Written by Moshe Yosef Kerendian

Shabbat Shalom and Rosh Chodesh Tov. This week’s parsha, Parshat Terumah, discusses the different dimensions and specific steps of the Miskan (Tabernalce). However, the parsha opens with discussing the laws of Terumah. Every man was obligated to give terumah, a donation, to the Miskan, yet the pasuk doesn’t say “give terumah” but rather “וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה”- meaning “take Terumah”. Why does the Torah say “take Terumah”? The correct way to say it is to “give terumah,” not take? The Torah intends to teach us a profound lesson with the use of the word “take” instead of “give”. It comes to teach us that when we give, we are really taking. What does this mean?. When you give, you never lose out. The torah is telling us that when you “give” something over to someone or a large donation to the shul, you aren’t losing anything, but you are taking a tremendous amount. Whether the “taking” is the satisfaction of helping another or Hashem rewarding you, whenever you give, you are taking. This is what the Torah means when it says, “וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה” (Take Terumah) rather than saying “give terumah”. Shabbat Shalom.