Daily Chumash & Rashi – Parshas Teruma Rishon: Donating to the Temple (Sunday, 28th Shevat)

Q&A on Rashi

Rashi Q&A — Shemot 25:1–16

25:1–2 — The Command to Build the Mishkan

Q1: What does “וְיִקְחוּ־לִי תְּרוּמָה” mean?

A: “Take for Me a contribution” — “for My sake,” meaning donations should be given with pure intent.

Q2: What does “תְּרוּמָה” mean in this verse?

A: A separation — the part each person separates from his property to donate.

Q3: What does “יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ” (“whose heart prompts him”) teach?

A: Contributions for the Mishkan were voluntary, given from goodwill (nedavah).

Q4: Rashi says three “terumot” are mentioned. What are they?

1. Half‑shekel “beka” for the silver sockets.
2. Half‑shekel “beka” for communal offerings.
3. Freewill donations for constructing the Mishkan.

25:3–7 — Materials Donated

Q5: Which materials were voluntary and which were mandatory?

A: Everything was voluntary except silver, which was mostly the obligatory half‑shekel.

Q6: What is “תְּכֵלֶת”?

A: Wool dyed with the chilazon blood — a greenish‑blue color.

Q7: What is “אַרְגָּמָן”?

A: Wool dyed with a dye known as argaman.

Q8: What is “שֵׁשׁ”?

A: Linen.

Q9: What does “וְעִזִּים” refer to?

A: Goat hair, not goats themselves.

Q10: What does “מְאָדָּמִים” mean?

A: Red‑dyed ram skins.

Q11: What is the “תַּחַשׁ”?

A: A unique multicolored animal that existed only then; Onkelos calls it “sasgona,” meaning it “rejoices in its colors.”

Q12: Where did Israel get acacia wood in the desert?

A: Jacob brought cedar trees from Canaan to Egypt and instructed his children to take them when they left.

Q13: What was the oil used for?

A: Clear olive oil for lighting the Menorah.

Q14: What were the spices for?

A:

• Anointing oil (for vessels and the Mishkan),
• Incense burned morning and evening.

Q15: What are “אַבְנֵי־שֹׁהַם” and “אַבְנֵי מִלֻּאִים”?

A:

• Shoham stones — for the Ephod.
• Miluim stones — “filling stones” set into gold recesses for the Breastplate.

25:8–9 — Command to Build the Mishkan and Future Temples

Q16: What does “וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ” mean?

A: Build a sanctuary for My sake, infusing the materials with holiness.

Q17: What does “כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי מַרְאֶה אֹתְךָ” refer to?

A: The exact form of the Mishkan and its vessels as shown to Moses.

Q18: What does “וְכֵן תַּעֲשׂוּ” mean?

A: Future generations must build any replacements or the future Temple’s vessels following the same blueprint.

25:10–11 — The Ark

Q19: What does the word “אֲרוֹן” imply?

A: A chest/trunk-like container (“escrin” in Old French).

Q20: How was the Ark covered “inside and out” with gold?

A: Betzalel made three boxes:

1. Gold outer box
2. Wood middle box
3. Gold inner box
   The wooden box sat between the two gold ones.

Q21: What is the “זֵר זָהָב” (golden crown)?

A: A decorative crown-like rim around the Ark’s top, symbolizing the crown of Torah.

25:12–14 — Rings and Poles

Q22: How many rings were made for the Ark, and where were they placed?

A: Four rings, placed at the upper corners near the Ark-cover, two on each side.

Q23: Why does the verse say “two rings on one side” with a vav (ו)?

A: The vav is extra — the meaning is “two of these rings were on one side.”

Q24: What are “בַדִּים”?

A: Poles, used to carry the Ark.

Q25: How were the poles used?

A: Inserted permanently through the rings so the Ark could be carried without touching it directly.

Q26: What does “לֹא יָסֻרוּ מִמֶּנּוּ” mean?

A: The poles must never be removed from the Ark.

25:16 — The Tablets in the Ark

Q27: What does “וְנָתַתָּ אֶל הָאָרוֹן” mean?

A: “Place into the Ark” — the wording “to the Ark” is to be read as “in the Ark.”

Q28: What is “הָעֵדֻת” (the Testimony)?

A: The Tablets of the Covenant, bearing witness that Hashem commanded the Torah’s laws.