Exodus · Weekly Torah portion
Parashat Terumahתְּרוּמָה
Torah reading
Exodus 25:1-27:19
Haftarah
I Kings 5:26-6:13
What happens in Terumah
God asks for gifts — terumah — from 'every person whose heart moves them,' to build a Mishkan, a portable sanctuary: 'Make Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them.' The blueprint is loving and precise — the ark of acacia wood covered in gold, the winged cherubim facing each other above it, the golden menorah hammered from a single piece, the table, the woven curtains. Notably, God promises to dwell not in the building but among the people who build it.
Big themes
- Giving from the heart
- Building sacred space
- Community as sanctuary
If this is your bar or bat mitzvah portion
The verse says God will dwell 'among them' — not 'in it.' The building was never the point; the community that gives and builds together is. What do we contribute, from a moved heart, to the sanctuaries in our own lives?
Learning to chant Terumah?
Ready 13 builds a verse-by-verse practice plan for this exact portion — chanted reference audio, karaoke highlighting, trope games, and a countdown that keeps the big day on track.
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