In Parshat Terumah, God helps us bond with one another by having us work on a national building project. Every aspect of this building project, the creation of the Mishkan, was thought through.
- God wanted all donations to be voluntary, so that no one would feel forced or coerced into building God's home.
- The building was grand, impressive and beautiful to inspire awe and devotion when Bnei Yisrael saw it or entered it.
- The building was modeled after and symbolized the human body, because each of us is equivalent to a Mishkan ourselves- the sanctuary is us, and God dwells in us.
- Nowadays, we no longer have a Mishkan or a Beit HaMikdash, but we do have a synagogue!
We can learn from this parsha to act in a unified, helping manner. We can also make sure to remember that our body is as sacred and holy as a Mishkan, and therefore we should serve God with it, just like the Kohanim served God within the Mishkan.
