The other day my husband was recalling our college days, when at the beginning of each semester we would go to the University Bookstore and buy at least a dozen required books, a new spiral notebook for every class, and more, in order to set ourselves up for the next semester of classes. Undoubtedly, the “tools of the trade” are very different today, and a lot less heavy! Did you ever wonder what the “tools of the trade” were back in the time of the Torah? In Terumah, we are introduced to a description of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the altar where sacrifices would be offered, its furnishings, and implements used for the various offerings.
What exactly did these structures and the poles, cloths, firepans, tongs and bowls look like? We will never know, but the attention to detail in describing these items and their precise measurements is the subject of this week’s parasha. God promises that, if the items are created as described that God will come and “dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:9)
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