Parashat Terumah The Gift of Safe Space by Y. Gavriel A ... - Keshet

Parashat TerumahThe Gift of Safe Spaceby Y. Gavriel A. Levi Ansara on Saturday February 24, 20076 Adar 5767Exodus 25:1 - 27:19Parashat Terumah opens with G-d speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai and commanding him inmeticulous detail regarding the construction of the Mishkan, or “tabernacle,” the portabledwelling place of G-d’s presence that the Israelites could promptly assemble, dismantle,transport, and then reassemble during their sojourn in the desert. G-d tells Moses: “Daber elBnai Yisrael veyikchu li terumah me’et kol ish asher yidvenu libo tikchu et terumati./ Speak tothe Children of Israel and have them bring Me an offering. Take My offering from everyonewhose heart impels him to give” (Exodus 25:2). Hashem continues by commanding Moses toacquire fifteen materials for the construction of the Mishkan—each item a gift or offering(terumah), and each to be brought by someone “whose heart impels him.” The offeringsinclude gold, silver, and copper; blue, purple, and red-dyed wool; flax, goat hair, and animalskins; acacia wood, olive oil, spices and gems. This lengthy description of the offeringsnecessary for the Mishkan emphasizes the multiplicity and diversity of color and material, asymbolic acknowledgment that sacred community cannot exist without embracing the uniqueexperiences and identities of all Jews.The glaring contrast between the luxurious aesthetics describing the Mishkan and the profounddisplacement of our people is intentional. It is at precisely this juncture in our history that ourpeople achieved what many Jewish sages characterize as the height of human achievement.The Mishkan becomes the standard from which melachah, (constructive activities prohibited onShabbat and holidays) and thereby major halachot (Jewish laws) concerning Shabbat, arederived.Why does the construction of the Mishkan occur during this period of strife and disaffection?What motivating force drives the desire to give offering to Hashem at the height of exile? It isthe same drive that propels gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, genderqueer and intersex (GLB/TGI)Jewish refugees from oppressive communal environments to renew the empty realms of theirhearts by turning to Hashem, transforming derelict emotional landscapes into the Binyan AdeiAd (everlasting home) that their souls crave.

their sense of isolation. Yet it is not Hashem who has spurned them; it is not Hashem who hascruelly propelled them from the sheltering warmth of their social networks. The harmfulactions of other people are not direct statements of Divine Will, regardless of assertions to thateffect by those who inflict emotional and spiritual damage upon others in the guise ofreligiosity. In Parashat Terumah, G-d offers these embittered outcasts the gift of a safe space,filled with luxurious beauty and sustenance, to nourish them as they journey in search of placeswhere their values as GLB/TGI people are not pitted against their devotion to Jewishobservance.This crossing is arduous enough that we cannot afford to take any opportunities for spiritualenrichment for granted. Parashat Terumah provides us with an empowered model for survivalprecisely because both our traditional observance and our GLB/TGI experiences are integral toour existence. It may be a Friday night Shabbat gathering in a small living room containing ahandful of similarly devoted friends, or the quiet peace of lighting candles alone in your kitchenwith your same gender bashert. It may be laying tefillin at home in the morning as a trans manwho finds himself unable to pass in a small community where everyone knows his history, orlighting candles to welcome the Shabbat Queen as a trans woman carrying on the legacy of herforemothers. These simple acts of affirmation define us in the same way that the Mishkandefined our spiritual ancestors in the desert. To my fellow travelers in this struggle for spiritualaffirmation, I urge you to turn toward Hashem, to allow yourselves to receive the awaitingbounty of your own private Mishkan. Shabbat Shalom u’Menuchah.