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and this light is most accessible to those experiencing Shabbat. By
connecting to Shabbat’s spiritual dimension, we are able to bask terumah ה ָמּור ְּ ת
in God’s infinite light, which is constantly accessible, but is most
accessible on the holy Shabbat.

Significantly, the connection between light and Shabbat is
symbolized by the Jewish people lighting Shabbat candles to
ceremonially usher in the day of rest. Both light and Shabbat awaken £The Tabernacle, the Temple, The Tabernacle, the Temple, The Tabernacle, the Temple,
££
the same associations of holiness, purity, spirituality, and joy. Just and the Synagogue
and the Synagogueand the Synagogue
as God’s infinite presence was concentrated within the Tabernacle’s
finite structure, so too God’s infinite light is highly-concentrated in
the Shabbat’s finite and detailed laws. As we learned in the previous
portion (“The Cherubim”), Shabbat functions as an everlasting sign With the portion of Terumah, the Torah begins discussing a topic
of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. Shabbat is the that will occupy nearly all of the five remaining portions in Shemot,
vehicle God uses to communicate with Israel by shining His infinite practically the entire book of Vayikra, and the first few portions of
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light in an accessible manner. Bamidbar: the Tabernacle and the service performed there. Except
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for the incident of the Golden Calf, the rest of Shemot is exclusively
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dedicated to God’s commandment to build the Tabernacle and
the Jews’ response to this challenge. Vayikra and the beginning of
Bamidbar are almost entirely devoted to describing the worship that
££The Secret of Enclothment took place in the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was the prototype for
£The Secret of EnclothmentThe Secret of Enclothment
the Temples later to be erected in Jerusalem; the first, erected by
King Solomon, stood for 420 years, and the second, erected in the
Following Tetzaveh’s opening commandment regarding the menorah’s period of Ezra and Nehemiah, stood for 410 years.
lighting, the Torah continues with a detailed description of the unique For most non-observant Jews these portions are not only hard
garments worn by the ordinary cohanim and the additional special to relate to but are a total turn off. The Torah’s obsessive concern
garments worn only by the high priest. These sanctified garments, with detailing the structure of the Tabernacle and its furnishings,
the Torah informs us, were made for “glory and splendor” (Exodus explaining how and when the ancient animal sacrifices were to be
28:2). The cohanim, who served simultaneously as the people’s offered, and carefully delineating the clothes worn and the roles played
representatives to God and as God’s representatives to the people, by the cohanim (the priests) and the levi’im (the Levites) appear to
were commanded to dress in a manner worthy of their position and even many observant Jews as overly pedantic and ultimately boring,
spiritual task. matters to be skipped over or read superficially. For non-observant
The Torah spends so much time describing every detail of the Jews, who usually view the very need for a Temple, not to mention
sacred vestments because garments, in general signify a much deeper animal sacrifice as at best outdated, a superficial understanding of
level of meaning: garments are but a manifestation of the Kabbalistic them is truly disastrous.
and Chassidic concept known as “enclothment.” The ultimate level Yet, this is a real shame. Most Jews do not understand the extent
of enclothment is manifest in God enclothing His infinite being in to which both the physical layout of the traditional synagogue

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