Terumah:

Exodus 25:1-27:19

OVERVIEW

Hashem commands Moses to build a mishkan (sanctuary) and supplies him with detailed instructions. Bnei Yisrael are asked to contribute precious metals and stones, fabrics, skins, oil and spices. In the Mishkan's outer courtyard is an altar for the burnt offerings and a laver for washing. The Tent of Meeting is divided by a curtain into two chambers. The outer chamber is accessible only to the kohanim, the descendants of Aaron. This contains the table of showbreads, the menorah, and the golden incense altar. The innermost chamber, the Holy of Holies, may be entered only by the kohen gadol, and only once a year, on Yom Kippur. Here is the ark that held the Ten Commandments inscribed on the two tablets of stone which Hashem gave to the Jewish nation on Mount Sinai. All of the utensils and vessels, as well as the construction of the mishkan, are described in extraordinary detail.

Overview courtesy of Rabbis Newman and Sinclair, Ohr Somayach