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Terumah - The Gift is YOU



Terumah - The Gift is YOU

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Terumah, meaning, a gift, a contribution, an offering. This week's Torah Portion/Reading is telling us something very profound;giving confers dignity. Moses is asked to have the group offer gifts to adorn and dress up the Sanctuary and the Arc.  

I ask, is the blessing in giving the gift, or is the sincerity of the thought and action there of. AND BEING PRESENT..the blessing ?  Yes, we all have been in absolutley beautiful & exquisite Temples, Synagogues, Shuls, but does the stained glass windows, the beautifully hand made Arc that is carved with the tree of life, the Bima (pulpit) adorned with an abundance of flowers make it more meaningful?  It is indeed absolutley beautiful to look at, but does it change your feeling, your sincere thoughts, deepen your prayers, make you more in-tuned with the message and or service, or your personal commitment?

When you light the Shabbat Candles, when you wrap/wear Tefillin, when you make your Bubbies Matzo ball soup, when you share a story about when I was a kid in Religious school and_____, when you laugh at the things your parents said to you in their native tongue (Yiddish Maybe?),  a story about when your Uncle said something something funny at your Bar/Bat Mitzvah 50 years ago, that is the true blessing & gift!

Yes, adornment, decorations, the pretty flowers are absolutley exquisite and are so very beautiful indeed, and do add to the beauty of......but the really blessing and gift is YOU and the reciprocity of your sincere thought, prayer, story telling and laughter of stories of yesteryear sharing with loved ones, be it within the walls, or most definitely, outside, a true Temple With Out Walls. You share and you get to receive so much back.  It's what you make of it, and that's a true gift to yourself and to all around you,, and has such positive impact!  
One Mitzvah at a time!

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