Parashat Terumah is ninety-six verses about building the Mishkan.
It is the next step in the freedom story. After leaving Egypt and receiving the Torah, the people are invited to create something. Not to escape, not to survive, but to build. To take gold and wood and fabric and intention and create a space in relationship with the Divine.
We might expect the Torah to focus on the holy vessels. The golden, glowing Menorah. The Holy Ark. The sacred centerpieces.
Yet half the verses of the Torah portion are devoted to something else entirely.
The walls. The beams. The curtains. The exterior structure.
The framework.
Why so much detail about what seems secondary?
Because the vessels cannot stand without the structure. And holiness cannot dwell without safety.
'וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם'
"Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell amoung them."
The Divine presence does not rest on the objects alone. It rests among the people who build the space.
And that space requires walls.
In grandparenting, we often assume the “holy vessels” are the most important part. The dramatic stories. The big Jewish moments. The once-a-year experiences. The special gifts.
But Terumah gently suggests something else.
It is the framework that makes everything else possible.
The predictable phone call. The Shabbat table that looks the same each week. The steady tone. The emotional safety. The consistency of showing up.
Those are the walls.
And when the walls are strong, the Menorah shines.
When the structure is steady, the sacred moments have somewhere to live.
We do not create holiness through intensity. We create it through reliability.
This week, three reflections to try:
- Identify your walls. What are the steady, repeatable elements of your relationship with your grandchildren? Not the special events, but the consistent ones. Name them. Protect them.
- Strengthen one beam. Is there one small rhythm you could make more reliable? A weekly message. A standing date. Holiness grows in predictable spaces.
- Build before you decorate. If you are longing for deeper conversations or more meaningful Jewish moments, ask yourself: Have I built enough emotional safety first? What would help my grandchild feel more relaxed and secure with me?
Terumah reminds us that the Divine does not dwell in intensity alone. Presence rests where there is care, structure, and intention.
May the spaces you build this week, quiet and steady as they may be, become places where something sacred feels at home.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbanit Sharona Hassan
Founder of Grand Plan
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