Summary of parashat Trumah
The people of Israel are called to contribute fifteen materials - gold, silver and copper; wool dyed blue, purple and red; linen, goat hair, animal skins, wood, olive oil, spices and precious stones - with which God says to Moshe: "You shall make for Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among you.".
At the top of Mount Sinai, Moshe receives detailed instructions on how to build this dwelling for God, so that it can be easily dismantled, transported, and reassembled during the people's various journeys through the desert.
In the innermost chamber of the Sanctuary, behind an artistically embroidered curtain, stood the Ark containing the Tablets of the Testimony inscribed with the Ten Commandments; on the lid of the Ark were two cherubim (angels) carved from pure gold. In the outer chamber stood the Menorah with seven lamps and the Table upon which the "bread of faces" was placed.
The three walls of the Sanctuary were made of 48 upright wooden planks, each overlaid with gold and supported by a pair of silver blocks. The roof consisted of three layers of coverings: (a) multicolored wool and linen mats; (b) a covering made of goat hair; (c) a covering of ram skins and tajash. An embroidered curtain hung across the front of the Sanctuary, supported by five posts.
A series of linen curtains supported by 60 wooden poles with silver hooks surrounded the Sanctuary and the copper altar that stood before it. The curtains were reinforced by copper stakes.
