Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

In preparation for establishing the first Sanctuary in Jewish history, the people of Israel are asked to contribute towards this goal. Terumah means a free will offering. The Torah puts forth a wide list of voluntary gift categories: Gold, silver, copper, and many other categories of giving.

Rashi comments: "They were all given voluntarily, each person according to how his heart moved him, except for the silver, which was given equally, a half-shekel by each person."

The commentary comes to synthesize the list of voluntary categories in Parshat Terumah with Parshat Ki-Tisa, which imposes a half-shekel obligation. The mandatory tax was a very small amount which everyone could afford. Everybody participated since the community structure was meant for every single person regardless of how much a person would  participate. The long term viability of the Sanctuary depended on gifts from the heart which transcended the small obligatory amount.

Nowadays, over 3500 years later, the viability of the synagogue depends on both, fixed and voluntary giving. Most synagogues today encourage every Jew to affiliate based on a fixed and affordable amount. But it is voluntary giving which ensures long term purpose and success.

Almost twenty years ago, our shul called its voluntary High Holy Day campaign the Terumah appeal, based on this week's Parsha.

The reality of Covid has challenged all of us on many levels. I hope and pray that every Jew will continue to affiliate and where possible to share voluntary gifts from the heart.

Ultimately, the fundraising methodology has stayed much the same from Sanctuary to Synagogue over thousands of years.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Howard Morrison