In the portion of Terumah, we read about the Tabernacle constructed by the Israelites during their time in the wilderness. For forty years the Israelites had the services of the Tabernacle, and the entire portion of Terumah discusses how the Israelites built it, down to the minutest detail.
Why the Bible would devote an entire portion to the construction of the Tabernacle is difficult for us to comprehend. Why would we be interested in something that ceased to exist almost 3400 years ago?
The Zohar explains that what is being discussed in Terumah is not a Tabernacle, but the construction of a security shield—which is the Magen David or Shield of David—constructed to protect us, as we are all vulnerable to a hostile environment that exists including terrorism and airborne diseases.
Although some people think that the two triangles—one on top of each other, placed in opposite directions—is called the Star of David, nowhere in history, nowhere in the story of King David is there any mention of the Star of David. The Zohar teaches us that these two triangles represent a shield, not a star, and is a protection with which King David furnished us.
King David represents our physical and hostile environment—the Tree of Knowledge dimension and not the environment of the Flawless Universe, the Tree of Life Reality, and so we need the Magen, the Shield of David, to protect us.
In Terumah, we read about all of the utensils that were used during the time of the Tabernacle, which the Zohar reveals are all aspects of creating security shields. The one I consider my favorite is the Urim veTumim, or Breastplate, worn by the High Priest, which functioned like a computer.
This week, the Zohar gives us insight into the Tabernacle’s deeper significance: This Tabernacle was a reservoir of energy by which every human being in the entire universe could surround himself with the Light and security of the Lightforce of God.
