"DWELLING AMONG THEM" BY RABBINICAL INTERN, Juleon Akana

At Beit Hallel, we have started a new and exciting program where our members who are called to the Torah and read the weekly portion, also has the opportunity to give a short drash on the weekly Parashah. Today, for Parashah תְּרוּמָה Terumah (gift, offering), our Rabbinical Intern, Juleon Akana shared the following drash with our community. I and those present were  so blessed by his insights on תְּרוּמָה, that I decided to post the transcript of his teaching so that all might benefit. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Mark 

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We chant the Ma Tovu, “How lovely are your tents o Jacob; your dwelling places O Isra’el…” as an expression of awe and wonder upon entering the House of the Lord and being in the presence of a holy God. “… I love the house where you dwell and the place where your glory resides…”
 
The Sages agree the word tents represents the inner person or life, whereas the Word dwelling is the physical or outer life. 
 
From the command to take up an offering to the crafting of the bronze tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, all the materials going into constructing this holy place have profound significance.
 
From the beginning, God desires to dwell among humanity stating, “They are to make me a sanctuary, so that I may live among them” (Exodus 25:8). While this is a precursor to the execution stake or cross of the Messiah one thing is clear; when Adonai speaks, he gives clear instructions on how to fulfill one’s destiny. 
 
On the summit of Mt. Sinai, Moshe is given detailed instructions on how to build the sanctuary so that it could be dismantled and taken to new locations as they journeyed in the desert. The offering was to be given from the people cheerfully to build the dwelling place of the Most High. Take note of the word wholeheartedly in the second verse, “…accept a contribution from anyone who wholeheartedly wants to give” (Exodus 25:2).

• With your whole heart we love the Lord.
• We follow his instructions.
• We do what he commands.

 
It is safe to say that the cleansing of sin through the yearly sacrifice for the Children of Israel was not only a covering but a constant reminder of our broken nature. The final atonement offered for all of humanity is, however, the final sacrifice made on behalf of all of humanity.
 
Though we do not rely on a yearly sacrifice anymore, let us not forget that at one time the testimony given to Moshe by Yeshua is not any longer in the ark drawn on stone. This same testimony is written on the tablets of our hearts as the grace that is given to us to always be willing to do and obey the Lord. As the Jewish people say, “nah ah se v’nishma” (we will do and hear or obey).
 
We have all become living stones with the Word of God written on our hearts, each one of us giving ourselves as living sacrifices set in the Body of Messiah to make a living tabernacle for the living God to dwell. 

We are all constantly being dismantled, rebuilt, and transported in this spiritual and physical journey here until the Spirit of Glory takes us to our final dwelling place in a new Heaven and Earth - To a paradise once lost through the destruction of sin we come back to the beginning to a paradise restored by the second Adam. 
 
The Gift of Eternal Life!
 
Juleon Akana
Rabbinical Intern
Beit Hallel Messianic Congregation 
20th of February, 2021 | Eighth of Adar - 5781