Parashat T’rumah/Terumah, 5774 edition

Basics here.

See my previous T'rumah posts, linked here, regarding what I’ve dubbed one of the “vocabulary parashiot.”

 

Exodus Chapter 25 שְׁמוֹת

 New word learned:  זֵר

It means “crown.”

I’m too lazy to learn any more new vocabulary today.

ל  וְנָתַתָּ עַל-הַשֻּׁלְחָן לֶחֶם פָּנִים, לְפָנַי תָּמִיד.  {פ}	30 And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before Me alway. {P}

The literal translation of “lechem panim” is “faces bread” (“bread of faces”?).  What the heck did “showbread” originally mean?  What was the purpose of leaving bread on a table in a house of worship?

כו  וְעָשִׂיתָ לּוֹ, אַרְבַּע טַבְּעֹת זָהָב; וְנָתַתָּ, אֶת-הַטַּבָּעֹת, עַל אַרְבַּע הַפֵּאֹת, אֲשֶׁר לְאַרְבַּע רַגְלָיו.	26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.

“Peyot” are corners?  I suppose so, but that seems an odd term to use to describe a halachic hairstyle.

לא  וְעָשִׂיתָ מְנֹרַת, זָהָב טָהוֹר; מִקְשָׁה תֵּעָשֶׂה הַמְּנוֹרָה, יְרֵכָהּ וְקָנָהּ, גְּבִיעֶיהָ כַּפְתֹּרֶיהָ וּפְרָחֶיהָ, מִמֶּנָּה יִהְיוּ.	31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made, even its base, and its shaft; its cups, its knops, and its flowers, shall be of one piece with it

Sigh—sometimes archaic translations annoy me.  What’s a knop, for crying out loud?

Here’s Merriam-Webster’s definition:  “a usually ornamental knob.”

 

Conservadox is getting political again.

 

Rav Shai Held, of Mechon Hadar, writes about the necessity, illustrated by Parashat T’rumah, of making space for others while still being present.