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Parshat Truma
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Discovering the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

ויקחו לי תרומה

"How good are your tents O Jacob, your sanctuaries O Israel!"

When we enter our synagogue we come ever closer to experiencing the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. When we face towards the Holy Land and Jerusalem in our Amida prayer we come ever closer in experiencing the Holy Presence of the Holy Land and Temple in our lives. When we utter the first blessing of the Amida, Birkas Avos, 'the blessing of the Patriarchs', we come ever closer in experiencing the Holy Presence that resides with our Patriarchs and Matriarchs of Hebron, bringing us to a profound 'spiritual meeting' with the Holy Presence before us, descendants of these lofty figures who so cherished the Holy Land in general, and Hebron in specific. Indeed, when, before uttering this prayer, we donate towards the well being of the Holy Land in general and Hebron in specific, we come ever closer in tying our whole being to the love of God and His Holy Presence of the Holy Land, as our Sages taught, 'and you shall love HaShem with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might' - 'with all your might refers to one's possession'. Indeed, donation before prayer is beneficial as codified in the Shulhan Aruch: "it is good to give charity before prayer as it says 'I, through justice - tzedek [similar to tzedaka] - shall see Your Countenance'". This teaching is even more significant to us when we consider our sages' teaching that "great is charity, for it brings the redemption," mirroring the words of Isaiah (1, 27): "Zion shall be redeemed through justice, and her penitent through righteousness [tzedakah]".

This week's parsha, Truma, whose name means 'donation', heightens our awareness towards donation towards the Temple as we just read this past week in parshat Shekalim. Today, in absence of the Temple, we can still come ever closer to this goal by tying ourselves to the holy locations where the Holy Presence of the Temple rests (albeit in a more limited level), such as our synagogue, our Holy Land, and our holy cities Hebron and Jerusalem. Ultimately, this connection to the holy locations where the Holy Presence rests is a prerequisite to the building of the Temple itself, as it says, 'and you shall seek His Holy Presence and come there - [to the Temple Mount].'

One of the fascinating locations of Hebron today, which combines both the theme of the Sanctuary/mini-sanctuary and its artistic aspects described in this parsha is the Beit Midrash of 'Yeshivat Ma'arat HaMachpela named after Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag ('Baal HaSulam')', which operated under the auspices of the world-known artist Baruch Nachshon who had earlier established his art gallery there [hence this location's additional name "Nachshon's Gallery"]. This Beit Midrash hosted the first Torah institution to return to the heart of Hebron since the Tarpat Massacre (1929). However, after the Goldstein affair of Purim 5754 (1994), the yeshiva was evacuated by order of the security forces and this Beit Midrash ceased to operate. After 22 years of abandonment, with HaShem's kindness, a Kollel, Kollel Hatzos Maaras HaMachpela, has returned to this Beit Midrash to return its glory!

The Beit Midrash 30 years ago

The Beit Midrash today

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #210

"I parked my car near the Old City in Jerusalem and then I needed to rush by cab to Mount Herzel several miles away. However, I then realized that I had no money for the cab... Just then and there I met someone else who was motioning to hitchike. I asked him if he could make an agreement that I would take him to his destination when I get back to my car, and meanwhile he would pay for the cab I needed to take urgently. He agreed..." Y.A.B

Sources: Yoreh Deah 249, 14, Baba Basra 10a

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