Capturing the Experience of Sinai
The first parsha after the narrative of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai is Terumah which focuses on contributions to the construction of the Mishkan, the portable Sanctuary in the desert. Last week’s parsha concluded with the words, “Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” And this week’s parsha opens with: “Speak to the children of Israel and have them take for Me a contribution — Terumah.”
The simple connection between these two events is that G-d’s revelation on Mount Sinai was of a temporary nature. To “capture” G-d’s presence in a permanent fashion, G-d commanded the people to build a Sanctuary for Him. In the words of the Torah, “Make for me a sanctuary and I will dwell in them.” Besides the simple meaning that G-d’s presence was felt in the Sanctuary, there is also a deeper message that every Jew is commanded to build a sanctuary in his own heart and G-d will dwell in them, in the hearts of every Jew.
The juxtaposition of the Sinai narrative and the contributions to and the construction of the Mishkan is further alluded to in the very name of the parsha, Terumah. The Zohar, and the Ba’al Haturim state that the word Terumah is a composite of two words, Torah Mem. The Letter mem is also the number 40 alluding to the Torah that was given after Moses’ 40 day stay on Mount Sinai, mentioned at the end of last week’s parsha.
This idea reinforces the connection between Torah and the Mishkan. What happened on Mount Sinai was captured and concretized in the Mishkan and subsequently in the Bais Hamikdash.
This idea echoes the words of the Midrash that when the Jewish people said with enthusiam, “We will do it and we will hear,” G-d said, “Take for Me an offering.” The message conveyed by this Midrash is that if you want to recreate the experience of Sinai, then you must construct a Sanctuary from your gold and other physical resources.
Connections of Torah to the Number 40
There are many ways in which the Torah is associated with the letter and number mem — 40.
First, as stated, Moses was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights to receive the Torah.
Second, the Talmud refers to the two ways of writing the letter mem: an open mem when it appears in the middle of a word and a closed mem, when it appears at the end of a word. This, the Talmud states, is an allusion to the two dimensions of Torah, the revealed (i.e., the laws of the Torah) and the hidden (i.e., the mystical knowledge, such as the teachings of Kabbalah).
The connection of Torah to the letter mem is also hinted at the very beginning and conclusion of the Mishnah, the first collection of laws based on the Oral Torah given at Sinai. The Mishnah begins with an open mem and concludes with a closed, final mem.
The Conclusion of the Study of Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah
By Divine providence, today, the first day of Rosh Chodesh Adar 5785, hundreds of thousands of Jews world over are marking the siyum, the conclusion of the study of Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah (incidentally, Maimonides’ name Moshe and his father’s name Maimon and the word Mishneh all begin with a mem), which ends with the word “mechasim,” which begins and ends with a mem.
The name Moses held by the Biblical Moses and Maimonides (about whom it is written on his tombstone, “From Moses to Moses none has arisen like Moses) begins with the letter mem. Also, Mordechai, the hero of Purim, which occurs in close proximity to the reading of Terumah, begins with a mem.
To highlight the importance Maimonides seems to attribute to the letter mem, he prefaces the first of his 14 volumes of Mishneh Torah with a citation of a Biblical verse that begins with the letter mem.
And in his introduction to the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides delineates 40 generations from Moses through the end of the Talmudic period, which underscores once more the significance of the number 40 as it pertains to Torah.
Purifying Effects of Torah Study
The closed mem also signifies the purifying effects of Torah study. The shape of the letter resembles the rectangular shape of a Mikveh, the ritual bath that purifies those who immerse themselves in it. A mikveh requires a minimal amount of 40 seah, and the flood that purified the world in the days of Noah lasted for 40 days and 40 nights.
This cathartic effect is particularly true of the “hidden” layer of Torah, which, as stated above, is represented by the closed mem.
The word Moshiach, who will usher in the Messianic Age when the world will be inundated with the knowledge of G-d, begins with a mem. Likewise, one of the names the Talmud ascribes to Moshiach is Menachem, which begins and ends with the letter mem.
Moreover, the biblical verse of Isaiah, which form the very last words of the Mishneh Torah, are: “And the earth will be filled with the knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the sea.” This is an explicit association between the Messianic Age and the purification of a Mikveh. The world will be submerged in the mystical knowledge that will purge the world of all its impurities.
There is another significant aspect to the Mishnah, and the Mishneh Torah beginning and ending with the letter mem. The letter mem is formed by placing a vav (6) next to a chaf (20). This gives us the number 26, the numerical value of the Tetragrammaton. Our Sages wanted to begin and end these works with the mention of G-d’s essential name to underscore the Divine essence of the Oral Torah. Indeed, the very first law recorded by Maimonides begins with four words, the initials of which, spell G-d’s essential name.
Connection to the Contributions
While we can now understand the connection between the Torah that was given in 40 days with the concept of the Mishkan, we must now attempt to explain the specific connection to the word Terumah, which means an offering or contribution. The power to perpetuate the experience of Sinai is through the construction of the Mishkan. But the word Terumah refers to contributions rather than the actual construction.
One answer is that the word Terumah also translates as “uplifting.” While it is true that the Mishkan in all its forms facilitates bringing the Divine revelation of Sinai into the world, Torah study, specifically has another accomplishment. Torah elevates the person. As the Talmudic Sage, Rav Yosef extolled the virtue of the Holiday of Shavuos, the anniversary of the giving of the Torah at Sinai, by saying “If not for this day that caused it, there are many Josephs in the marketplace.” Rashi adds, “And I have been uplifted.”
The message here is that by donating our resources to the construction of our own Sanctuaries, (the first translation of Terumah), it not only captures G-d’s revelation, it also uplifts the physical world in the same manner as Torah study uplifts a person.