Gift giving

THE BIG IDEA

For anyone that is feeling ‘charity fatigue’ during this time of emergency amongst the jewish people, this is an excellent time to remind yourself of the divine partnership and spiritual opportunity present in each and every donation. 

This week’s torah energy invites us to experience the deep spiritual purpose in material giving.

Trumah, (in this week’s sense of the word), are the material things you donate of your own free will, in the name of divinity. A chance to emulate God who is constantly giving to us all. 

And while this week’s Torah Omens describe a very specific use for these voluntary contributions, namely, the building of the Mishkan, God’s temporary dwelling amongst the Israelites in the desert, today’s charity, when given for the sake of honoring the divine presence in the world, (and the survival of the Land of Israel and her people), empowers each giver to make the entire world, and certainly the holy land, into a designated space for divine presence.

So may you be blessed with the resources you need to keep on giving, and may you feel your hand as a proxy for the divine with every dollar you donate.

PRACTICE GIVING

This week’s energy isn’t just about giving materially, it’s about giving material with intent.

Take time to imagine yourself as a collaborator with divinity. See your material resources as a gift bestowed upon you directly by God, and yourself as an investor in the world’s development.

What world do you want to build? Imagine each dollar as a brick, or a window, or a stone, in a spectacular kingdom built in the every day.

With the next donation you make, sense into the trust God put in you to imagine a world as perfect as the Mishkan itself.