Thought of the Week: Terumah - 5780

CONFLICT-FREE ZONE

A wide variety of materials was used in the construction of the Mishkan, with one notable exception - iron.  Although it is the most durable and quite malleable metal, it was avoided in the structure of the Mishkan and in all the vessels.

Ramban notes that iron symbolizes the sword and thus bloodshed.  The Tabernacle, a structure built to bring peace and unity to the world, cannot have in it a material that represents the polar opposite, conflict and war.

In our tradition, synagogues are called Mikdash me'at, a small temple.  Consequently, just as in the Beit Hamikdash there is no place for anything that relates to conflict, so too, it should be in our Shuls.

Shabbat Shalom