The Weekly Shtikle - Terumah

This past Tuesday, 2 Adar, was the yahrtzeit of my Zadie, R' Yaakov Bulka. This week's shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmaso, Chayim Yaakov ben Yitzchak.

 

Just a couple of hours ago, I returned from a ceremony at Ottawa City Hall where my father was awarded the key to the city. (Read more here.) This week's shtikle is also dedicated with a special Mazal Tov to my father on this special occasion.

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my Opa, Tovia Yehudah ben Yoel, a'h.

    In this week's parsha, as part of the description of the construction of the Mishkan, the beams are described (36:29) as being paired at the bottom as well as the top. The terminlogoy used  (26:24) is, "and they shall be 'soamim' on the bottom and together they shall be 'samim' on top." The words "toamim" and "tamim" mean essentially the same thing. They are to be paired. As Rashi describes, the beams had to be flush with each other from the bottom to the top and were joined together with a ring on top. Why is a different word used for the bottom and the top?
 
    When Rivkah gives birth to Yaakov and Eisav, the pasuk (Bereishis 25:24) states "behold there were 'somim' in her womb." Rashi notes that here the word "tomim," which is missing an aleph, is used whereas when Tamar gives birth to Peretz and Zerach (Bereishis 38:27) the word "te'omim" (with an aleph) is used. The reason given is that Tamar's two children would both grow up to be rigthteous men whereas one of Rivkah's children would grow up to be an evil man. The word "te'omim" written in full denotes a greater similarity between the twins. When it is written missing an aleph, it denotes twins which are not so identical.
 
    If one were to survey the beams of the Mishkan on the bottom and the pegs that held them in place they would see a relatively uniform pattern as they went around. However, they might notice a slight change when they observe the tops of the beams. The rings that held the beams together on top rested in an indentation made in each beam. Joining the corner beams was a little more difficult. Rashi (26:24) describes the process which ultimately required the indentation to be in a different spot in that beam. The picture books on the Mishan make this more clear. Here is an example. Perhaps this is why the word "tamim" is used to describe the pairing of the beams on top. The pairing did not appear uniform throughout. But for the pegs that held the beams in place on the bottom, the word "toamim" is used to denote their uniform appearance.

Have a good Shabbos. Mishenichnas Adar Marbim beSimchah.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

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