around giving. A subtle message is conveyed here: community is formed when people are each giving of themselves. We form our most meaningful bonds when we bring our strengths, gifts and resources towards common pursuits.
I have remarked in recent weeks on how wonderful our Saturday evening Havdalah programs have been precisely because they have been homemade. With the organization and recruitment done by Ora Major, our members have shared with one another divrei Torah and discussions, presentations on humour, a travelogue, facts and anecdotes about coins and stamps... All of these have added to the do-it-yourself ethic that has added so much to the intimacy and participatory nature of this community. We all have our gifts to share, and when we do so with one another, in the context of a Kehila, we evoke Hashem's presence among us. This coming week, as we celebrate Purim, Ora and I continue to welcome creative ideas for celebrating this occasion and coming events.
May we continue to find inspiration and connection with Hashem and one another as we share our gifts meaningfully together.