At a construction site, a strong young worker was bragging that he could out-do anyone in a feat of strength. He started making fun of one of the older workers. After several minutes, the older man had had enough. ”Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is!” he said. “I will bet a week’s wages that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to the other end of this here construction site, that you won’t be able to wheel back.” ”You’re on, old man,” the braggart replied. ”Let’s see what you got.” The old man grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then, nodding to the young man, he said, ”All right. Get in.”

* * *

Terumah: Breaching the Walls of Galus

In this week Torah portion, G-d commands the Jewish People to construct a mishkan, a sanctuary in which He will dwell on earth. The Torah’s instructions for the Mishkan are very specific. The Torah tells us that each pillar (keresh) “shall be even at the bottom, and together shall they be even at its top…”[1]

TWINS
Rashi tells us that the word -”even” is from the word t’umim , meaning ‘twins’.[2] A question arises: why, in our passage, is this word spelled first with an Alef but the second time, without the Alef, and with the addition of a Yud: ?[3]

We also find the word t’umim twice in the book of Genesis. The first appearance pertains to the birth of the twins Yaakov and Eisav.[4] There it is spelled ‘Tav Vav Mem Mem’, missing both the Alef and the Yud. The second appearance pertains to the birth of the twins Peretz and Zerach.[5] There it is spelled with nothing missing: ‘Tav Alef Vav Mem Yud Mem’: .

Rashi explains that the latter spelling of t’umim is complete because Peretz and Zerach were both righteous. The reason that the word is missing letters in reference to Yaakov and Eisav is that Eisav was not righteous. A question may be raised: why does the Torah eliminate the Alef and the Yud in particular?

TRANSFORMING FALSEHOOD
The answer lies in the fact that a pillar in the Mishkan is called a keresh . Keresh has the same letters as the word sheker , falsehood. As we explained in the portion of Beshalach, Eisav, the father of Amalek, represents falsehood. He says ‘Look, I’m Yaakov’s brother—I was raised in the house of Yitzchak. I know all the Jewish customs and I know what they’re all about. I’m telling you, you don’t have to do all these things. The main thing is to be a good Jew in your heart and to be a great intellectual. These rituals which you call mitzvos are outdated.’

The objective of the Mishkan was to transform sheker into kesher , a knot, and keresh, a pillar.[6] Knots and pillars are connectors. A knot unites two entities and a pillar connects the ceiling to the floor; uniting Heaven and earth, intellect and action. This demonstrates that intellect is only the starting point, but one has to unite it with action, with active mitzvos.

Each of us can construct a ‘personal Mishkan‘–we can create a connection between Heaven and earth through our good deeds.

PERETZ–A PERFECT WORLD
With this in mind we can appreciate why, when Eisav was born, the Alef and the Yud were missing. Alef and Yud together have the numerical value of eleven,[7] which equals the value of the last two letters of G-d’s name, ‘Vav-Hei’. ‘Vav’ alludes to Torah study and ‘Hei’ to mitzvos.[8] When we erect pillars and tie knots, constructing our personal Mishkan by studying Torah and doing mitzvos, we help remedy the fallacy of Eisav.

This explains why t’umim has an Alef the first time it appears in our portion, and a Yud the second time. Alef and Yud have the same gematria as Vav and Hei. When we construct a Mishkan through Torah study and mitzvos, an Alef and Yud appear.

Furthermore, a compilation of the three incomplete versions of t’umim includes all the letters of the complete spelling. In reference to the birth of Yaakov and Eisav there is a Vav.[9] and in reference to the Mishkan there is an Alef and a Yud. This is the complete spelling used in reference to the birth of Peretz and Zerach. Peretz, who is the forebear of Mashiach, represents a world perfect and complete. When Mashiach comes, G-d’s presence will pervade the entire world, and His purpose for creation will be realized.

BREACHING THE WALLS OF EXILE
The portion of Terumah is usually read in the first week of the month of Adar. The Talmud states, “When Adar arrives we increase in joy.” Our rabbis tell us of the importance of serving G-d with joy, and how “joy breaks through all boundaries.” This concept connects to Terumah. When we construct our personal ‘Temple’ through Torah study and active mitzvos, then G-d, the King of all Kings dwells with us.[10] Knowing this brings about a joy that makes us capable of breaching the walls of galus, exile. The name Peretz, meaning ‘to breach’, alludes to this great breakthrough.

In addition, the word ‘joy’, sameach, , has the same letters as Mashiach .[11] As the Lubavitcher Rebbe stated, ‘Everything has been accomplished; all that remains is to be joyous as we anticipate the imminent revelation of our Righteous Mashiach.’

A STORY [12]
The Baal Shem Tov once said to his disciples, “Whoever wants his prayers to ascend to Heaven, let him say his prayers with me word by word.” A certain disciple undertook to do this, and he would echo the recital of the Besht one word at a time. One Shabbos, when his master was reciting the verse, “Sheker ha-sus lis’shua,“ ‘False is the horse for salvation,’[13] he began repeating it over and over again. This startled the disciple, and he recited the verse only once, as is the custom. He wondered what mystical methods his master must be now be using. He consulted the relevant kabbalistic texts, but couldn’t find any explanation for the repetition. Confused, he decided he’d better stop trying to pray with his master.

Some time later, when he was visiting the Besht, his master asked him why he had stopped. The disciple told the truth, and the Besht began to explain the circumstances of that Shabbos morning. “On his way home from a journey, a certain Jew found that he would not be able to reach the nearest village before the eve of that Shabbos. He had no alternative but to spend the holy day in the forest. A thief found out that he was in that forest, and leapt on his horse to go find this Jew, kill, and rob him. When I repeated the verse, ‘The horse is false for salvation,’ the thief lost his way in the forest, and the traveler was left in peace.”

ACTION: Break through any inner prejudices and view every Jew as your twin. Remember, we all have the same Father in Heaven.

FOOTNOTES
[1] Exodus, 26:24
[2] On the above verse
[3] The above question is published in Yalkut Mashiach uGeulah on the Torah, in the name of Tzedek Hashem Tzedakos. Here, our answer is different than his.
[4] Genesis, 25:24
[5] Genesis, 38:27
[6] See Basi L’Gani, Chapter 10, and Sefer HaSichos 5750, p. 669, footnote 32.
[7] According to Chassidus, Eisav represents the world of tohu, or ‘chaos’, which is represented by the number 11.
[8] See our chapter on Parshas Beshalach.
[9] Alternatively, ‘Yaakov sitting in the tent’ refers to Torah study. Thus, the Vav is present. Eisav, on the other hand, rejects Torah study and performance of mitzvos–the Vav and the Hei. This is why the Yud and the Alef are absent.
[10] Tanya, Chapter 33; also, the month of Adar can be read ‘Alef-dar’. Alef, which means ‘chief’ or ‘master’ represents G-d, and dar means ‘dwell’. Therefore, ‘G-d dwells in this month.’
[11] Sefer Ha Sichos 5748, pp. 627, 630
[12] Adapted from A Treasury of Chassidic Tales, By S. Y. Zevin, p. 516.
[13] Psalms, 33:17